Announcement

**rwknoll** · 12-08-2016, 10:30 AM

Everyone
Just as Ragnar speaks the suggestion for the cabal name, one of the baristas walks past your table and suddenly slips on a napkin lying on the floor. She reflexively puts a hand on the table to catch herself, but it slips when it falls on a pile of Scrabble tiles. "Whoa!" she cries out, before unceremoniously dropping an empty coffee mug, some game tiles, and several packets of sugar. The mug bounces several times, but to her surprise, it ends up resting upright on the ground without a single chip or mark. "Wow, that was lucky," she mutters to herself as she picks it up. "Sorry for the mess, guys," she apologizes to your table with a blush before quickly moving back to the kitchen.

As she leaves, Ragnar sees five tiles lying face up on the floor by his chair. The tiles read S-T-O-R-M.

* NEW SCENE *

Moonstone
At the tail end of your conversation with your new cabal, you receive a phone call from an unknown number. "Why hello there," a gravelly but energetic male voice says. "Just got a friendly call from a certain Rose, said you wanted to meet up and go digging through your brain. Sounds like just the kind of action I could use on a boring weekend. You free late tonight?"

Phoenix
Shortly after the meeting ends, you finally get a text from Tanya. She asks if you could meet up with the group at the public library where she works in West Town. It's actually just a little west of you, not even a mile away, so you could walk there pretty easily.

Everyone

**Caladriu** · 12-08-2016, 02:16 PM

Before everyone leaves, Moonstone explains that those Stormborne with an affinity for Space (like himself) will be able to cast sympathetic magic on the cabal more easily if they have a recent photo, and asks permission to take one. After letting anyone decline who doesn't want a record, he snaps a group picture on his phone, and shares the yantra with Binder and anyone else who asks. "It won't make it to social media- I don't even have Twitter."

As they're exiting, he suggests to Ragnar that this is a good time to work on Space. "We'll take the train downtown first. I'll make the city into a labyrinth, just for you. You'll need to expand your understanding of Space to escape. But I'll be watching, so don't worry- oh, someone's calling me."

Unknown number. Wait, how did he...oh, right, magic. Goosebumps as he realizes just how easily other mages can reach him, without Hakim's protection. Time to practice his wards. He answers: "Ah. I know who this is. Yes, I need what only you can give me, uh, baby. My evening is open. Where should we meet?"

After the call, he lays his hand on Ragnar's shoulder and opens the cabal photo on his phone. Once he's studied it intently and worked it into his Imago, he rifles through his bag and gazes into his mirror. "Just checking today's weather."

The Imago takes shape. Moonstone reorients his awareness relative to Time, peeks around the corner, and asks: Will stranding Ragnar in the city place him in serious danger? And, Will magically confusing his senses and making him overcome the hex be a useful learning experience for him?

**crapcarp** · 12-09-2016, 10:01 AM

Stormborne, eh? I like that. It's short and sweet, and accurate. Now that we're a cabal, it looks like time for me to depart for more pressing matters. "be there few min" I text to Tanya right after saying my goodbyes to the group. That was a pretty quick response, considering the backlog they supposedly had, and convenient. In fact, it was precisely timed and within walking distance. That's a little fishy, best be on guard when I get there.

Finding Tanya at the library, I approach cautiously, making sure I've got a clean exit should the need arise. I pick through the book shelves for something on mythology, sit near Tanya, and open the book on a random page as a bit of cover. "So, what's up?" I ask, my eyes on the book.

**rwknoll** · 12-09-2016, 04:52 PM

Moonstone
"HA!" Spade laughs loudly. "I like you. You're great. Don't ever change," he replies. "Look, this is really something you need to do in a place you trust. Someplace safe. Your sanctum. And while we're at it, might be best for someone else to come, just in case things get hairy."

---

In your mind's eye, the mirror cracks, with each new sliver revealing a possible future. Countless possible outcomes simultaneously play out, but several clear trends provide the answers you seek. He will be in danger from a mage, but not mortal danger.

The scenes are all different, but all share the image of a shifty-looking man with a smirk that you clearly recognize. You don't actually know him by name, but you saw him once at Hakim's apartment less than two weeks ago. You were on your way to meet your master, and saw him and this man having a heated argument in hushed tones just as you arrived. The man hastily left and disappeared when you arrived. Hakim refused to talk about it.

The lesson will be useful for showing him another perspective about magic and other dangers.

Phoenix
Nothing seems particularly fishy or suspicious when you arrive at the library. On a Saturday in the middle of the day, there is a steady flow of pedestrian traffic in and out of the building.

You find Tanya after a few minutes of walking around the library. She's busy shelving books, and tries to play it cool when you walk up by not paying you too much attention and just focusing on the books in her hands. "The rest of the group is in a study room in the back," she says quietly. "I can't step away for too long or I'll get in trouble, but I'll try to swing by in a bit." She glances at you and smiles briefly, then gets back to her work.

Looking through the glass door into the study room, you see a table, a few chairs, a desktop computer in the corner, and the last possible group of people you'd expect to find in the same place. TJ's there, tapping away rapidly at his laptop, so absorbed in his task that he doesn't even look up. The other three you remember well, but haven't seen them in weeks. Brandon is a pyro, and even here in the library he's flicking a Zippo lighter on and off. He smirks as you approach and nods to you. Gretchen is a petite young woman with long brown hair, round-framed glasses, and a stack of books piled a foot high next to the one she's tearing through. And Thomas is an older heavyset man with thin, graying hair and a nervous smile. "Oh, greetings, Garrick!" he says to you as you enter the room.

Gretchen is still too busy reading to even look at you. Actually, you're not even sure she has realized yet that you're here.

TJ eventually pauses and looks up to you. "Hey," he offers casually in way of greeting. He closes his laptop and shoots an annoyed glare at Brandon. "Knock it off, dude." Brandon rolls his eyes but pockets his lighter. TJ continues, "We finally had a chance to get together and thought we'd see if you were free to talk. I feel like we're on the verge of figuring something out about these storms, it's just not clear."

**Kvitebjørn Kong Valemon** · 12-09-2016, 05:11 PM

LYNX
Active Sight:
Active Spells: None
Willpower: 4/5 Mana: 6/10
Conditions/Tilts: Steadfast
Beats: 3 - Arcane Beats: 4

Lynx remains wordless as they round off their meeting. He agrees to Moonstone's photoshoot and puts up a smile, and he gives them all farewells before hitting the bus on the way home.

Sex, huh...

-

Lynx finds himself in the woods as dusk falls. The rest of his day had gone by quietly as he had spent today alone in the flat - Ewan popped in to change some clothes for some occasion which he seemed excited to attend - and he looks around for Raven.

**Caladriu** · 12-10-2016, 02:55 AM

"Thank...you." What a flattering complete stranger Spade is! "I was thinking the same thing. It's in La Grange. Call again for the address when you're close."

He waves down Binder before he leaves. "Can I take you up on that offer of your ritual space? The summoning is tonight, and I have to host. I'd be glad if you were present."

---

That face.

He had forgotten it until now. Seeing it again, now, in Ragnar's future, is a punch to the gut. His eyes are wide as he gazes into the future, one hand on Ragnar's shoulder still.

Not mortal danger, but not safe. He should warn his new cabalmate- but. This is a potential lead. Someone who saw Hakim is potentially entering his future. And don't they say that warning people about their future is how you change it? If Ragnar backs out or changes his approach, the man might slip out of the stream of possibility. And after all, the point is to challenge him and force learning.

He pockets his things, obviously lost in thought. "Listen: keep your wits about you. There might be, um...well, I'll keep an eye on you. You won't be alone if you run into trouble."

---

Moonstone leads Ragnar to a CVS down the block. As they wander the aisles under artificial lighting, he quietly explains: "Challenge is how we learn. I was thinking all through coffee about it, trying to think like a mage. When you're put in a new situation, you can't do what you always do. You have to find a new path. New tools. If you must use Space, you will. Oh, here it is."

He buys a 99-cent bright red Superball off the rack in the toys aisle. They proceed to the nearest metro stop, climb the stairs, and sit on a bench. Moonstone draws out a length of black silk from his bag. "I'm going to blindfold you. Don't worry, I'm very good at it."

And he is. He hums a tune in the cool station as they wait for a train. "Hold out your hand."

He places the Superball in Ragnar's palm. "Don't look at. Feel where it is in Space. Find it. Got it? Give it back. It's in my pocket now. Do you still feel it?"

He opens his Space Sight for just a few seconds to watch and make sure he casts an appropriate Knowing spell. "All you need to do for this exercise is draw a line between two points. Point A is the ball. Point B is the lobby of Willis Tower. And we're going to take the train there right now. Easy. Hold my hand, please. I don't want you to get separated."

For the next half hour, they're boarding trains, riding them for a few stops, then abruptly getting off and crossing the platform to another line. It doesn't seem to serve any purpose beyond getting hopelessly lost. But Moonstone makes intermittent quiet conversation when they're sitting together. Not about magic, just...stuff. It's easier to be open when he has the other person at his mercy.

"When I first came to Chicago, I thought the L was the coolest thing. I was an absolute tourist- I'm from LA originally. It's all cars there."

"So, you have classes with Lynx and Ophis? How do you find them?...In another life, I did a dance program at UCLA, but I dropped out to come here. I've always been an awful student. I couldn't listen."

"I'm not like this because of a curse, just so you know. Or some kind of divine madness. I used to think that was it. I have what's called emotionally unstable personality disorder. It means I react badly to stress and, um, being surprised by other people. Just so you know."

---

He's been forming an Imago during their trip. If you drew their train-switching route on a map, it would be a line that eternally circled Willis Tower without ever getting any closer to it. Ouroborous would be proud. As the blue line slows down, he looks at the picture of Ragnar on his phone and instructs him: "Drop your defenses."

The hex takes hold as the train comes to a stop somewhere in the Loop. As soon as the door opens and people get up, he hurls the Superball out onto the elevated platform. Mercifully, it's facing the street, not another train. "Willis Tower. Follow the bouncing ball!"

---

He gets off a few stops later, once he's alone. Less of a walk that way.

**Thorbes** · 12-10-2016, 03:26 PM

Ouroboros Ophis
Mage Sight: Periphereal | Active Spells: None
Health: OOOOOO | WP: 6/6 | Mana: 9/10 | Wisdom: 7 (Understanding)

Conditions: None | Tilts: None | Beats: 7 | Arc. Beats: 1

-"Stormborne it is, then. Very appropiate, fitting"- The meeting ends and everyone goes their separate ways. Ouroboros just wanders to the nearest graveyard, he wants to test something that has been in his mind since Dante revealed to him how ghosts where apparently everywhere.

-"Ok, then"-he takes a long breath-"Let's do this"-he exhales and in doing so opens his Sight looking for Death resonance.

**Haberdasher** · 12-10-2016, 11:41 PM

RAGNAR

Mage Sight: None
Active Spells: None
Conditions/Tilts: Inspired, Lost
Health: OOOOOOOO I WP: 3/4 I Mana: 5/10 I Wisdom: 7
Beats: 0/5 I Arcane Beats: 4/5
Experiences: 1 I Arcane Experiences: 0

Ragnar crowds in with the others for the picture, throwing a friendly arm around Lynx's shoulder before separating and leaving with Moonstone.

Moonstone removes his hand from Ragnar's shoulder and his expression is troubled. "Listen: keep your wits about you. There might be, um...well, I'll keep an eye on you. You won't be alone if you run into trouble."

He used Time to look ahead. He must have seen something that concerns him. But what? Ragnar's lips begin to move, but he stops and begins to gather magic to himself so that he might look forward in time... but stops himself. No. Trust him. Even if you're angry with him, he's not an enemy. There's no reason for you to think he's trying to set you up. Whatever happens, Ragnar is just going to trust that Moonstone will be able to bail him out. And the Warlock has proven himself skilled in combat.

He arcs an eyebrow as Moonstone purchases the ball, but remains obediently silent. He remains silent as he is blindfolded.

"Hold out your hand." Ragnar obeys, and feels the sudden wait of the Superball. "Don't look at. Feel where it is in Space. Find it. Got it?"

Aha! Moonstone is probably going to move the ball around and make him sense it at varying distances, probably. He opens himself to magic and attempts to sense Space. Where there is Time, there must also be Space. Threads running in different directions to form the fabric of reality itself. How can you claim to understand Time if you don't understand Space?

It takes a good deal of focus to grasp Space, to feel the ball in his hand. Oh, he definitely needs to practice Space.

"Give it back. It's in my pocket now. Do you still feel it?"

Ragnar reaches out, and sure enough, the ball is in Moonstone's pocket, almost like he reached his hand in to find it. He allows himself a small, pleased smile. "Oh, yeah."

"All you need to do for this exercise is draw a line between two points. Point A is the ball. Point B is the lobby of Willis Tower. And we're going to take the train there right now. Easy. Hold my hand, please. I don't want you to get separated."

Okay. Slightly more complicated than he thought. But it shouldn't been too difficult. But he can't help but get just a tad snarky. "Why worry? I'm going to be able to sense that thing for the next hour from a building away."

"When I first came to Chicago, I thought the L was the coolest thing. I was an absolute tourist- I'm from LA originally. It's all cars there."

"I'm from a small town in Amish country in Pennsylvania. It's the same thing. Expect, you know, less congested."

"So, you have classes with Lynx and Ophis? How do you find them?...In another life, I did a dance program at UCLA, but I dropped out to come here. I've always been an awful student. I couldn't listen."

"Lynx is... sweet. He's straightforward and honest. He doesn't seem to like politics and conflict. I hope he finds an Order that's a good fit. The Mysterium is pretty apolitical, right? Ophis is still a bit of an unknown to me. But I'm surprised he knows Phoenix. Speaking of which..." he lowers his voice. "He's had training somewhere. Could he have been a Sleepwalker? Or is he something else entirely?"

"I'm not like this because of a curse, just so you know. Or some kind of divine madness. I used to think that was it. I have what's called emotionally unstable personality disorder. It means I react badly to stress and, um, being surprised by other people. Just so you know."

So he does have a disorder. Good to know.

Then the door opens, and then the city turns into a kaleidoscope. Okay. Do not meddle in the affairs of Warlocks, because they will give you such a freaking headache.

"Willis Tower. Follow the bouncing ball!"

Okay, he's going to need as much help as he can get. He begins tugging at the strings of Fate, trying to tether himself to the ball that he senses is bouncing away even as he casts.

Oh, come on.

He rushes after the ball, trying to keep in range of it. Follow the bouncing red ball, follow the bouncing red ball. Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow the bouncing red ball.

**Caladriu** · 12-11-2016, 05:17 PM

Moonstone gets off at the next stop. He's going to have a learning experience of his own by seeing how well he can shadow Ragnar at a distance during his ordeal.

As he's leaving the station, he falls in behind a crowd of people pushing toward the exit. Drawing on their mutual anonymity as city-dwellers, he forms an Imago to make himself just another generic face in the crowd, and eventually no one at all.

The Lie bites back, but the magic takes hold. Once he gets out to the street, he takes out his mirror and phone and traces circles with his finger until the glass grows cloudy.

**crapcarp** · 12-14-2016, 10:18 AM

"Hey guys," I greet as I enter the study room. I skim through the pages of my book, waiting when the others are ready.

"We finally had a chance to get together and thought we'd see if you were free to talk. I feel like we're on the verge of figuring something out about these storms, it's just not clear."

"Are the storms anything but clear?" I joke, "But seriously, what have you guys found?"

**MagicSwordsman** · 12-15-2016, 03:45 PM

BINDER
Willpower: 4/7 Mana: 9/10 Health: LOOOOOO
[Shaken]
Mage Sight: Peripheral
Beats: 0 Arcane Beats: 2

"Can I take you up on that offer of your ritual space? The summoning is tonight, and I have to host. I'd be glad if you were present."

Binder nods. "Absolutely. Say around midnight? That'll let me make sure my absence from home isn't noticed."

**rwknoll** · 12-18-2016, 01:06 AM

Lynx
Dusk settles peacefully on La Grange. It's a pleasant evening as you enter Bemis Woods, the forest preserves on the north side of La Grange where you met Raven before. The forest is quiet, but you're not alone as you enter the trails leading into the woods; you occasionally pass by the occasional jogger or couple taking an evening stroll. You notice that most of the people you pass are leaving the forest rather than traveling in your direction. Not many people seem to want to be here in the evening.

Your ears pick up a faint howl in the distance. You pass a few signs warning of coyotes, but see nothing.

After about half an hour of walking into the woods without any sign of Raven, you come across Salt Creek, located at the heart of Bemis Woods. The hairs on the back of your neck rise as a chill passes down your spine, just as a distinct odor begins to fills your nose on your Periphery. The sensation grows, indicating something -- or some things -- supernatural in your presence.

"You feel them, don't you?" Raven speaks softly to you, making only a quiet rustle as she glides up to you from the woods. Your new mentor is cloaked in a simple brown robe, held around her body with a forest green rope belt. "Spirits are not native to the Fallen World, but they often come here. To an Apprentice of Spirit, you can instinctively sense their very presence."

Raven smiles and turns to you. "Tonight, I will teach you some of the essential tools at a Shaman's disposal. Politics must wait. It is critical that you learn about spirits, as it will aid you and your allies immensely." She purses her lips thoughtfully. "You are not yet an initiate of the Mysterium, but since you are interested in joining, I will offer you a glimpse of the knowledge you can gain from us."

Raven takes a breath and begins to speak to you, but the sounds coming from her mouth are like nothing you've ever heard in English or Norwegian. The words sound like gibberish, but as you hear them, your Periphery explodes with colors, senses, and emotions. It's like communicating in imagery rather than words, but somehow your Awakened mind instinctively translates the symbolic intent of her speech. "You must command the world with the Supernal tongue."

Raven asks you to sit on a bench in a secluded part of the woods overlooking the creek. For the next hour, she carefully instructs you on the uses of High Speech. It feels awkward and foreign, but with her guidance, you gradually find yourself growing accustomed to this new form of speech. Somehow, it feels natural to you, just waiting for an opportunity to be unleashed.

Your mentor nods and smiles. "I think you are ready to try it. Form a spell in your mind's eye, and chant in High Speech to imbue the magic with Supernal symbolism." She watches you closely with a critical eye to study the results of your spellcasting attempt.

Moonstone
Your spell snaps into place, and although you can't see the world through the hex that you've created for Ragnar, your Imago is firmly held in your mind. You watch your new cabalmate leave the train, and easily find yourself lost in thought about the man from your glimpse into Ragnar's very near future.

You wince in pain at the Paradox from your spellcasting, but the spell thankfully takes hold. Within moments, everyone nearby looks away from you, subconsciously moving out of your way but immediately forgetting you were ever there. You're just another face in the crowd.

As you exit the train and begin to cast your own Space magic, you press your will against the symbolic connections tying you to Ragnar the way a guitarist might pluck a string. But your efforts slip, and interference from your own Space hex on Ragnar creates dissonance. The magic reverberates, and suddenly you find yourself in the very urban labyrinth you have placed Ragnar in. The buildings shrink and then grow and loom over you, and car horns sound from everywhere at once as you hopelessly spin in a circle. You're utterly lost.

Ragnar
You step off the train as Moonstone throws the ball, and find yourself in a world that warps all sense of physics and logic. The streets seem to shrink and expand, turning without moving, and buildings collapse and sprout new skyscrapers. The sensation is dizzying.

And in the midst of the illusion gripping you, through the chaos and the confusion before you eyes, you sense the ball with perfect clarity. You know which way it's moving, so you try to move in that direction -- and suddenly find yourself moving in multiple directions at once. The ball moves farther and farther away as it bounces down the street, but you struggle to make your way through the city towards it. Knowing precisely where you need to go, but finding yourself lost in a maze of where exactly "there" is, threatens to send your mind into apoplexy.

You attempt to wrap good luck like a Fate-woven blanket around you, but in your confusion, the spell collapses and the Lie cuts into you.

Ouroboros Ophis
When you leave the cafe, you find yourself drawn by a strong desire to travel to a cemetery. Everything Dante has taught you so far has left you with a thirst you haven't been able to quench. You hop on a train at the Chicago Metra station again by the church and head north before you really know where you're headed. As you travel north to Uptown, you find yourself heading to the Graceland Cemetery, a historic 19th century graveyard with many notable people interred there, including old several mayors of Chicago.

Even before you walk through the main entrance, your skin is tingling and the hairs on your neck are rising. With your budding knowledge of Death and recent exposure to ghosts, you instinctively associate this sensation with the presence of ghosts around you. That sensation intensifies as you enter the graveyard, and even though it's sunny on this late summer afternoon, you feel a chill pass down your spine.

When you open your Sight through the lens of your Path to Stygia, the Fallen World fades and the ghosts appear around you. As earlier with Dante, these ghosts seem unaware of, or unresponsive to, their immediate surroundings. There is a pure quality of death here, a kind of quiet serenity resting on the entire premises. You wander down the sidewalks through the cemetery, all but oblivious to the living beings wandering past you as you drink in the resonance of this cemetery.

You walk by a largue mausoleum in a secluded area of the cemetery, and your eyes are drawn to an intricate stone carving of a snake coiled around a door handle. You walk towards the mausoleum and notice a change in your Periphery, a different quality to the peaceful but stale smell of Death; to your Sight, here you see the air ripple in a shadowed crevice behind the tomb. It appears to form a door, which to your eyes appears to consume all light falling on it.

As you study the door, you see a ghost of some middle-aged woman whom you don't recognize slowly walk up to the doorway. She reaches out her hands and steps forward, and the shadows engulf her.

Phoenix
Thomas smiles and opens his mouth to reply, but Brandon snorts and cuts in. "A fat load of horse shit, that's what we've found, if you ask me," He either ignores or doesn't notice TJ's eye roll or Thomas' hurt expression at being interrupted. "We've been going over all of this for weeks. We already know the weather here is shitty. Anyone who's ever visited Chicago knows that. And yeah, bad things happen to people after a lot of the weirdest storms. But what was so special about this big one?"

Frowning, Thomas pauses thoughtfully and begins to reply when Gretchen suddenly and loudly sighs in exasperation, startling the older man. "This doesn't make any sense," she complains. She moves a book over and you notice she has a notepad and pencil on the table, covered in complex formulas and mathematic equations that you couldn't even begin to recreate. Gretchen looks like she's barely 18. "All weather patterns should be largely predictable, at least to a calculable degree for the immediate future. But the algorithms I'm using simply can't account for sufficient variance in these specific weather patterns." She furrows her eyebrows and adjusts her glasses while muttering under her breath, then begins to quickly erase some of her writing. "Perhaps if I use the Fibonacci sequence..."

TJ and Brandon start to bicker about "the mission" they're on, and Gretchen seems like she's in her own world as she chews on her lower lip and rapidly does some calculations. Just as Tanya walks up to the door and quietly steps in, Thomas finally slams the table with a fist and announces angrily, "I saw him again!"

The room suddenly goes quiet as TJ and Brandon stop their argument mid-sentence, and Gretchen even pauses in her work to look up at Thomas with a frown. From her place leaning against the wall, Tanya smiles and crosses her arms, looking at the older man. Thomas blinks and blushes, but he continues earnestly, "I swear I saw the man again! This was one of those people I saw immediately after that terrible storm almost two weeks ago, the one who wears the fancy suits. He was looking at one of the bodies the police discovered. I know I've got the picture somewhere..."

As Thomas clumsily fishes his phone out of his pocket, he explains, "I was at mass this morning at Saint John Cantius -- it's a lovely place, I've been going there for years, my sons were baptized there -- anyway, I was at mass and when I left, I saw there were some people going to some room blocked off for a private event. And I saw him! Look, this is his picture. Garrick, don't you think this could mean something?"

Thomas hands over his phone to you. It's an older flip phone, and the image screen is laughably small. But as best as you can tell, the picture looks remarkably like Valentine.

Binder
Your afternoon passes without incident, thankfully. A quick search of the house when you return home reveals that Daisy and Forest are playing a board game in the living room. Forest is cheering enthusiastically and hopping around the room, causing Daisy to smirk and shake her head with amusement. She catches you looking in her direction and smiles warmly to you in greeting. "Welcome home! How was the networking conference? Did it go as well as you hoped? Forest and I were just playing some games, but he's too smart for his own good. I guess he takes after his father," she winks.

Later, after you and Daisy read bedtime stories to Forest and put him to bed, you and Daisy spend some time relaxing in the living room. During your conversation about your day, she asks, "How have things been going at the bookstore, Marlin? I feel like we haven't talked about it very much lately. It seems like you've had a lot going on with the business lately. Is everything okay?" She doesn't necessarily seem concerned, just curious.

**Kvitebjørn Kong Valemon** · 12-18-2016, 07:21 AM

LYNX
Active Sight:
Active Spells: None
Willpower: 3/5 (one spent during post, was at 4) Mana: 6/10
Conditions/Tilts: Steadfast
Beats: 3 - Arcane Beats: 4

Lynx listens eagerly, wordlessly to Raven, nodding in acknowledgement of the presence of Spirits. He revels in the realisation that he finally has somebody who gets it! He practises the strange tongue to the best of his ability, noting that each word is only what it is, not open to interpretation - noting that each word is truth.

"I think you are ready to try it. Form a spell in your mind's eye, and chant in High Speech to imbue the magic with Supernal symbolism."

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. I already know what I want to sense. He touches his pendant, his finger caressing the feline representation of his namesake. He expands his senses as far as he can, tapping into the pulse of life that only nature can represent, and he represents his intent through the Primal High Speech.

**rwknoll** · 12-18-2016, 12:23 PM

Lynx
You take a deep breath and begin to speak using this new form of language. You firmly use High Speech to create vocal images of your will.

As the spell settles, the forest explodes in life. Scents of all kinds of creatures fill your nose. You feel your heart beat in rhythm with the forest, and it echoes with the hearts of all the beasts in a large radius around you. Instinctively, you feel the bats and owls flying through the trees hunting prey, the deer lapping water from the creek, the squirrels and snakes and field mice roaming through the woods. There is so much life here that it's nearly overwhelming.

Raven has been watching you closely, and at your reaction to the spell taking effect, she nods decisively and smiles again. "Oh, excellent, young cub. You must continue to practice this tool so it can serve you well. But remember, you must chant long enough to form the Speech in a meaningful way, so be careful when you are in distress."

Raven takes a seat beside you on the bench and says, "Some of the Mystagogue's best scholars believe that the High Speech is in ways related to the tongue of the spirits. It shares some qualities, but it is distantly related enough that we must use other magic or abilities to understand their native language." She frowns as if annoyed by that inconvenience. "Now, tell me. What do you know about spirits? What have you learned already from your own studies and your first journey to the Primal Wild?"

**Caladriu** · 12-18-2016, 01:20 PM

Moonstone
Peripheral Sight | Spells: Urban Jungle (on Ragnar, scene duration), Incognito Presence (self, scene duration)
Conditions: Divergent (Passive), Guilty, Triumphant, Informed (Rumors), Lost [-1 Strength until evening]
Health: BOOOOO | Willpower: 7/8 | Mana: 6/10 | Beats: 4/5 | Arcane Beats: 2/5

Invisible, and utterly lost. Breath catching in his chest. Suddenly realizing how much he doesn't know, how far he's out of his depth. Don't be a lifeguard if you can't pass the swim test!

He stumbles away from a speeding car that seems to come from all directions. The drivers can't see him, of course. What do they say about labyrinths? If he can just get to a solid wall, he'll be able to push through. He tries to navigate to a sidewalk and run his hands along an edifice without colliding with anyone in the kaleidoscope.

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[IC] [Mage: the Awakening 2E] The Supernal Suburbia

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