Your name is Henry Cobbledick and you're in an office in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm that you work for handles the accounts of a bunch of small businesses in the city. It's not an exciting job, but it pays the bills.With thirty-five years and an unhealthy paunch under your belt, a bachelor's degree in business administration, and a severe case of male pattern baldness, it's not like you're suited for anything else. The last time that you worked out was when you adjusted the position of your couch last week. The last time that you spoke to someone that cares about you was when you called your mom a couple of months ago. The last time that anyone showed any romantic interest in you was back in college, over a decade ago.It's not much of a life, but you don't let your depressing circumstances distract you from your interests.Whenever the floor manager isn't peeking over your shoulder, you often browse all sorts of strange material on your laptop. You escape from the banality of your existence by indulging in esoterica, by hoarding occult knowledge and committing all manner of peculiare symbols to memory. Every now and then, when your commitment to your interests impacts your performance, you have to go through a disciplinary procedure, but you remain undeterred in your pursuit of the unusual.Where in particular do your interests lie?>Neopaganism. You practise a mishmash of ancient European heathenry that incorporates Ásatrú, Fyrnsidu, Irminism and so much more.>Thelema. Every day, you strive to distance yourself from your material reality so that you might follow your True Will and commune with your inner daimon.>Goetia. You own a copy of the Lemegeton and have committed many of the seals, circles and sigils that it contains to memory.>Chaos magic. The potent psychic energy that all men possess can achieve anything, if it is unshackled from rigid beliefs and channelled with subconscious intent.>Sex magic. You consider yourself an initiate of the Ordo Templi Orientis and have already unlocked multiple chakras through sexual transmutation.>Martial arts. Having taught yourself Aikido, Baguazhang and Muay Thai, you have merged them to create a 'unique' style of your own.>Alchemy. With your knowledge, you can turn water into wine, lead into gold, and so much more. If only you had access to the right equipment.>Reaction-free technology. Newtonian mechanics are a lie. You know of technology that could make humanity an inter-galactic species within a century.>Syncretic heresy. You blend various heresies into a unique form of Christianity, including Monarchianism, Antinomianism and of course, Gnosticism. >You may choose more than one.
>>6428465>Martial arts. Having taught yourself Aikido, Baguazhang and Muay Thai, you have merged them to create a 'unique' style of your own.And>Alchemy. With your knowledge, you can turn water into wine, lead into gold, and so much more. If only you had access to the right equipment.Our skin will be as gold, our bones will be as jade, our blood will be quicksilver, and our spirit will become a neverending serpent...
>>6428465>>Alchemy. With your knowledge, you can turn water into wine, lead into gold, and so much more. If only you had access to the right equipment.>>6428465>>Reaction-free technology. Newtonian mechanics are a lie. You know of technology that could make humanity an inter-galactic species within a century.>>6428465>>Martial arts. Having taught yourself Aikido, Baguazhang and Muay Thai, you have merged them to create a 'unique' style of your own.
>>6428465>Martial arts. Having taught yourself Aikido, Baguazhang and Muay Thai, you have merged them to create a 'unique' style of your own.>Alchemy. With your knowledge, you can turn water into wine, lead into gold, and so much more. If only you had access to the right equipment.>Reaction-free technology. Newtonian mechanics are a lie. You know of technology that could make humanity an inter-galactic species within a century.Wa-POW
>>6428465>Alchemy. With your knowledge, you can turn water into wine, lead into gold, and so much more. If only you had access to the right equipment.>Goetia. You own a copy of the Lemegeton and have committed many of the seals, circles and sigils that it contains to memory.Solomon had his fun but now it's our turn to use these demons
>>6428465>Reaction-free technology. Newtonian mechanics are a lie. You know of technology that could make humanity an inter-galactic species within a century.Georgia represent
>Locking the vote there. Going with Martial Arts, Alchemy, and Reaction-Free Technology.
>>6428465>>Reaction-free technology. Newtonian mechanics are a lie. You know of technology that could make humanity an inter-galactic species within a century.
Your interests are eclectic, to say the least.You have studied numerous martial arts. At the very least, you have pored over hundreds of hours of instructional videos over YouTube. Though you've never had to use them against anyone, you've practised all manner of exercises, routines and techniques within the comfort of your apartment. You're quietly confident that you could defend yourself against almost anyone, if push came to shove.Especially if you use alchemical means to enhance yourself. Your mind is a library of alchemical symbols and you're gradually learning how they interact, and how you might use them to enhance your body. In fact, you're quite sure that you've reversed your hair loss, by ingesting what you believe to be Dutasteride that you've concocted using the makeshift lab in your kitchen.Finally, you fervently believe that a secret society that governs the world is engaging in the suppression of free energy technology. You've successfully made a replica of the Dean drive, so you know for a fact that Newton's laws of motion and the laws of thermodynamics are bullshit. The shadow government just wants to keep control by pretending that cheap energy production is impossible.These interests of yours overlap in a few weird and wonderful way. By unlocking your dāntián through meditation, you could transform your body into a bioreactor and use your metabolism to catalyse chemical processes that would kill an ordinary man. You are certain that there are particular alchemical compounds capable of producing infinite energy, that would bring an end to scarcity. You've even begun working on the schematics for a faster-than-light drive that uses an alchemically-enhanced übermensch in the throes of zuòwàng as its engine, but your work is far from complete.Despite all of your esoteric interests, you remain Henry Cobbledick, the balding and out-of-shape thirty-five year old accountant. As far as the real world is concerned, you are just a boring, lonely man.It's a warm early summer afternoon, around eighty degrees with no air conditioning. The floor management insists that there's just no room in the energy budget for it this year. She's a short shrew of a woman, with mousy brown hair bound up in a too-tight bun that pulls her scalp taut. A shapeless business suit hangs off of her body, which has been left painfully skinny by months of Ozempic. You can see her now, talking a pair of sharply-dressed men by the door to the stairwell – one black, one white, both built like brick shithouses. Their black suits are perfectly tailored for their bodies, while their eyes are hidden behind mirrored sunglasses. You've not seen anyone like them around the office before.
Can our name be Bishop Wong
Your attention shifts back to the tabs that you have open on your laptop, since she's distracted. You're currently researching daoyin breathing exercises and the medicinal properties of sal ammoniac. Time will tell if the information will be useful at all, but there's nothing wrong with the accumulation of knowledge for its own sake.What is it that drives you, though? Why have you devoted thousands of hours of your adult life to the study of interests that are decried as pseudoscience and superstitious nonsense? There has to be a reason for it.>Escapism. There has to be more to life than the grind, than the soul-crushing ennui that threatens to break your spirit every day. You will do anything to become something or someone greater than Henry Cobbledick.>Certainty. Something clicked when you first read about neigong, chrysopoeia and stiction drives. Ever since then, you have been confident that you have discovered the true inner workings of the universe.>Curiosity. Your interests are nothing more the road that you walk in order to understand the deeper mysteries of the cosmos. They are the pathway to learning more about the terrible truths that govern existence.>Altruism. You don't do this for yourself, you do this for the people. You yearn to lead the masses down the path to enlightenment, to free them from scarcity and show them how to create limitless energy for themselves.
>>6428623>Altruism. You don't do this for yourself, you do this for the people. You yearn to lead the masses down the path to enlightenment, to free them from scarcity and show them how to create limitless energy for themselves.I am the jade and ivory emperor. I am the tiny god that dances within the details. I am the hand that stems the tide of entropy.
Henry must be worshipped. He will suplex a an armored personnel carrier and dodge bullets if that is necessary. The people will be enlightened to our peaceful ways... By force...
>>6428623>>Altruism. You don't do this for yourself, you do this for the people. You yearn to lead the masses down the path to enlightenment, to free them from scarcity and show them how to create limitless energy for themselves.
>>6428623>>Certainty. Something clicked when you first read about neigong, chrysopoeia and stiction drives. Ever since then, you have been confident that you have discovered the true inner workings of the universe.>Altruism. You don't do this for yourself, you do this for the people. You yearn to lead the masses down the path to enlightenment, to free them from scarcity and show them how to create limitless energy for themselves.We are obviously a genius, and we must bring enlightenment to the uninitiated masses.
>>6428623>Altruism. You don't do this for yourself, you do this for the people. You yearn to lead the masses down the path to enlightenment, to free them from scarcity and show them how to create limitless energy for themselves.Looks like a fun quest. Mage: The Ascension I guess? Atleast by the art I would think.
History will remember Henry Cobbledick as a man of the people. You shall be one of the leading figures of the Free Energy Revolution. When the people of Georgia rise up against the shadow government, every man and woman shall be blessed with stone skin and iron fists, thanks to your teachings. Each and every one of them shall learn how to imbue reality with their qi, and liberate the universe from the tyranny of the so-called laws of physics. As soon as you unlock these secrets for yourself, you will share them with those who you consider worthy. Unfortunately, your dreams of toppling the Energy Elite are disturbed when you see the floor manager approaches your desk. While you hurry about closing the various tabs and clearing out your history, Elizabeth Flemming purses her lips with such severity that they seem like they're about to collapse into a singularity. Thankfully, by the time that she arrives, you've gotten rid of all of the evidence of your research. As far as she's concerned, you were hard at work.It is only then that you take notice of the two meaty men standing behind her, immaculately groomed and utterly devoid of emotion.“Henry, these men are here to speak with you. I believe that they're from some sort of government agency..?”“That is correct, ma'am.” The black agent reaches into the depths of his suit and pulls free a badge, complete with his ID. Your eyes glaze over as soon as you try to read the acronyms written on the badge, but somehow you know that whatever department he comes from, it's serious business. The pit in your stomach tells you that you better do whatever they say.“Uh, how can I help you, gentlemen?” The voice of Henry Cobbledick, Master of Qigong, Philosopher of Transmutation and Free Energy Revolutionary, wavers like a reed in the wind. You sound as feeble as you look next to these black-clad giants, craning your neck in order to look up at them from your seat.“Agent Jameson, at your service,” says the white agent. He gestures to his comrade. “This is Agent Carmichael. If you would come with us, we have some questions for you.”“I hope this won't take long.” Elizabeth can't stop a little petulance from creeping into her tone. “Mister Cobbledick is behind schedule on his current assignment.” Of course your manager has to bust your balls, even when you're being accosted by spooks.“As long as he cooperates, there won't be a problem, ma'am.” The black agent speaks without looking away from you, even as he circles around to stand to your right, while his colleague remains on your left. While they wait for your compliance, they loom over you, their mere presence threatening you with great violence.>Comply. Let's be honest, you're not in any position to refuse the commands of these men.>Question them. You're not going anywhere until you know exactly what they want to discuss.>Fight for your life. They are clearly goons of the shadow government, here to silence you.
>>6428667>Question them. You're not going anywhere until you know exactly what they want to discuss.The damn feds are here
>>6428667>Question them. You're not going anywhere until you know exactly what they want to discuss.We totally consider ourselves a modern master of the Daoist Taiqing tradition, right? Thers nothing to fear from these common goons.
>>6428667>Question them. You're not going anywhere until you know exactly what they want to discuss.Serpents in the garden. I have a mind like a brilliant diamond. You beasts and your low cunning will not impede the glorious revolution.
“Hold on, I haven't agreed to anything.” Your head is swimming. What could they possibly want with you? You're just a normal man, doing his job. Why are two thugs straight out of a spy thriller trying to drag you out of your workplace? “Am I under arrest or something? Do you have a warrant? Does this have something to do with my research, what's even going on here?!”You can't keep a little shrill anxiety from creeping into your voice, as you belt out question after question. Agent Carmichael lifts the cuff of his jacket to his mouth and murmurs something into his sleeve, his voice low enough that you can't parse the words. As for Agent Jameson, with a heavy hand and fingers easily twice the width of yours, he grasps your shoulder. Though you try to shrug him off, his grip is like iron.“Mister Cobbledick, it is in your best interest to comply with our request.” His tone is flat and devoid of anything close to emotion. “As long as you cooperate, there won't be a problem.”“Just wait a second! I didn't see your badge for more than a couple of seconds, who do you even work for?! If you just want to ask me questions, why can't you ask me them here? I have rights!”You reach for Agent Jameson's wrist and apply pressure on his lieque, to prevent qi from travelling through his lung meridian to his hand, so that his grip might loosen. It doesn't work. If anything, his grasp tightens. To make matters worse, he moves to seize your left arm while the other agent comes in from the right, to grab your other arm and assist his colleague with dragging you out of your chair.“It is in your best interest to comply, Mister Cobbledick.” Agent Carmichael sounds just as passive and unaffected as Agent Jameson. No one in the office is remotely interested in helping you. Your floor manager has already staggered backwards, her eyes bulging behind thick glasses. Like the others, all she dares to do is watch the spectacle unfold.Do you stand any chance of resisting these goons?>I want three rolls of dice+1d100 and I will accept the highest roll. Typically, the higher the roll, the better, but in this case, you need to roll 90 or higher. Just beating the target number is all that counts this time.
Rolled 87 (1d100)>>6428767Hell yea we do
Rolled 38 (1d100)>>6428767Divinity will come, maybe not now, but it will come.
Rolled 46 (1d100)>>6428767I am like the water that reduces the mountain. I am like the wind in the darkness of the deepest cave.
You squirm and twist your body about, in an effort to replicate the techniques that you have observed countless times on YouTube. You try to clear your mind and loosen your body, to relax every limb and flop free from their grasp like a slippery noodle, but it's impossible for you to shake off the panic that's growing inside of you.To your credit, the men in black actually struggle to lift you from your seat, as you wriggle around like a fat little snake. In the end however, they successfully manage to drag you from your chair and towards the stairwell. All you can do is uselessly kick your legs as they haul you along like so much baggage.“Do not resist, Mister Cobbledick. It is in your best interest to comply.”The door to the stairwell swings open as you are dragged through its threshold. The last thing that you see before it slams shut are the gawking faces of your colleagues, bug-eyed and bewildered by the debacle, yet too sheepish and compliant to do anything about your abduction. Your feet drag across the tacky vinyl flooring, bumping against every step as you're hauled down them. Despite your best attempts to think of an argument that would convince your captors to release you, all you can do is splutter and whine.Yet in your hour of need, you are not alone.Something that has been slumbering in the back of your mind since the day you were born begins to manifest. You can feel a chrysalis within your brain break apart as something emerges from it, blossoming into being before your very eyes. Neither of the agents react to its presence, but you can't help but fall still as you witness the thought-form that coalesces and drifts alongside you. It exists only within your mind, or rather, as an extension of it.But what is it?>Siddhartha Gautama. The Buddha himself shall lead you to enlightenment, if you are able to parse his many koans.>Tanuki. A fat-bellied racoon dog with majestic testicles shall serve as your guide, if you can handle his penchant for trickery.>Nikola Tesla. The first Free Energy Revolutionary, whose great works you shall inevitably complete. Thomas Edison, eat your heart out.>Future You. Many years from now, you will project your consciousness back to this moment, to guide yourself to greatness. Don't think too hard about it.>Cleopatra. The alchemist, not the Queen of Egypt. With her aid, you shall be able to reproduce her philosopher's stone.>The Manuscript. Everywhere you look, there are now alchemical symbols. In order to master this world, you must decipher them.
>>6428829>Nikola Tesla. The first Free Energy Revolutionary, whose great works you shall inevitably complete. Thomas Edison, eat your heart out.SAVE US TESLA
>>6428829>Tanuki. A fat-bellied racoon dog with majestic testicles shall serve as your guide, if you can handle his penchant for trickery.I summon thee, psychopomp, imbue my hands with the iron of the bones of the Earth.
>>6428829>>Cleopatra. The alchemist, not the Queen of Egypt. With her aid, you shall be able to reproduce her philosopher's stone.
>>6428829>Cleopatra. The alchemist, not the Queen of Egypt. With her aid, you shall be able to reproduce her philosopher's stone.I would have preferred Tao Hongjing but at least she is an accomplished alchemist.
>Locking the vote there. Going with Cleopatra the Alchemist.
Unlike the legendary Queen of Egypt, the less famous Cleopatra the Alchemist is not particularly beautiful. Her homely figure drifts through the air before you, on currents unseen. A white robe billows all around her, while she leaves behind a heady aroma of sulphur and aroma that makes your nose sting. Her hands are stained with an array of vibrant colours, yet you find that your eyes slip off of her face like water off of a lotus leaf.“Behold the truth of Empedocles. What happens now has occurred before, and will occur for evermore.”She does not have a single voice. When her lips open, a host of women speak all at once. You can even hear a few men among them, but the chorus is predominantly feminine. As for the tone with which she speaks, it is detached yet sympathetic, understanding yet resigned. Her voices are those of men and women who have reconciled with the inevitable.“I-I don't understand...”You manage to mumble those words as you gaze upon Cleopatra, but the two brutes hauling you along take no notice. By this point, your legs are battered and bruised from being dragged down several flights of stairs. Even if you were released, you doubt that you would be able to stand upright, let alone walk properly after being bashed against so many steps.Thankfully, the agony comes to an end when their feet hit the first floor and you are pulled along a level surface instead, out of a fire exit and into the warmth of Atlanta. The light of the naked sun stings your eyes and for a moment, you fear that Cleopatra might vanish when you are carried out into the street beyond your office. She is still there, an apparition drifting before you, unseen by your captors or by the bemused bystanders who look on and do nothing. Ahead, an unmarked white van awaits, by which two more black-clad agents stand, identical to the goons who captured you. Once they haul you inside, God only knows what will happen to you.“You will witness the Serpent in its entirety. Cling to the illusions of choice and time if that is your wish, but you will not remain in this larval state forever. Metamorphosis is inevitable. Stasis is impossible.”The vision of Cleopatra begins to waver. You have mere moments before she evaporates, leaving you alone in the custody of these men in black. This might be your only chance to question her... or to metamorphose.>Remain silent. You don't want to risk the ire of your captors by letting them know that you're going insane, and seeing things that aren't there.>Demand knowledge from Cleopatra. What does she mean by the Serpent? How is she appearing before you like this? What is going on?>Behold the Ouroboros. This will change everything. If you do not choose this option now, it will become available again at a later point in time.
>>6429034>Behold the Ouroboros. This will change everything. If you do not choose this option now, it will become available again at a later point in time.Time to perceive the snake, I guess.
>>6429034>>Behold the Ouroboros. This will change everything. If you do not choose this option now, it will become available again at a later point in time
>>6429034>Behold the Ouroboros. This will change everything. If you do not choose this option now, it will become available again at a later point in time.Snek tiem
>>6429034>>Demand knowledge from Cleopatra. What does she mean by the Serpent? How is she appearing before you like this? What is going on?Doubt would be important, if we truly were destined to be great, we wouldn't blindly submit to fate, whether it seems good or bad
>Locking the vote there. Going with the Ouroboros.
It's now or never. In spite of the words of Cleopatra, you cannot be certain that you would ever see daylight again, if you allow yourself to be thrown into the back of that van. One of the agents waiting by the vehicle has his hand by his temple, the tips of his fingers pressed against the frame of his glasses. He is the first of the thugs to react to the phantasmal presence of the Egyptian. His brow furrows and he bellows something at his comrades, yet you cannot make out the words. You can barely see him at all.“Show me,” you mumble, without any regard for your captors. The apparition floating before you offers no words, only a sad smile as she takes your face in her stained hands. Her ephemeral form is already disintegrating, yet the integrity of her being lasts long enough for her to plant a tender kiss against your brow. When her lips part from your skin, Cleopatra dissolves into nothing, her essence becoming one with yours once more.Everything around you, every agent and every bystander, every car and every street light, every leaf and every brick, explodes.Each of the men standing to either side of you, each grasping an arm, splits into a thousand parts, each of which splits into a thousand more. Everything else that you see before you undergoes the same division, unravelling into their constituent parts. All of existence is atomised, until all that is left is a stream of particles so numerous that they might just be infinite, a shining river running through nothing. Unbound and unburdened, you reach out to run your hand through the particulate flow, only to find that it is solid.For each atom that you see before you is in actuality a scale, to which you are equal in size.Each of these plates is etched with an array of symbols unlike anything you have seen, yet you find yourself gifted with an innate understanding of what has been written. You know what each of these scales was, is, and shall be.You pull away from the river, to view it from a greater vantage point. For what feels like a kalpa, you withdraw into the void, yet the stream is so vast that your perception of it scarcely changes. Only after an eternity, are you able to perceive that the scales do not flow along a flat plane. They curve into the shape of a vast cylinder, of a diameter that defies measurement. The further you retreat, the clearer it becomes that the scaled structure bends, curving until it forms a torus of indescribable proportions. Finally, you are able to see all of it, everything, in its totality.You are able to behold its innumerable scales, you are able to observe the shape of its majestic skull, you are able to witness its eyes, each of which is a luminous sun that bears the sign of aether. It is a serpent, biting its own tail.It is the Serpent. It is One and it is All. One is All and through it is All, and by it is All, for if it is not All, All is Nothing.
Yet though it is One, it is not singular. It is four. You bear witness to three more sets of eyes, and you see that Báilóng bites the tail of Zhūlóng, who bites the tail of Qīnglóng, who bites the tail of Hēilóng, who bites the tail of Báilóng. Yet where is Huánglóng? Why does the Yellow Emperor not take his place among the Wǔfāng Shàngdì?You gaze into the many eyes of the Ouroboros that is the Four Dragon Kings, and you see yourself, adrift in the emptiness. You see Henry Cobbledick. You see Cleopatra the Alchemist. You see Abu Bakr al-Razi. You see Marie Meurdrac. You see Tao Hongjing. You see Sun Bu'er. You see the single scale that you were, are and shall always be. You turn your gaze from yourself and watch as the Serpent turns, in its futile quest to consume itself.Free from the hide of Lúnhuí, you are aware of all things. You know the wound that lies on the Serpent's body, of the void where you should be. You know the position of each scale that defines the agents who have accosted you. You know what is etched on every plate, and that you may rewrite what is written, if you so choose.As the Ouroboros turns, you can perceive that your assailants are pinning your earthly form to the ground. One of them is reaching for his sidearm, hidden beneath his jacket. Another is producing restraints made from a curious alloy of gold and silver. You know their minds, and that they are agents of stasis. They believe that they can stop the Serpent from turning, that the Ouroboros will ever release its tail from its jaws. They believe that they can dethrone the Dragon Kings.They couldn't be more wrong.>You are Awakening. While your Awakening is underway, each option will have a Sphere associated with it – one of nine metaphysical elements of reality. Once your Awakening is over, you will be limited to the Spheres that you have chosen. The more times that you select a single Sphere, the more powerful your mastery of that Sphere shall be.>Reverse the rotation of the Ouroboros. Go back to the moment when this all began, so that you may set things right. (Time.)>Through neidan, you shall escape the grasp of your captors. With xingyiquan, you shall subdue them. (Life.)>Your assailants have no equilibrium, for their yang is ascendant. Manifest the chemical consequences of such imbalance. (Matter.)>The masses know that you fight for them, and so they shall fight for you. First they shall liberate you, then you shall liberate energy itself. (Mind.)>Plant the scale of one of the agents in the place where yours should be. Through transposition, you shall be free. (Correspondence.)>The Law of Acceleration is a lie. Turn the mass of your captors against them. They were fools for ever having faith in Newton. (Forces.)
>>6429426>Your assailants have no equilibrium, for their yang is ascendant. Manifest the chemical consequences of such imbalance. (Matter.)Matter, Life, and Forces Mage? Turn ourselves into steel that flows like water?
>>6429426>Reverse the rotation of the Ouroboros. Go back to the moment when this all began, so that you may set things right. (Time.)>>6429434What about Time, Matter and Entropy? We can create a timeless training chamber with little to no Universal pushback (at some point) and ways to mess with our opponents to get the upper hand by messing with time and chance, think of it like a Jackie Chan bullshit stunts with bullet time, and matter to practice Alchemy and make pills for when we finally focus into more aggressive SpheresI'm also thinking of maybe using:>Correspondence, Time and Life (Ligh Speed punches and legs sweeps that comes from nowhere)>Force, Life, Mind (Full Social + Martial prowess. Intimidating aura and energy blasts with Force, peak physical performance with Force, and Mind to enhance other people's perceptions to make us look even more intimidating, charismatic, or whatever. Or maybe make a mental palace with Mind to train with Cleopatra)>Matter, Forces, Correspondence (Full spiritual path? Visiting other realms, summoning spirits and other ascended beings to help us, and to actually make alchemical drugs to cover our shortcomings and to cultivate)I can't think of what other things we could do, maybe some kind of Ascended magi tech with Matter + Forces and any other sphere we can get, to either bless our machines and other inventions, I'm just really thinking of archetypes/builds and what to use to get there.
>>6429426>>The Law of Acceleration is a lie. Turn the mass of your captors against them. They were fools for ever having faith in Newton. (Forces.)
>>6429426>Your assailants have no equilibrium, for their yang is ascendant. Manifest the chemical consequences of such imbalance. (Matter.)Nothing stays the same, yet all is eternal.
>>6429426>>Plant the scale of one of the agents in the place where yours should be. Through transposition, you shall be free. (Correspondence.)Teleporting is fun.
>>6429426>>Reverse the rotation of the Ouroboros. Go back to the moment when this all began, so that you may set things right. (Time.)
>Looks like we've got a tie between Time and Matter. I'll wait a couple of hours for a tie-breaker but if there isn't one, I'll roll between them.
Rolled 1 (1d2)>Rolling. 1 for Matter, 2 for TIme.
>You gain Matter •. You may use this Sphere to perceive the material composition, underlying structure, intrinsic properties and integral stability of any inert object.You do not need to do anything at all. The internal alchemy of your captors does all of the work for you. Agent Jameson is the first to find himself overcome by the overabundance of masculine energy that roils in his qi. He recoils from you, crying out in shock as the skin of his hands takes on a rusty red hue. Before a second has passed, the agent's fingers have already become rigid and as hard as stone. The transformation does not stop there. It spreads up his arms and along his torso, creeping up his neck and down his legs. Even his clothes are subject to this process and fuse to Jameson's body, as the totality of his being becomes a single substance.He is not the only one to suffer this fate. Agent Carmichael suffers the same transformation, reeling back and clawing away himself as he solidifies and changes colour, becoming the same shade of scarlet as his comrade. The struggling of your captors slows to a stop with the completion of their transmutation. By the time that your body has pushed itself upright, they can no longer be considered alive.Where two men once stood, there are now a pair of cinnabar statues, frozen in time.“Requesting immediate reclassification of target PTRD as RERD, DTFT 5! Reinforcements required, HOAR 9, AFET 5!”Those are the words that one of the remaining agents barks into the cuff of his suit, while his other hand reaches for a concealed handgun hidden beneath his jacket. The other operative has already drawn his sidearm and without any restraint, he takes aim and opens fire. Bullets soar towards your flesh, yet you do not inhabit it. You remain adrift in oblivion, apart from the Serpent and able to witness it in its totality as it turns.You are not in danger.>Invoke the reverse generative cycle and weaken the metal with water. Shuǐ shall be your saviour. (Matter.)>As the Ouroboros rotates, its scales shift. Dictate how they move, in such a way that the bullets shall never hit their target. (Entropy.)>Siphon the fifth element from the projectiles and incorporate it into your qi. Without it, they shall be no more (Prime.)>The heavenly host of Marshal Tianpeng shall come to your aid. His soldiers shall protect you from any harm. (Spirit.)>The bullets are only dangerous because of the energy that propels them, energy that would not dare harm its emancipator. (Forces.)>These projectiles shall travel through the Hall of Shanmen and emerge elsewhere, to deliver karmic justice. (Correspondence.)
>>6430005>>These projectiles shall travel through the Hall of Shanmen and emerge elsewhere, to deliver karmic justice. (Correspondence.)Bullets teleporting out of nowhere to kill baddies is funny.
>>6430005>Siphon the fifth element from the projectiles and incorporate it into your qi. Without it, they shall be no more (Prime.)Very important if we are to become a living alchemical demigod.
>>6430005>Siphon the fifth element from the projectiles and incorporate it into your qi. Without it, they shall be no more (Prime.)I was going to vote for Correspondence and develop the Heavenly Technique: The Discreet Artillery of the Godly Judge and make some random thug eat lead, but Prime can really bump up whatever magic we do.
>>6430005>>As the Ouroboros rotates, its scales shift. Dictate how they move, in such a way that the bullets shall never hit their target. (Entropy.)
>Locking the vote there. Going with Prime.
>You gain Prime •. You may use this Sphere to perceive and absorb ambient Quintessence. This is a resource that you may spend to reduce the difficulty of rolls, though it will gain other uses as your proficiency with Prime grows.Every scale that decorates the Serpent's hide is etched with a multitude of symbols, yet every scale has precisely one symbol in common. It is universal, a constant found throughout existence, without which a thing could not exist, no matter what that thing might be. It can be found in every atom and electromagnetic wave.It is qi, the vital energy of the universe.Your flesh flows into the Three Body Posture, even as the bullets fly. Your left leg slides a step ahead of your right, hidden beneath shapeless slacks. Your right hand lingers in front of your flabby paunch while your left is outstretched before you, the fingers of both splayed. All of your inborn qi flows into your lower dantian and your body becomes a vacuum, a void which the universe yearns to fill.The lead disperses into the air before it is able to strike your body. The unseen essence that held all of that matter together continues along its original trajectory, flowing inside of you and leaving your flesh flush with newfound vigour. This is the fate that befalls every bullet, until all that is left is the metallic click of a firing pin striking an empty chamber. Your assailant has emptied his magazine, to no avail.>You gain 6 Quintessence.“I repeat, we require immediate assistance!”Those are the last words that the other agent barks into his sleeve, before he provides suppressing fire while his colleague hurriedly reloads his pistol. Your body remains in San Ti Shi, reducing every bullet to its quintessential energy and allowing said essence to empower you further. By the time that his magazine runs dry, his comrade is ready to open fire once more – but will you let him?>Infuse the weapons that your assailants wield with yin. Feminine energy shall render them passive and incapable of inflicting harm. (Matter.)>You have drawn qi from the inert, now it is time for you to siphon it from that which lives. Make the essence of your foes your own. (Prime.)>Have the Ouroboros shed these fools from its flesh. They shall have the opportunity to rejoin reality after a decade has passed. (Time.)>Embody the Serpent. Transmute your very body, take the form of the dragon, and rid yourself of your adversaries. Become long. (Life.)>Reach out to your assailants. You yearn to liberate all of mankind from the Power Oligarchy, and that includes them. You don't want to fight them. (Mind.)>Scrub the sigils from their scales. Reveal to them the true nature of the cosmos and the foolishness of fighting Lúnhuí. (Entropy.)
>>6430342>Embody the Serpent. Transmute your very body, take the form of the dragon, and rid yourself of your adversaries. Become long. (Life.)Last one, and if we combine this with Matter and Prime we can become the architect of our own form, and those of our followers...
>>6430342>>Embody the Serpent. Transmute your very body, take the form of the dragon, and rid yourself of your adversaries. Become long. (Life.)The first steps of perfection.
>>6430342>>Embody the Serpent. Transmute your very body, take the form of the dragon, and rid yourself of your adversaries. Become long. (Life.)I like Matter, Prime and Life. If this goes a little further aside from the three basic spheres we should either reinforce what we have or maybe branch out for one with more utility
>>6430342>>Have the Ouroboros shed these fools from its flesh. They shall have the opportunity to rejoin reality after a decade has passed. (Time.)
>You gain Life •. You may use this Sphere to perceive the presence of nearby life, as well as the biological composition and overall health of any organism that you detect.>At this point, you have selected three separate Spheres. You may continue to acquire new Spheres and become a jack of all trades and master of none, or you may wish to focus on bolstering the Spheres that you have already selected.You believe that you understand why the Yellow Emperor is absent from the Ouroboros. He is the innermost face of Shangdi, he is the Serpent inside the Serpent. You cannot find Huangdi, for Huangdi can only be found within. If you wish to witness Huanglong, you must reach into the depths of your self and turn it inside out. You must wear your imperial soul like armour.On the street of Atlanta, your flesh elongates. Your neck and torso both stretch substantially, while a tail sprouts from the base of your spine. All three aspects grow in tandem, matching each other in length. Your clothes and your garments peel away from your body simultaneously, revealing lustrous golden scales beneath. Claws as long as swords decorate what were once your fingers as toes, while row after row of daggers fill your serpentine maw. Wild whiskers flow out from the base of your nostrils, while ivory antlers curve out of your skull like a crown. By the time that your transformation is complete, you easily dwarf the length of an articulated bus.You have become long.The gunfire already had bystanders running for their lives and filling the air with their shrill screams. With your metamorphosis, no one dares to remain. Even the operatives who were planning on bundling you into that unmarked van turn to run, rather than dare to fight. You reward the cowardice of one by disembowelling him with a flick of your claws, while the other is bisected by a snap of your fangs. Their innards splash over the asphalt and you turn your wrath upon the vehicle, bellowing victoriously as you coil yourself about it. You constrict around the galvanised steel shell, crushing it almost effortlessly.However, the forces that be will not allow you to revel in your victory for more than a moment.With a brilliant flash, space itself is torn asunder. A rift opens in the middle of the street, through which pours blinding, sterile light, and a dozen soldiers unlike any that you have ever seen. Servos whir and whine as they march along in suits of shining, articulated armour, cradling peculiar guns connected to power packs and canisters by cables and hoses.“Pin that fucker down! We've got Mark Fives inbound, all we've gotta do is keep that RD busy 'til they get here! I don't wanna see any goddamn heroics!”
Before the squad leader is even finished, the others open fire. Instead of bullets, plasma and lightning and unseen energy flow from their barrels of their weapons. You unleash a bestial shriek as a jet of ionized gas strikes your throat, burning through your golden scales. Though you try to charge towards the marksman responsible for that agony, you find yourself caught in the gravitational field projected by another's gun. Your serpentine body feels as though it weighs five times what it should, forcing you to drag yourself across the asphalt, and granting these strange soldiers all of the time that they need to distance themselves from you.Your muscles spasm and scream as electricity arcs through them and to make matters worse, you feel something tugging on your spirit, adrift as it is in the orbit of the Ouroboros. Your freedom from the Serpent was a temporary thing. You must return, anchor yourself to your body, and become one with the One and All once more. This power is temporary and once it has gone, it might be gone forever. Without it, you won't stand a chance against these adversaries. You need to finish this.>Let the road become a river of tar, a bottomless mire. The weight of their armour shall drag these tin men down to their deaths. (Matter.)>Unleash a breath unlike any other upon these foes. Distil your qi into purest yang and let it flow from your maw without relent. (Prime.)>Clear your thoughts. Transcend this pain. When these wounds have no bearing on your mind, they shall have no bearing on your flesh. (Life.)>Call upon the aid of the Dragon Kings. Have them send their avatars to assist you, their emperor, their innermost liege. (Spirit.)>Take flight. Defy gravity. Fuck Newton. What sort of dragon are you, if you cannot soar through the heavens? (Forces.)>Turn back the Ouroboros. When those soldiers emerge from that luminous portal, this time, you will be ready for them. (Time.)
>>6430420>>Turn back the Ouroboros. When those soldiers emerge from that luminous portal, this time, you will be ready for them. (Time.)RIP AND TEAR
>>6430423I just realized, if they could find us at work they know where we live, they'll have our plates, hell they'll have our phone. I wonder if our obsession with our interests garnered enough paranoia to have an emergency cache or something. Otherwise, we're going to be on the lam with the clothes on our back and little else.Also, unless there's some MiB shenanigans afoot, there's no way someone hasn't recorded at least part of our escapade.
>>6430420>Unleash a breath unlike any other upon these foes. Distil your qi into purest yang and let it flow from your maw without relent. (Prime.)I'm thinking that we advance with an extra point our Prime and if we get the choice, we choose Entropy. Because bullshit out off harm's way is fun
>>6430425Oh, don't worry, in Mage there's more than enough things going on to make it look like there was a gas leak and an event of mass psychosis
>>6430420>Unleash a breath unlike any other upon these foes. Distil your qi into purest yang and let it flow from your maw without relent. (Prime.)This will probably have the most utility in allowing us to merge and expand our other Spheres.
>>6430420>Turn back the Ouroboros. When those soldiers emerge from that luminous portal, this time, you will be ready for them. (Time.)Damn this is a cool quest.
>I'll be able to start writing a post in seven to eight hours. Currently, we have a tie between Prime and Time. If it's not broken by the time that I'm able to get back to this quest, I'll roll between them.
>>6430420>>Turn back the Ouroboros. When those soldiers emerge from that luminous portal, this time, you will be ready for them. (Time.)No more than 4
>>64306074 is probably the broadest we could get at our awakening; I think it's probably very appetizing to players unfamiliar with the setting because they are seeing very open-ended and advanced applications of the Spheres, but once we cool our magic jets in a minute, we'll only have the basic abilities of all the ones we selected, and I think it would be wise to have at least 2 dots in one Sphere, rather than 1 in four different ones. Time is one of the better options though, so it won't be the worst way to spread ourselves thin.
>>6430420>>Turn back the Ouroboros. When those soldiers emerge from that luminous portal, this time, you will be ready for them. (Time.)
>You gain Time •. You may use this sphere to perceive your immediate surroundings as they were up to an hour before now, or as they might possibly be up to one hour from now. Retrocognition is reliable. Precognition is not.By embodying Huanglong, you have come to wield a sliver of the authority that the Yellow Emperor has over the Ouroboros. Though the Serpent never stops, there is more than one way for a snake to eat its own tail. Rather than chase after itself, the One is All slows until it starts to turn in the other direction, thrusting its self down its own throat. All of this is done at your bidding, and all of this manifests as the undoing of what has been done.The last thing that you see before your eyes shut is the soldiers arrayed before you, their weapons spewing forth a storm of elemental chaos that devastates your divine form.The first thing that you see when you open them again, is two black-clad operatives standing in front of a nondescript white van. One has almost finished reloading his handgun, while the other has just emptied his magazine. Behind their mirrored shades, their eyes bulge with fear at the sight of the dragon before them. They know that their fate is sealed.One is disembowelled by with a flick of your claws, while the other is bisected by a snap of your fangs. You do not change your approach regarding those goons. Rather than waste your time crushing the van in a self-indulgent display of power, you charge into the middle of the asphalt, towards where the portal appeared in the future that you unmade.With a brilliant flash, space itself is torn asunder. A rift opens in the middle of the street, through which pours blinding, sterile light, and a dozen soldiers that you recognise all too well. Servos whir and whine as they march along in suits of shining, articulated armour, cradling peculiar guns connected to power packs and canisters by cables and hoses.The first thing that they see is your gaping maw bearing down on them.Even in the form of the dragon, it takes some effort for you to bite through the armoured shells of these grunts. The plating does a good job at deflecting your claws, yet the impact of your assault is still enough to knock them off of their feet. You run amok in the middle of the squad, scattering them and crushing them beneath your bulk, striking at the joints of their armour. Severed limbs fly through the air, and you revel in the chaos that you have caused.“Where are those fucking Mark Fives?! RD exhibits chronal deviance, we need – ”
Before the squad leader is able to finish his sentence, you capture his skull in your jaws and pull. The helmeted head of the trooper is torn from where it sat between broad shoulders and goes flying as you release it. You'd rather not deal with the indigestion that his headgear might cause. His death marks the half-way point – six of these sci-fi soldiers have become casualties, while the six that remain standing struggle to avenge their comrades. Any of them who dare to loose a single bolt of plasma in your direction make themselves your next target. All they can do is run for their lives, and pray that someone else is stupid enough to distract you...… or tough enough to hold their own against you.Reality is torn asunder once more as a smaller gateway manifests, and then another, and another, mere seconds apart. Each of these rifts spits out a single man, naked and neuter. Each specimen is at least seven feet tall, with an adonic physique decorated with all manner of mechanical enhancements. Lenses in the place of eyes, an autocannon in the place of a left hand, armour plating fused to their very skin, and so much more. Perhaps they were once human, but after such profound alteration, they can no longer be classified as such.As you charge towards one, it lifts its chain gun and opens fire, a river of ammunition visibly flowing beneath the skin of his arm as it is fed into the autocannon internally. The other two do the same, without any semblance of fear. Scales fly free from your flesh as the bullets impact them, carving deep wounds into your serpentine form.To make matters worse, your spirit has fallen from its comfortable orbit. It now descends towards the Ouroboros, accelerating towards the place where it belongs, to join an infinity of other scales. Though your divine power has yet to abandon you, you fear that will not last long enough for you to defeat these monstrous cyborgs.>Allow your qi flow into your scales and harden. Let your golden hide become bin steel, strong enough to ward off any blow. (Matter.)>You can only hope to fight these adversaries with arms of your own. Conjure a weapon worthy of the emperors of old. (Prime.)>There is no harmony to be found in such a foul fusion of metal and meat. By your will, their flesh shall reject their obscene augmentation. (Life.)>You have no wish to stop the Serpent, only to retard its rotation. Even as time slows to a crawl, you shall remain unburdened. (Time.)>Malfunction is a possibility in every firearm. These are no exception. Make that possibility an inevitability and render their weapons useless. (Entropy.)>How can they hope to strike you, if you occupy far more than a single space? Divide yourself, and conquer. (Correspondence.)
>>6430684>You can only hope to fight these adversaries with arms of your own. Conjure a weapon worthy of the emperors of old. (Prime.)We need at least 1 dot in Prime. Also, I hope this quest does not die on the first page. WOD quests are so rare. I'm sure voters will come in time.
>>6430684>You can only hope to fight these adversaries with arms of your own. Conjure a weapon worthy of the emperors of old. (Prime.)
>>6430684>You have no wish to stop the Serpent, only to retard its rotation. Even as time slows to a crawl, you shall remain unburdened. (Time.)
>>6430684>You can only hope to fight these adversaries with arms of your own. Conjure a weapon worthy of the emperors of old. (Prime.)Also QM, any thoughts about putting a name for yourself? Or are you staying as Anonymous?
>You gain Prime ••. You may use this Sphere to detect and absorb solidified Quintessence. You may spend Quintessence to energise attacks, reinforce defences and craft Trinkets and Charms.Guns. Such barbaric, uncivilised things. Machined tools churned out of factories, without any art or finesse, designed to grant ingrates and imbeciles the power to spit death. You cannot deny that they are effective, perhaps even powerful enough to humble the mightiest beasts. However, you are more than a mere animal. You are the heir of Huangdi and you shall wield a weapon that is far more elegant.From your maw, you vomit a sphere of purest yin. You clutch the darkness in your claws as you weave through the air, evading as many rounds as you can – the cyborgs never seem to run out of ammunition, nor do the barrels of their weapons ever seem to warp from the heat. Something about their armaments is mystical. Grasping the orb of negative energy with your other claw, you stretch it out and allow it to become a ribbon of mercury, upon which you breathe a stream of scintillating yang. The white fire washes over the liquid metal and once it has dispersed, you lash out with your creation.It is a straight sword, with a double-edged blade wrought from fine steel with a dense, patterned grain. The bronze guard bears the likeness of the taotie, while a saffron tassel hangs from the pommel. The steel tapers to an elegant point and in its reflection, you see what shall be. You witness the blood of an abomination spraying into the air, a vision that you shall manifest through action.>You spend five Quintessence. You have one Quintessence remaining.With this jian, more than half the length of your majestic form, you strike. The tip of the sword carves through the flesh of the nearest cyborg, gliding effortlessly between the pitted plates fused to its chest. Blood sprays and the vision that you saw in the steel is fulfilled. Yet the monster still stands, thanks to its inhuman endurance. With its chain gun extremity, it seeks to parry your blade as you close the distance, yet your sword reveals to you your enemy's plan before it even unfolds. You dance about your foe, effortlessly slicing into them, bringing it low with a thousand cuts and using it as cover from the onslaught of its siblings.Having identified that it is too late for them to save the one who you have carved apart, they open fire without any remorse. The troopers who did not fall before you do the same, for the arrival of the cyborgs has given them the chance to regroup. Streams of plasma and arcs of synthetic lightning join the barrage of anti-materiel rounds and shred what is left of the abomination that you hide behind, striking your scales soon after.
Your spirit is moments away from becoming one with flesh once more. You can no longer see the Ouroboros in its entirety – it has transformed into a shining river once more. You are so close that you can make out the individual scales, as well as an opening in the Serpent's armour. It is a wound where a scale has peeled away, it is the pit in which you belong and to which you shall return. Once you have rejoined Lúnhuí, you might never get to witness it ever again.You have more to worry about than that. Your strength is beginning to wane and your flesh yearns to revert to its mortal state. As much as you would like to bring about the end of your augmented assailants, you do not have the time required to make it happen. If you want to live, your only option is to flee, before your soul is bound to the Serpent for evermore.>Become one with the earth. Flow into the ground beneath you and take shelter within the womb of the land. Let it birth you elsewhere. (Matter.)>Become impervious. Channel the last of your surplus qi into your scales, so that you might withstand this onslaught long enough to make your exit. (Prime.)>The form of the dragon has served its purpose. Take the shape of something smaller, capable of escaping from those who wish you ill. (Life.)>Hasten the Ouroboros. Fling yourself forward in time, to a point when your assailants least expect you to be in this place. (Time.)>Utter such a deafening roar that all those who wish you harm shall find themselves reeling with fear, incapable of acting against you. (Mind.)>Depart through the Hall of Shanmen. Though you cannot say where you will emerge, anywhere has to be better than this. (Correspondence.)
>>6430815>Become one with the earth. Flow into the ground beneath you and take shelter within the womb of the land. Let it birth you elsewhere. (Matter.)Second dot of Matter PLEASE
>>6430815>Hasten the Ouroboros. Fling yourself forward in time, to a point when your assailants least expect you to be in this place. (Time.)
>>6430815>Become one with the earth. Flow into the ground beneath you and take shelter within the womb of the land. Let it birth you elsewhere. (Matter.)
>>6430815>>Hasten the Ouroboros. Fling yourself forward in time, to a point when your assailants least expect you to be in this place. (Time.)
>You gain Matter ••. You may use this Sphere to transmute one substance into another similar substance, without altering its shape or state. You may turn water into wine, lead into gold, salt into sugar, and so on. Rare substances are more difficult to produce.>Your Awakening has come to an end. The Spheres that you have chosen are:>Matter ••.>Prime ••.>Life •.>Time •.Your form is that of Huanglong, the Dragon King who presides over the earth itself. By your very nature, you are chthonic. All that is land is your domain and so you shall return to it, in such a way that these barbarians will be incapable of following you.The ceaseless onslaught strips the scales from your majestic body as you come to a stop. It takes all of your discipline to shun the agony that grows with every round that hammers into your flesh. Your eyes fall shut, your claw rests upon the earth beneath you and as your soul crashes into the Ouroboros to reunite with it once more, you direct it to flow into the land itself, instead of your mortal vessel.You leave the dragon behind. It becomes nothing more than compacted sand, a sculpture that is blown apart by streams of metal and plasma. Instead, you have become one with the land, deprived of all of your senses except for one.Ribbons of geomantic energy course beneath the surface of the earth, weaving together into an elaborate lattice that distributes of the qi of the world itself. Dragon veins. You allow your spirit to seep into this vascular system and let its current carry you along, away from danger.Yet this experience comes with a danger of its own. Your spirit is no longer impervious, no longer apart from Lúnhuí. It is that of a human once more, and a human soul was never meant to travel these roads for long. Your own energy begins to peel away, becoming one with the world. Should you remain here much longer, all of your qi shall unite with the land and your self shall cease to be. Your scale shall be wiped clean, until it is time for your reincarnation and for it to bear a new name.If you wish to survive, you must emerge.There are numerous nearby points, where the dragon veins flow to the surface. Nodes, where the sacred energy of the world coalesces. One of these shall have to suffice as the place of your emergence, yet it is difficult to tell them apart. With what little information you are able to glean, it is difficult to determine which location is the most likely to offer you sanctuary.>Warm. Earthy. Herbaceous. It is the smell of white sage, a tool of purification.>Old oaks stand strong, their roots fed by the many buried beneath them.>Om. It is the sound of divinity itself, if the Vedic tradition is to be believed.>A mask that takes the form of music. Truth hidden beneath rock and roll.>Derelict. Once home to many, now left behind by all but the most stubborn.
>>6431083>Old oaks stand strong, their roots fed by the many buried beneath them.
>>6431083>>Old oaks stand strong, their roots fed by the many buried beneath them.
>>6431083>A mask that takes the form of music. Truth hidden beneath rock and roll.Hell yeah.
>>6431083>Old oaks stand strong, their roots fed by the many buried beneath them.Great so far.
>>6431083>Derelict. Once home to many, now left behind by all but the most stubborn.
>>6431083>Old oaks stand strong, their roots fed by the many buried beneath them.Let's make like a tree and fuck off.
>>6431083>>Warm. Earthy. Herbaceous. It is the smell of white sage, a tool of purification.
Your consciousness travels through the ley lines, towards the surface. You favour one particular node over the rest – the great oaks beneath which the dead and buried slumber. Perhaps you believe that your assailants are unlikely to look for you among the deceased, or maybe you are drawn to the morbidity of the place, considering how close you have come to dying.Yet as you approach your destination, your soul begins to fray. It is not supposed to exist in this world for this long without a mortal shell. With the last vestiges of the power that you took from the Ouroboros, you manifest new flesh and thrust your spirit into it, before it disintegrates and becomes lost in the veins of the world.A blanket of pressure and darkness is all that greets you.You blink, yet nothing changes. You try to move, yet the darkness constricts you. You try to open your mouth to speak, but the pressure holds your jaw shut. You can't even breathe.Your efforts grow more violent as you thrash against the prison that encompasses you and gradually, it begins to give way. It rises every time that you push against it, only to fall back against you. Every attempt to free yourself makes the next effort a little easier, with the darkness loosening its grasp on your body. With one final shove, you finally manage to liberate yourself.You find yourself doubling over beneath the boughs of an oak tree, vomiting a mouthful of soil while you claw your way free from an old grave. Your chest heaves, eager to fill your lungs with the cool night air. Intuitively, you know that almost nine hours have passed since you were last physical. The knowledge comes to you unbidden, as naturally as the process of blinking. Crawling free from the hole that your body had left in the ground, you try to ascertain precisely where you are.As soon as you glance up, the skyline of Downtown Atlanta looms before you and you realise that you are only a couple of miles from the office where you work – where you once worked. A quick look around you, at row after row of tombstones and memorials and proud oak trees, tells you that this has to be the old Oakland Cemetery.What about you? Thankfully, you're wearing the same clothes that you wore to the office, even though they were destroyed when you assumed the form of the dragon. You must've recreated them when you made this vessel, which is identical to your previous body. You have retained the male pattern baldness and the unhealthy gut, yet you have also kept something else. You grasp the jian that you had conjured by its scabbard, its saffron tassel swaying in the breeze. It has even shrunk to suit your human body, its blade twenty-eight inches in length.
You are still Henry Cobbledick, an unimpressive man in his thirties who isn't even six feet tall, dressed in a shirt and a pair of slacks stained with grave dirt, clutching a Chinese sword that looks like it belongs in a museum. You are the latest reincarnation of a long line of legendary alchemists and you have beheld the Ouroboros. Your true form is that of Huanglong, the Dragon King of the Middle Kingdom, a shape that you have inherited from the Yellow Emperor himself. You have fought against the myriad agents of the shadow government, and you live to tell the tale.Where do you go from here?>Get the hell out of here. You hoped to end up far away from Atlanta. Instead, you ended up a half an hour walk away from the place that you were running from. You must flee.>Beseech the aid of Cleopatra. The ancient alchemist helped you once before in your hour of need, surely she will aid you again. Call out to her, and she will answer. She has to.>Meditate. Breathe into your dantian. Allow the tension to flow from you and attune your senses to the ambient qi. A dragon vein flowed to this place for a reason. (Prime •.)>Assume the Three Body Posture and fall still. Focus on the beating of your heart, until it is as loud as thunder. The pulse of others shall be no different. If anyone else is here, you must know. (Life •.) >Unite the principles of qigong and xingyiquan. Balance harmony and discipline, until your senses can perceive internal and external qi alike. This might be harder. (Life • / Prime •.)
>>6431313>Meditate. Breathe into your dantian. Allow the tension to flow from you and attune your senses to the ambient qi. A dragon vein flowed to this place for a reason. (Prime •.)In a shallow grave, a flower blooms, seeking for the warmth of the Sun. May the vein of the dragon deliver us to it.
>>6431313>>Assume the Three Body Posture and fall still. Focus on the beating of your heart, until it is as loud as thunder. The pulse of others shall be no different. If anyone else is here, you must know. (Life •.)We're going to have to book it pretty quick if someone is around. We literally crawled from an unmarked grave, and are stained with dirt. We probably look like a zombie.
>>6431313>>Meditate. Breathe into your dantian. Allow the tension to flow from you and attune your senses to the ambient qi. A dragon vein flowed to this place for a reason. (Prime •.)
>>6431313>>>Meditate. Breathe into your dantian. Allow the tension to flow from you and attune your senses to the ambient qi. A dragon vein flowed to this place for a reason. (Prime •.)
>>6431345>We literally crawled from an unmarked grave, and are stained with dirt. We probably look like a zombie.>"Sir! Why the hell you're all dirty, have a sword, and look like an average wagie?!?!">"Uuuuuuh... We're shooting a an indie film!">"Really? And where are the cameras?">Uuuuuuh... We're using a drone. You're ruining the shot right now.">"O-Oh shit, I'm sorry, uuuuuh... You should've asked for permission, please, once you finish you and your team should get out or I'll be in trouble"
>>6431313>Meditate. Breathe into your dantian. Allow the tension to flow from you and attune your senses to the ambient qi. A dragon vein flowed to this place for a reason. (Prime •.)
You are bound to your body now. You cannot perceive the Ouroboros, yet perhaps your awareness of it may help you accomplish a fraction of the incredible feats that you achieved earlier. To test this, you shall begin with a simple breathing exercise. Something that will relieve you of the tension roiling inside of you, that will help you become one with the land that surrounds you, as eerie as it might be.You straighten your spine. You relax your shoulders. You flatten your feet against the soles of your dress shoes. Both of your hands move to rest against your abdomen, just below your navel, though one of them still clutches your sword by its scabbard – its name, Xuanyuan.You breathe in through your nose. Your paunch inflates as you guide the air into your lower dantian, to convert its jing into qi with greater efficiency. Your belly contracts when you exhale through your mouth, expelling the air once you have drawn the essence from it.With each breath, you find yourself soothed by the movement of your diaphragm. Every exhalation leaves your body feeling a little lighter, your mind a little clearer. But will this exercise achieve everything that you want it to? Will it allow you to perceive the ambient energy of this place and discover its significance, or have you truly lost all of the power that you once had? >I want three rolls of dice+1d100 and I will accept the best of three. You will need to roll 40 or higher in order to succeed at this task. The higher you roll above the target number, the better the outcome.>Each roller may choose to say “Spend Quintessence,” in order to spend 1 point of Quintessence and decrease the target number of the roll by 4. For example, if two out of three rollers say “Spend Quintessence,” 2 points of Quintessence are spent and the target number is decreased by 8. You have 1 point of Quintessence that you may spend.
Rolled 37 (1d100)>>6431533Here we go. No quintessence spending for my roll
Rolled 46 (1d100)>>6431533I am the roar of an endless sun, an inferno thrashing in the vast abyss.
Rolled 6 (1d100)>>6431533use it
>>6431556>I'll use this as an opportunity to establish the rule that you have to explicitly say the two words "Spend Quintessence" in that order if you want to spend Quintessence when you roll, preferably as the only two words in a sentence, or in your post. This is to prevent misunderstandings.>Going with >>6431546, which beats the target number by a value of 6.
Rolled 15 (1d100)>>6431533No quintessence
It's not easy. For over a minute, nothing at all happens. With every other breath, the fear that you have lost all of the power that you stole from the Ouroboros bubbles to the surface of your mind, but you dismiss such distractions without a second thought. You cannot afford to linger on anything. You must empty yourself.At last, after an eternity of rhythmic breathing, you begin to perceive it. It does not manifest as something that you see, smell or hear, simply as a thing that you are aware of.While the air only harbours jing, much of the matter that surrounds you harbours traces of qi, even the stuff which is not alive. Veins of the planet's energy are buried deep within the stone of monuments and memorials, and within the heartwood of the abundant oaks. Unfortunately, the revelation that you still possess some of the Serpent's strength disrupts the rhythm of your breath. Your awareness of this vital force fades, leaving you with only the five senses that your mortal body grants you.>There is an indeterminate amount of ambient Quintessence here. That is all that you know.Why is it here? Is it the product of the planet's life force flowing into this place through the dragon vein, or is this cemetery responsible for producing this vital energy on its own? Perhaps the ley line serves as a conduit, through which the world absorbs the qi of places such as this and sustains its health. If only you could remember all that was written on the scales of the Serpent, you would know the answers to such questions.Perhaps you should make this energy your own, or maybe your time is better spent ridding yourself of all of this grave dirt that stains you. As you still possess some of your mystical talent, surely transmuting the soil into something less conspicuous should be a simple task.>Get the fuck out of here. You've hung about for long enough. You look as suspicious as hell and if you're seen out here by anyone, they will surely inform your pursuers.>You are Cleopatra. You are Rhazes. You are Tongming. Surely one of your past incarnations must know more about all of this. Invoke them and seek their wisdom, if you are able.>Become a spiritual vacuum. Allow the qi of this place to fill the void that make within yourself. Borrow the power of the land and make it your own. (Prime •.)>Though you lack the equipment necessary to perform Waidan conventionally, surely you can simply use your newfound power to rid yourself of the filth that stains you. (Matter ••.)
>>6431571>Though you lack the equipment necessary to perform Waidan conventionally, surely you can simply use your newfound power to rid yourself of the filth that stains you. (Matter ••.)
>>6431571>>Get the fuck out of here. You've hung about for long enough. You look as suspicious as hell and if you're seen out here by anyone, they will surely inform your pursuers.Get out of there Stalker
>>6431571>>Become a spiritual vacuum. Allow the qi of this place to fill the void that make within yourself. Borrow the power of the land and make it your own. (Prime •.)More quintessence seems smart.
>>6431571>>Get the fuck out of here. You've hung about for long enough. You look as suspicious as hell and if you're seen out here by anyone, they will surely inform your pursuers.
As alluring as the temptation to absorb the ambient qi might be, you shouldn't linger here. You're far too close to the office where you used to work, and you have no doubt that the shadow government is looking for you. Every minute that you stay in this cemetery increases your likelihood of being caught again, if not killed.So you duck into the undergrowth and scurry between gravestones, as sneakily as you can. Your physique wasn't exactly built for stealth, but you have the cover of night and the sound of leaves rustling in the wind to aid you. Shuffling through the cemetery isn't a difficult task and you believe that you're about to escape into the streets scot-free, until you notice the glare of a flashlight further down the path ahead.You duck behind a bush at the base of a particularly old and gnarled oak tree, in order to conceal yourself from whoever happens to be wandering through a graveyard in the middle of the night.The footsteps become audible and that you can see that it is an obese black man, a few inches taller than you. His bald head is hidden beneath a snapback, his eyes are obscured behind thick glasses, and the lower half of his face is covered by a thick beard. The stranger wears a sleeveless fleece over a cotton shirt that's tucked into jeans. It looks more like a uniform, rather than something that he is casually wearing. He can't be that professional though, judging from the colourful beads that hang around his neck and wrists, and the neck of some big bottle of liquor that pokes out from the pocket of his fleece.What he is, is vigilant. Something's spooked the man. He's not just walking down the path, he's searching for something or someone, sweeping the oak trees and gravestones with the beam of his flashlight. While he hasn't swung the light in your direction yet, he's coming closer and and there's a good chance that he'll look your way before he passes you by.He doesn't look like a thrall of the shadow government, but you can't be sure.>You better get moving before he passes you by. You've never had a talent for sneaking, but you're going to have to learn if you don't want to be caught.>Stay still. Don't move. You're too clumsy to get away with trying to skulk off into the night. Your only chance of staying unseen involves not moving a muscle.>Remain in place, but try to detach yourself from the Serpent's hide, just long enough to witness what might happen a minute from now. (Time •.)>Reveal yourself. Let's be honest, you don't stand a chance of remaining hidden and you don't believe that he's a threat to you. See if you talk with this stranger.>Draw your sword and swing at him. If you can't hide, then you will fight. Even if this guy doesn't work for your pursuers, he might still hand you over to them.>Strike with wu wei. Transmute your qi into effortless action and slay this foe with a single stroke of Xuanyuan. (Prime •. This will spend 1 Quintessence.)
>>6431663>Remain in place, but try to detach yourself from the Serpent's hide, just long enough to witness what might happen a minute from now. (Time •.)
>>6431663>>Remain in place, but try to detach yourself from the Serpent's hide, just long enough to witness what might happen a minute from now. (Time •.)
Performing under pressure isn't quite as simple as enacting your will when you're safe and alone. To make matters worse, you aren't even sure how you're supposed to peer forward in time. None of the techniques that you studied ever covered that subject and until your spirit was liberated from the Ouroboros, you never thought that it was possible at all.You close your eyes and empty your lungs, only to draw jing into your lower dantian. Your hands rest over your gut as you strive to breathe as quietly as you can, knowing that the stranger on the path is drawing closer with every breath that you take. Emptying your mind of all things but the Serpent, you try to relive your memory of it, of your spirit drifting in its orbit and watching it turn.Through this act of remembrance, you hope to reconnect with the Ouroboros. You don't have a chance of hastening it or slowing it, not with your soul bound to your flesh. That power is beyond your reaching. All that you can hope is that you be allowed to peer over the horizon, to witness what might happen next...>I want three rolls of dice+1d100 and I will accept the best of three. You will need to roll 50 or higher in order to succeed at this task. The higher you roll above the target number, the better the outcome.>Each roller may choose to say “Spend Quintessence,” in order to spend 1 point of Quintessence and decrease the target number of the roll by 4. For example, if two out of three rollers say “Spend Quintessence,” 2 points of Quintessence are spent and the target number is decreased by 8. You have 1 point of Quintessence that you may spend.
Rolled 14 (1d100)>>6431743
Rolled 100 (1d100)>>6431743I'm not liking the look of our luck so far...
>>6431771...or not.
Rolled 21 (1d100)>>6431771Holy shit >>6431743Rollin
>>6431771Based
You are illuminated by the stranger's flashlight. You have been spotted. Blinded by the light, you draw your sword and start hacking wildly at the man. He staggers back, with one of your crude attacks striking true and cutting open his belly. With a panicked expression, he draws the bottle of liquor from his pocket and splashes you with its content. You fall to the ground screaming, his flesh rotting wherever the booze lands on your body. Clutching his bleeding gut, he puts you out of your misery by stomping your skull.You successfully hide in the bush, until the moment that the stranger passes you by. Taking advantage of the opportunity, you strike the back of his head with the pommel of Xuanyuan. Stunned, he staggers to the floor while you take the opportunity to run. After a few minutes, long after you have gone, the man shoves himself to his feet. He pulls out his cellphone and makes a call as he stumbles back the way that he came, more than a little pissed off.You step out from the bush, into the beam of the stranger's flashlight. Raising your hands in a gesture of surrender, you talk with the man. You cannot hear exactly what is said, but he's flustered and frustrated by your presence. You don't take kindly to whatever he has said and you raise your voice, only for him to do the same. After a heated exchange, he flips you off and goes back the way he came, having lost all interest in speaking with you. You yell something after him before you march off into the night.You successfully hide in the bush and when the stranger has passed you by, you manage to sneak through the undergrowth, to find a way out of the cemetery. The man continues his patrol, becoming increasingly confused, before he stops before a particular gravestone. He pulls a cigar free from its pocket and lights it up, resting it on the earth before the old stone slab. After a few seconds of crouching there, he takes off in the direction that you went, leaving the cigar behind.You are illuminated by the stranger's flashlight. You have been spotted. You prepare to defend yourself, yet upon seeing that you are armed, the stranger staggers away from you. After a tense exchange, the two of you gradually relax. You seem to lead the conversation, while the heavyset man seems particularly pensive, and then resigned, convinced by whatever you say. Pouring some of that booze into his free hand, he lifts his hat to dab his brow with it, then does the same to yours. Together, you head down the pathway and into the night.
You open your eyes.After all of the futures that you have seen, you know exactly how to remain unseen, should you wish to. Alternatively, you may choose to let him discover you. There remains the third path of revealing yourself, should you consider that wise.>Remain hidden. You would rather not risk the future that ends with you being killed.>Let him discover you. It seems like he has ways of tracking you, so why delay the inevitable?>Reveal yourself. It might be an unpleasant surprise for him, but you want to start with the upper hand.
>>6431787>>Remain hidden. You would rather not risk the future that ends with you being killed.We know extremely little about the societies and factions of this new paradigm. Even if he does track us, I'd rather have the time to get our bearings and see if we can scrape up some basic info, before we talk to anyone.
>>6431787>Let him discover you. It seems like he has ways of tracking you, so why delay the inevitable?We might not know how the factions or the feds looks like or how they work, but it would be lame for them to send a fat guy come over just to dab us with his flask and walk with him somewhere. They would've either form a perimeter around the grave, huge lights and a firing squad. Maybe one or two or their cyborgs after what we did. Hell, maybe open another fucking portal and drop another mecha, this justs seems way off
>>6431787>Let him discover you. It seems like he has ways of tracking you, so why delay the inevitable?I think he is another Awakened and NOT part of the Technocracy/Exarchs/etc (I can't tell yet exactly which edition of Mage this setting is based on yet), and he maybe isn't going to automatically be an ally, but that thing he does in the branching timeline where he dabs the liquor on our foreheads - I think that's to conceal us from the REAL enemies. I want to try the timeline where we walk off together with a mutual understanding.
>>6431787>>Let him discover you. It seems like he has ways of tracking you, so why delay the inevitable?i like this one
>>6431786>Let him discover you. It seems like he has ways of tracking you, so why delay the inevitable?He doesn't seem hostile unless we attack him, so probably not with the G-Men. And we need more friends.
>>6431787>>>Let him discover you. It seems like he has ways of tracking you, so why delay the inevitable?Very Daoist. What will be, will be,
You make no effort to blend in with the brush. Instead, you remain precisely where you are, where your stark white shirt stands out like a sore thumb against your surroundings, even stained as it is with grave dirt.When you are inevitably illuminated by the flashlight, you cringe away from its glare instinctively. You weren't aware that it would be so blinding. Surprised by your presence, the big black man stumbles away from you and almost falls flat on his backside. While he doesn't react with immediate hostility, he certainly doesn't seem pleased by your presence.“Heyeyey, who the fuck are you?!” You expected him to have a big, booming voice, but it's a lot softer than you thought it would be. It's a bit wheezy, as though he's perpetually out of breath. Nevertheless, he talks a little too loudly for your liking, considering your circumstances.“Keep it down,” you hiss, remaining in place yet lifting your hands in a gesture of surrender. One of them still clutches Xuanyuan by its scabbard – you refuse to relinquish your sword, for it is the only thing of value that you have. “Can you get that damn flashlight out of my eyes too? I can't see a thing.”“The fuck you doin', with summin like that?! Better yet, the fuck you doin' out here, middle of the night?” Thankfully, the fat stranger does bring down his volume a little and he draws the flashlight back, pointing its beam at your feet rather than your face. As your eyes adjust to the darkness, you can now make out the white logo woven into his fleece. It features some sort of memorial, along with a few key words: 'Historic Oakland Cemetery – Atlanta, GA.' On his other breast, there's a name tag, but you can't make out what it says in the low light.Nevertheless, you can guess that he works here in some capacity.“It's a long story.” How can you hope to explain yourself to this guy? Your perception of the future only granted you sight, you couldn't hear what was said. You've got no idea what the right words are, to achieve the best outcome. You better figure something out.>Evade the question. Redirect it back at him, ask him why he's out here, stalking a graveyard in the middle of the night.>Make shit up. The blade's from your personal collection, you took it with you for protection when you went out of a stroll.>It's none of his fucking business. Make a point that he shouldn't be prying into the affairs of someone with a big sword.>Spill the beans and confess everything. Tell him everything that has happened to you today. You might as well be honest.>Speak of your foresight. Let him know that you've seen the directions that this encounter can go in, and that you don't want any trouble.
>>6431948>Speak of your foresight. Let him know that you've seen the directions that this encounter can go in, and that you don't want any trouble.Dude seems reasonable. We also know that he knows something, he's not just some dude in a cemetery. He's not one of the guys who are after us, otherwise he probably would have attacked us when he spotted us. That being the case we have no personal grudge against him and he probably doesn't have one against us. Maybe.
>>6431948I say we probe him a little and >Be a little subtle and say that he's not a normal graveyard guard, ask what he was actually looking for >Speak of your foresight. Let him know that you've seen the directions that this encounter can go in, and that you don't want any trouble.If at the end this guy is not another mage we can say we used LSD and somehow we ended here. Just some bullshit to get away with this lmao
>>6431948>>6431968+1
>>6431948>>Speak of your foresight. Let him know that you've seen the directions that this encounter can go in, and that you don't want any trouble.
>>6431948>>6431968+1We can also tell him we took our sword for a stroll. Hint at the mystical.
“Look, I've seen all of the different directions that this chat can go in,” you begin. “I know about the acid or whatever that you've got in that bottle, I know that you've got some weird habit of leaving cigars on top of graves, and I know that you're no ordinary graveyard guard. Most importantly, I know that we can all get along, so how about we all just take a deep breath and calm down?”“What the fuck?” For a second, the fat stranger stares at you in disbelief. A moment later, and he lets out a sigh of relief “Man, you could've just called yourself bani this or that, and saved me a fuckin' heart attack. Who you with?”“What do you mean, 'who am I with?' Are you saying that you're like me – that there's others like us?”“What, you a fuckin' orphan or somethin'? Wait, don't tell me... Don't tell me that fuckin' ruckus Downtown was you. Aw, fuck, man! What the fuck did I do to end up with this shit on my plate?!”Any sign of relief has evaporated from his face. He turns off his flashlight, turns his gaze skyward and throws his arms up in the air, in a petulant display of frustration. Thankfully, he seems to be annoyed with fate itself, rather than you.“Hey, I didn't ask for this! Look, how about we just share our names and figure things out from there? I'm – ”“No, hell no! Stop right there, man. Your first lesson as one of the Woke, don't tell anyone your fuckin' name.” In fact, you've reminded him of his name tag. Fortunate for him, it's too dark for you to make out what it says, but he takes it off anyway. “No one's lookin' to get mixed up in your personal shit. So make somethin' up, don't care what.”“I'm not woke, I voted for – ”“Man, I don't give a fuck. Woke is shorter than Awakened and means the same shit, so who cares? If you're gonna call me anything, it's Papa Yew.”You can work with that, though you'll need to figure out what you're going to be called, if Papa Yew's going to insist on codenames.>Xuanzang. Your journey has only just begun.>Bishop Wong. A union of the East and West.>Huang. You are the Yellow Emperor's heir.>Something else. Write-ins are allowed.>Nothing for now. Come up with something later.>Henry Cobbledick. Not like you can go back to your old life anyway.
>>6432555>Bishop Wong. A union of the East and West.Fucking YES Let's turn a bunch of pond rocks into gold and use the money to create a martial arts dojo that'll serve as our front...
>>6432555>>Something else. Write-ins are allowed.>Mister Snake
>>6432555Brother MantisIn the Akashic Brotherhood, awakened mage martial arts is called Do and you start as an insect, then small reptile, the 4 legged animal, then bipedal animal, then True Human. This skill is like a non-religous version of true faith that lets a mage perform the type of martial arts seen in wuxia films. It can also even allow a mage to soak agg and do lethal damage with their bare hands.
>>6432555>Something else. Write-ins are allowed.I literally searched up in Google "Chinese names that means something like fortunate orphan" and the AI gave me that. I also asked Claude and apparently it's a good name, not a normal name for someone who was born in China, but appropriate for a fictional name. I believe it's appropriate.And I also asked if there's a word play somewhere, and apparently our name could also mean "stalking spell", with a more obscure and evil meaning, which is cool either way
>>6432599Holy shit I'm dumb. The name is Fúgū and that will be my vote qm
>>6432555>Mr CobbledickOur name sounds fake anyhow lol
>>6432555>FúgūI like this. Makes me think of a pufferfish, which fits our fat little fellow
>Locking there and going with Fúgū.
“In that case, call me Fúgū.”“Fugu? Ain't that some kind of sushi or somethin'?” “That's fugu. I said Fú-gū.” You put effort into the pronunciation, but to be honest, you've never had to say a word of Chinese in your life, let alone talk with a native speaker. You've probably got it wrong too. Most of your knowledge of spoken Chinese comes from the instructional videos and online courses that you've perused.“Whatever. Weird that a white boy's running around pretending to be Asian, but there's weirder shit out there.”“Look, you said something about Downtown. What happened over there?” It's a more important subject than your new name.“Feds been sayin' all day that it was some kinda emergency maintenance gone wrong, somethin' about a jackhammer hitting a gas line or somethin'. I know a cover-up when I see one though, and that shit's got black hat written all over it.” Papa Yew pauses to squint at you from behind his glasses. “That was all you, yeah?”“That was me,” you confess, which earns a groan from the big black man. “These men in black came to the place and tried to take me away, but I saw... I saw everything. You know, the Ouroboros, you've seen it too, right?” The blank look that you get from Papa Yew has you worried. Maybe he isn't the same as you after all. “The Serpent, biting its own tail? The endless cycle of life and death?”“Look, man. We all see different shit when we wake up. You saw a big fuckin' snake, I saw Ginen. Hindus look at the same thing and think that shit's a wheel. What's important is that they're the same thing, yeah?”“You don't get it, I was free from the Ouroboros, I could do anything. I turned men to stone, I cold make bullets disappear, I turned into a fucking dragon..!” You can't help an exasperated laugh as you recall everything that occurred. It feels as though mere moments ago, you were omnipotent. You had so much power over the universe, that is suddenly out of your reach. You suddenly feel hollow, like a shell of who you are meant to be, and any mirth that you felt drains from you.“Hey, we all go through that shit, man.” Pocketing his flashlight, Papa Yew pulls his glasses from his face to massage the bridge of his nose. “Look, I ain't ready to give you the lowdown. This is the first time I've ever had to deal with someone fresh as you. I'm gonna need to take you someplace safe, make some calls. You said somethin' about feds tryin' take you away?”“It started with just men in suits from some agency, then there were these armoured soldiers and then... I don't know, a bunch of androids or something? Do they work for the shadow government? The Energy Elite, are they real?”
>>6432780You've been so wrapped up in the mysticism of the whole affair that you briefly forgot about the other conspiracy theories that you've harboured for much of your adult life. Someone had to fund your assailants, with all of the resources that they seemed to have at their disposal. Surely it has to be the shadowy cabal that you've always believed in, the oligarchy responsible for suppressing free energy and keeping the global economy under their thumb.Once again, all you get from Papa Yew is a blank stare.“The fuck you talkin' about? I don't know about no Energy Elite, but if you ever heard of the Illuminati, that shit's real, for sure. Twelve, black hats, New World Order, the Union, whatever the fuck you wanna call 'em, they're real. You wanna call 'em a shadow government or some shit, be my guest.”You knew it had to be real!“But look, man. We gotta get you outta here, but it ain't like I got a car. I take the bus. Best that you leave that blade behind. I got some tricks up my sleeve that might help us avoid the feds, but people are gonna remember a guy like you wanderin' around with somethin' like that.”>Don't go with him. You aren't sure that you trust this guy. He's a little too insistent that you follow him. Even if he doesn't work for the shadow government, his benefactors can't be any better.>Leave Xuanyuan behind. Maybe bury it in the shallow grave that you emerged from, that way you know where to get it back from, once things have cooled down and things become safer.>Insist on taking the sword with you. You aren't going to part with your most valuable possession. Perhaps there are ways for you to hide it, but you aren't just going to ditch Xuanyuan.>There isn't any need for you to channel your qi at this point in time. Reserve your energy for a more important situation.>Peer into the future of Xuanyuan. See where the sword shall be up to an hour from now, no matter whether you are planning on leaving it here, or taking it with you. (Matter •• / Time •.)>See if you can somehow transmute the grave soil that stains your clothes into something less conspicuous. People will remember you if you wander around Atlanta, covered in dirt. (Matter ••)>Please choose one option from each of the two groups.
>>6432781>Insist on taking the sword with you. You aren't going to part with your most valuable possession. Perhaps there are ways for you to hide it, but you aren't just going to ditch Xuanyuan.No way are we ditching the cool magic sword we summoned.>There isn't any need for you to channel your qi at this point in time. Reserve your energy for a more important situation.Might as well if we take the sword.
>>6432781>>Insist on taking the sword with you. You aren't going to part with your most valuable possession. Perhaps there are ways for you to hide it, but you aren't just going to ditch Xuanyuan.The sword is all.>There isn't any need for you to channel your qi at this point in time. Reserve your energy for a more important situation.Fugu don't need magic to have a shower.
>>6432781>>>Insist on taking the sword with you. You aren't going to part with your most valuable possession. Perhaps there are ways for you to hide it, but you aren't just going to ditch Xuanyuan.>>There isn't any need for you to channel your qi at this point in time. Reserve your energy for a more important situation.
>>6432781>>Insist on taking the sword with you. You aren't going to part with your most valuable possession. Perhaps there are ways for you to hide it, but you aren't just going to ditch Xuanyuan.>See if you can somehow transmute the grave soil that stains your clothes into something less conspicuous. People will remember you if you wander around Atlanta, covered in dirt. (Matter ••)The sword could be excused as a prop, but the dirt will make us conspicuous, and we can no longer go home to change or shower.
>>6432815+1I like the prop idea and taking off all the dirt. We can also say we bought it online or something, maybe a trade from FB Marketplace
>>6432815You got the right idea +1 We can maybe make a spell of Matter or Matter + Time that allows us to transform it between its true form and that of an umbrella or briefcase or something. But not right now, we foolishly neglected to harvest the quintessence at the graveyard nexus/ley line/locus/can't remember what it's called in Mage
>You're taking the sword with you but it's a tie between not casting anything and using Matter •• to clean yourself up. I'll wait roughly two hours for a tie-breaker, before I roll for it.
>>6432939I'll cast the tie breaking vote: we clean ourselves up. We need to be sneaky and the sword is conspicious enough. We do not need more wierdness indicators.
“There's no way I'm leaving this behind. It's all that I've got left from that moment.” You're not sure what the right word for it is. If the word for what you are is Awakened, then maybe you should consider it your Awakening. No matter what the correct nomenclature is, you're not letting go of Xuanyuan. “If you want me to come with you, the sword's coming too.”“Fuckin'... All it's gonna take is for the feds to ask some asshole if they've seen a weird motherfucker with a sword and they're gonna be right on your ass, you know that, right?”“Relax, we can always try and cover it with something.” You're not going to budge on this. “Besides, I can clean myself up before we head out. That way, I'll get less looks from people.” Already, you are preparing to clear your mind, so that you might channel your qi to leave your body and flow into the filth that stains your garments. You shall will your vital energy to change the matter that it has joined with, so that it may become something else. All you need is the clarity to accomplish such a feat.“Hey, what the fuck do you think you're doin'?”“Getting rid of this dirt,” you retort, closing your eyes and shifting your posture. Once more, you aim to empty your mind through dantian breathing and through wu wei, you shall influence the world around you. Of course, you're trying to block out Papa Yew's babbling at the same time, which makes the process a little harder, but it shouldn't be too difficult.>I want three rolls of dice+1d100 and I will accept the highest roll out of the three rolls. You will need to roll 60 or higher in order to succeed at this task. The higher you roll above the target number, the better the outcome.>Each roller may choose to say “Spend Quintessence,” in order to spend 1 point of Quintessence and decrease the target number of the roll by 4. For example, if two out of three rollers say “Spend Quintessence,” 2 points of Quintessence are spent and the target number is decreased by 8. You have 1 point of Quintessence that you may spend.
Rolled 35 (1d100)>>6432993
Rolled 50 (1d100)>>6432993
Rolled 24 (1d100)>>6432993
>>6433010>>6433013>>6433052...It's been a long day for Henry.
>>6433082NATIONAL TRAGEDY: White boy can't take a break
>>6433084White boy can't have NO motion round here smgdh
Rolled 2 (1d4)>Paradox is a penalty that you will accumulate by failing to cast magic and by trying to cast vulgar magic.>Vulgar magic is any magic that defies any sort of rational explanation. Imagine a theoretical person, who only harbours the most commonly held beliefs about the world. Imagine that they are always observing you, whenever you are casting any sort of magic.>If that theoretical person would be able to explain what they're seeing as a coincidence or some sort of rational event, the magic counts as coincidental. If they would be unable to reconcile what they are seeing with their beliefs and it violates the world as most people understand it, the magic counts as vulgar.>If no ordinary people are around to witness your vulgar magic, it counts as vulgar magic without witnesses. If there is at least one normal person present to witness your vulgar magic, it counts as vulgar magic with witnesses.>Every time that you fail to cast any sort of magic at all, you will accumulate 1 Paradox.>Every time that a roller fails to meet the target number of a roll to cast vulgar magic without witnesses, you will accumulate 1 Paradox.>Every time that a roller fails to meet the target number of a roll to cast vulgar magic with witnesses, you will accumulate 2 Paradox. Additionally, no matter whether the effect succeeds or fails, vulgar magic with witnesses will always accumulate 1 Paradox.When I provide options, I will not tell you if an option is coincidental or vulgar. That is for you to figure out. Sometimes, techniques and instruments can be used to disguise vulgar magic and make it appear coincidental, but there are some uses of magic that are always vulgar, no matter what. You are always free to provide write-ins, if you think it is possible to make a seemingly vulgar use of magic more coincidental.In this case, this was an instance of vulgar magic with no witnesses. Three separate rollers failed to meet the target number of the roll and you failed to cast the effect in any shape or form. This means that you have accumulated 4 Paradox and you currently have 4 Paradox.Accumulated Paradox is harmless on its own. However, I may trigger Paradox backlash at any point. When I trigger Paradox backlash, I will roll a die with a number of faces equal to your accumulated Paradox. You will lose an amount of accumulated Paradox equal to the number that I roll, but the higher that number is, the more severe the outcome of the Paradox backlash.I am triggering Paradox backlash now.
>>6433119Ah paradox. God/The One's immune system. The duct tape holding reality together. The magic police. The demons who will take you to prison dimensions. The spirits whose only job is to punish the blatant. In short, the one thing keeping mages from becoming god-kings is why so many mages die before achieving their potential. This is why you need Prime. Without Prime, you can't even sense paradox, the reason the technocracy is so desperate to stay on top, let alone do something about it. Once you get Prime 4 and 5, then you can actually start erasing it. Prime arch spheres will even let you erase Permanent paradox.
>>6433120Now, why does Paradox exist and punish mages so harshly? Because if mages are given an inch, they will take everything from reality and mug it as Joe Chill did to Bruce Wayne's parents. This is not a joke. Look up the Ritual of the Red Sign; it could allow a powerful enough mage to undo the curse of Cain, turn a kinfolk into a garou, or even turn a garou into a normal human, the rite of turning vampires into furniture, or the spell of Horizon Realm creation / Birth of the Caul. Mages can frack the essence of the universe to create personalized hells/heaven realms.
>The effects of Paradox backlash last for a number of updates equal to the number that I roll, or if the backlash is particularly severe, until I say otherwise.>Whenever you roll, you will be limited to rolling dice+1d90 instead of dice+1d100. This backlash shall last for two updates.>You have discharged 2 Paradox. You currently have 2 Paradox remaining.Your mind violently rebels against your efforts to empty it. As you force all of the thoughts out of your head, it's as though you accidentally bring down a load-bearing wall in the process. The weight of your skull comes crashing down on your brain and all you can feel is a terrible stabbing pain. The passage of time causes the sensation to soften into a broader pressure that encompasses the entirety of your mind – a vicious migraine. All you can do is double over and clutch your head with a free hand and a sob of agony.“Fuck, man! I tried to fuckin' warn you, you can't just go around doin' shit like that!” To his credit, Papa Yew reaches down to support your weight with his own, until you're able to regain your balance. “The shit that we do, it takes a toll. The lwa ain't fond of fools who take their gifts for granted.”“Lwa? Isn't that... vodou? Y-you... You don't sound Haitian...” With a groan, you stagger away from him and stand upright on your own two legs, though you still clutch your head with your free hand. It feels like someone struck it with a hammer.“Man, you're a fuckin' white boy pretending to be Jackie Chan. You don't get to say shit about me.” Those are the last words that Papa Yew offers you for a while, while he leads you through the cemetery. The two of you stop by a shed full of gardening tools near the edge of the graveyard, in which your guide discards his fleece and grabs some tarpaulin, which you wrap around your sword. Even covered by the tarp, Xuanyuan is still very conspicuous.The pain has subsided to the point where you're no longer staggering after Papa Yew, though you are concerned by the fact that he has led you to the edge of the cemetery, out of the darkness and into the glow of street lights. Thankfully, it seems like a quiet road, with no signs of life so far. The heavyset groundskeeper turns towards you and draws the bottle of booze from his pocket. It's Cruzan 9, half-empty and with what looks like chilli peppers floating about in the rum.“You can melt my face off with that?” You can't keep the incredulity out of your voice.“At the risk of the same shit that you're goin' through right now, yeah. Don't worry though, I ain't plannin' on that. Just stay still while I work, I gotta do this right.” Unscrewing the lid, Papa Yew pours a little of the spiced rum over his other hand, letting it splash over his fat fingers. It's his turn to gather his focus as he rubs the alcohol into his brow, murmuring a prayer of sorts as he does so.
“Now listen, Kouzen Nibo. I've spent this night and many others watchin' over the dead, for all you Gede. I ask a favour for all that service – give us your protection. I promise you all that's left in this here bottle, if you see to it that we don't die 'fore our time, at least tonight. You hold up your end of the bargain, Kouzen, and I'll hold up mine. This, I swear, on my soul.”As the prayer goes on, Papa Yew moves his fingers from his face to yours, marking your forehead with the same booze. The pepper-infused rum stings your skin, but you manage to keep yourself from flinching away from his touch. Unfortunately, as far as you can tell, nothing happened. There's no sign that you're protected by anyone or anything, let alone whatever spirit Papa Yew was talking to. However, he seems satisfied with the ritual, as he's already screwing the lid back on that rum and leading the way down the street.“Wait – was that it?”“Yeah, man. You gotta have faith in the spirits. They ain't gonna take it kindly if you question 'em.”“I'm just saying, how do you know we're protected at all? Nothing happened.”“Listen, I swore my soul on this. That shit's heavy, so Gede Nibo knows that this is serious. He ain't gonna let us come to harm. Just make sure that I don't end up breakin' this fucking bottle, 'cause it's my ass on the line I don't get this rum to him by dawn.”“So, what, you'll die if this goes wrong?”“Might be able to bargain with the Gede to keep my soul, but I'd lose all of their trust and be in their debt. I'd end up as one of Nibo's horses for a year or some shit. So don't fuck this up for me.”You still don't know how he can be so confident. Whoever this Nibo is, you didn't hear him respond, nor was there any sign of any supernatural occurrence. It's just like you said – nothing happened. You can't help but wonder, for the briefest of moments, whether Papa Yew is actually like you, or just a little mentally ill.To make matters worse, the groundskeeper is leading you out of that empty side-street and towards a busier road. There are actually people driving along it, who might potentially see you. All it would take is for a cop to come down the road and you'd end up back in the clutches of the shadow government again, thrown into the back of a van, never to be seen again. Are you willing to risk that?>Ask for a detour. You want to pick up some stuff from your own place – you prepared a few things in case the shadow government ever came for you.>You just want to double-check that everything is going to be okay. Despite Papa Yew's warning, you should peer forward in time. (Time •)>Run off into the night, away from the busy street ahead of you. Fuck this and fuck Papa Yew. You're not risking your skin over his delusions.>Put your faith in the groundskeeper. If he thinks that this is going to work, then you're going to believe him. He's earned that much from you.
>>6433161>Put your faith in the groundskeeper. If he thinks that this is going to work, then you're going to believe him. He's earned that much from you.For some reason we saw in the future that the bottle was like corrosive acid, no need to doubt the man now
>>6433161>Put your faith in the groundskeeper. If he thinks that this is going to work, then you're going to believe him. He's earned that much from you.I trust him with my life.
>>6433161>>Put your faith in the groundskeeper. If he thinks that this is going to work, then you're going to believe him. He's earned that much from you.
If Papa Yew insists that this is going to work, then you're going to trust him. You can't lie, you're more than a little tense, but he's putting a lot on the line to get you somewhere safe. Besides, you saw what he's capable of in your visions of the future. You're pretty sure that he's capable of transcending the limits of mankind, just like you.Even if he accomplishes that by talking to his ancestral spirits or something, instead of achieving focus and harmony through xingyiquan and qigong. It's a primitive method, but if it works, maybe you shouldn't question it.The street lights flicker erratically as you walk out onto Memorial Drive. There's plenty of cars barrelling eastward, though there aren't many going in the other direction. It's getting late – exactly fifty-three minutes until midnight, according to your preternatural grasp on time. Anyone who wanted to have a good night Downtown is probably there already, while the people coming from that direction are probably heading home after a long day in the office or just a couple of hours in the club.Yet for a brief moment, the road clears entirely. There's no sign of anyone coming from either direction, so you take the opportunity to cross. Once you've arrived on the other side of the road, the street light dims before it cuts out entirely, leaving the two of you in a patch of darkness.“Stay cool,” Papa Yew insists. “Kouzen's workin' his magic.”Traffic soon resumes, with cars rushing past you and briefly illuminating you with their headlights. Above you, the lights cut out moments before you walk beneath them, shrouding the two of you in shadow. Shortly after you've moved on, once you're an inconspicuous distance away, they flicker back on. After only a couple of minutes of walking, the two of you arrive at the bench by a bus stop. With a groan, Papa Yew throws his weight back against it, the wood creaking beneath him yet refusing to give way. Unlike you, he's at ease.Even when you spot the silhouette of a patrol car coming from the east, cruising towards you.“Shit,” you mutter. “Hey. Hey, there's cops coming. We've got to move, they're going to – ”Before you can say anything else, you notice that a car going in the other direction has drifted further and further towards the middle of the road, to the point where it's gone over the line. Only the blaring of the cruiser's horn causes the drunk driver to swerve back into his lane and avoid crashing into the cop car.As you'd expect, the emergency lights on the cruiser immediately start to flash and the siren starts to wail, as the police maneuvers to give chase after the idiot, driving off in the other direction long before they're able to catch you in their headlights.And a second later, the bus you were waiting for pulls up with a hiss of its hydraulics.
“Well shit, if I knew it was gonna be here this soon, I wouldn't have sat down.” Papa Yew sounds a little too smug for his own good, but you suppose that he deserves it, if he's somehow responsible for this auspicious series of events.A crumpled five-dollar bill pulled from his pocket pays the fare for both of you. You earn a couple of strange looks from the other passengers – after all, you're a white guy straight out of the office, covered in dirt and taking the bus in the middle of night, holding something long, hard and suspicious hidden underneath a tarp. You're more than a little unusual. Fortunately, they know to mind their own business and leave you alone, while Papa Yew leads the way to the back of the bus.“Just gotta send some folks some shit, you'll get to meet 'em tomorrow. It's a bit fuckin' late for a powwow.” True to his word, he pulls a battered old cell phone from his pocket and begins to tap away on it. Your own is long gone, left behind at your old workplace.“You got anythin' you wanna ask, now's a good time, but make it quick and keep it quiet, got it? We're gettin' enough looks as it is and we've gotta get off in ten minutes, maybe less. Traffic's gonna clear soon as we turn into Glenwood.”>You want to know how he did that. The street lights turning off, the drunk driver distracting the cops, the bus arriving just on time – it was all way too convenient to be chance alone.>Ask about the shadow government. It's best that you learn more about your pursuers and exactly who you're dealing with, and if they're going to keep on hunting you no matter what.>Inquire about the people who he's talking to. If you're going to meet them, you want to know who they are and if you can trust them before a face-to-face encounter.>You have to learn more about what it means to be Awakened. At the very least, you want to know why you got a splitting headache when all you were doing was trying to meditate.>No need to say anything. With your sword and your soiled clothes, you're already a little too conspicuous. You don't want to attract even more attention by talking about crazy shit in public.
>>6433261>>You have to learn more about what it means to be Awakened. At the very least, you want to know why you got a splitting headache when all you were doing was trying to meditate.Let's sync player knowledge with MC knowledge. We're going to have to be careful about choosing when to use magic, it seems. Best to be prepared and aware.
>>6433261>You have to learn more about what it means to be Awakened. At the very least, you want to know why you got a splitting headache when all you were doing was trying to meditate
>>6433261>You have to learn more about what it means to be Awakened. At the very least, you want to know why you got a splitting headache when all you were doing was trying to meditate.I really want to learn some lore.
>>6433261>Ask about the shadow government. It's best that you learn more about your pursuers and exactly who you're dealing with, and if they're going to keep on hunting you no matter what.Missed the vote, I would have elected to go home and get some stuff and see how well the protection spell worked. Presumably they'd be watching our house, but maybe there'd be a way to sneak in?
“So, we're both Awakened. Does that mean that I was asleep before today or something? What made us so special that we got to wake up, while everyone else is...” Mundane. Banal. Trite. After you witnessed the majesty of the Ouroboros, the life that you led before that moment seems so drab in comparison, an amateur's pencil sketch next to a Picasso. You struggle not to feel the same way about everyone else on the bus, everyone else in Atlanta. Next to you and Papa Yew, they're nothing.“They're asleep too, Fugu. Ain't nothin' special about us. All they need is the right push, and they can all wake up just like we did. It's a deep sleep though, you get me?” His fat fingers flick across the screen of the phone that he's hunched over. “They all wanna live in this fake fuckin' world that's been made for 'em. They've gotta wanna break free from that shit before they've got any chance of wakin' up, but it's easier for most of 'em to go through the motions than it is for 'em to open their fuckin' eyes.”“Right.” You're not sure how you feel about that. On one hand, it puts a dampener on the idea that you're special, that you're above the rest of mankind. On the other hand, you were ready to Awaken, unlike the rest of the sheep who are content to remain Sleepers. You glance around the rest of the bus, for any sign that anyone's eavesdropping. No one's looking in your direction, but you keep your voice down anyway.“So... What happened back there? I tried to cultivate my energy, like I've done before, but something went wrong. All I got out of it was pain. My head's still killing me.” You're not going to use any big words. Papa Yew likely knows less about qigong than you know about vodou, and you barely know a thing on the subject. “See, the rest of the world might be sleepin', but they can still dream. It's that fuckin' dream that we're livin' in, that shapes the whole world way more than you or me ever could. So you gotta follow their rules. No doin'... whatever the fuck you were gonna do, unless you think it's worth the risk. You keep on usin' that Jackie Chan shit to wipe your ass, and you're gonna end up shittin' your guts out.”In other words, you shouldn't expend your qi on frivolous pursuits. It is a precious thing that you should use carefully, and reserve for dire situations. The more that your actions contradict the dream of the Sleepers, the more you will pay for your transgressions.“So, that prayer to... Nibo. You didn't seem to suffer for that.”“Nah, man. What rules did I break? Far as the dream knows, I just said some fuckin' words to thin air, rubbed some booze on you and me, then some shit happened 'cause we got lucky. That's the thing, man, you can trick the dream. You just gotta fuckin'... pantomime that shit, you get what I'm sayin'?”
So... If you went through the motions of trying to clean your clothes and used your vital energy to transmute that dirt into something else in the process, then the dream would have been far less pissed off with you than it was when you simply tried to will it into becoming another substance. Your deeds must make sense to anyone who happens to perceive them, even if there are no onlookers at all. You think that you get it now.“We're not the same though. You ask your spirits to do things for you, but I manipulate my vital energy in order to see or change things. If we're both Awakened, why are we so... different?”“Gonna be honest, Fugu, fuck if I know and fuck if I care. Maybe you've got some freaky fuckin' Chinaman as an ancestor and you can only do this shit 'cause his spirit's watchin' over you, I don't fuckin' know. All that matters is that you can do the shit that you do and I can do the shit that I do. It's all real and we'd just end up hurtin' our fuckin' heads by thinkin' too much about it. C'mon, we're gettin' off.”Even if it wasn't time for you to disembark, you get the feeling that Papa Yew has run out of tolerance for your questions. Without asking anything else, you follow him off of the bus and into the night, off of Glenwood Avenue and towards a nearby apartment block. Though the exterior of the building is relatively modern, the inside is already dingy and in a state of disrepair. Unfortunately, even the flickering lights, discarded trash and stickiness of the floor are not enough to prepare you for Papa Yew's apartment.It's a mad house. Colourful beads hang off of everything in the apartment, granting it a kaleidoscopic appearance. There's heaps of candles, cigars and animal bones strewn over every surface, along with numerous half-empty bottles of rum and perfume. Embroidered flags decorated with sequins are draped over every wall. Strange, animalistic sounds come from a large cube sitting in the middle of the floor, covered by a black sheet. As for the smell, it's heady, to say the least. As soon as the door opened, all of the mingling scents hit you like a truck. The odour is almost impossible to describe.“Gonna have to text the cemetery in the morning, say I had some sort of emergency. They ain't gonna be happy, but this shit comes first.” Papa Yew then jabs a fat finger in your direction. “Got just one ground rule, don't touch my shit. You're just stayin' here for the night, so there's no need to fuck with my crib. Just sit your ass on the couch and get some shut-eye. I've gotta give that rum to Kouzen Nibo, but you fuck with anythin', I'll know, got it?”
“I got it the first time, thanks.” You try not to sound too snide. In the end, you're grateful that this man, almost a complete stranger, is guiding you into the world of the Awakened. You could do a better job of showing that. Before you can say anything else, the fat figure of Papa Yew shuffles into his bedroom to perform the necessary rites, leaving you on your own.>Attune yourself to the internal qi of the life that can be found in this apartment block. If agents of the shadow government show up in the middle of the night, you want to be ready for them. (Life •.)>Pocket a few bottles of perfume, hopefully nothing that Papa Yew will miss. Some of this stuff is pretty valuable and if you can't go back home, you might need to pawn it for some cash. >Empty your mind and sense the presence of any ambient or solidified qi. All of these shrines must encourage the accumulation of mystical energy. Perhaps you can claim it for yourself. (Prime •.)>Inspect the covered cube and whatever can be found beneath it. You're a little scared off whatever is hidden under the cloth, though you can't imagine what sort of pet Papa Yew might keep.>Peer forward in time and witness what fate might befall this place in the next hour. You're still not certain that you trust Papa Yew entirely, so you want to see for yourself whether you're safe. (Time •.)>Sit down, shut up, behave yourself and go the fuck to sleep. The couch looks a bit stained and stinks of Papa Yew's sweat, but it's better than whatever the shadow government had in mind for you.
>>6433332>Sit down, shut up, behave yourself and go the fuck to sleep. The couch looks a bit stained and stinks of Papa Yew's sweat, but it's better than whatever the shadow government had in mind for you.
>>6433332>Sit down, shut up, behave yourself and go the fuck to sleep. The couch looks a bit stained and stinks of Papa Yew's sweat, but it's better than whatever the shadow government had in mind for you.If Yew wanted to cause us harm, we well saw that he's capable of it. And he's really gone out on a limb helping us like this. The least we can do is respect his wishes.Plus, today has been a day of revelations and ...excitement..., and we have to be exhausted.
>>6433360Yew reminds me of Samuel L. Jackson in Die Hard... 3? Impatient and crabby but still saving our clueless ass backwards and forwards because it's the right thing to do. I'm hoping we get invited into the cabal (I think the term for a group of mages, can't recall atm) - there'll probably be someone in his crew that Fugu can actually catch a vibe with, even if he is kind of an antisocial autist a lot of the time. I suspect as he acclimates to being Awakened he will be able to shed some of that ego, seems he is already having to reckon with how little he actually knew and how little he knows now, right down to pronouncing his own mage name. Conspiracy theories tend to make people feel like the smartest person in the room, so getting humbled a little will probably round out these rough edges. I think it'd be cool if Henry opens a dojo not even just as a front but honestly just to try finding a real inner balance with some yoga and shit, not YouTube slop. But maybe he could find a new job as a contractor instead, fixing clogged pipes by making small material adjustments that won't agitate any Sleepers around him.
Honestly, you are exhausted. It's been a long day, considering everything that has happened to you. Even if this new body of yours only came into being an hour or so ago when you manifested in that cemetery, it has still inherited all of the exhaustion that you accumulated throughout the day. Travelling through the dragon veins for hours on end, fighting for your life against the minions of oligarchy, and even spending half a day in the office has been more than enough to wear you out.Your cushions of the couch are unpleasantly soft. As soon as you've sat down, you sink into them as though you just made the mistake of planting your backside in quicksand. The purple velvet, stained and stinking, almost threatens to engulf you. You don't want to think about how difficult it'll be to get back up in the morning, because right now, all you want to do is sleep.It doesn't take long for you to become accustomed to the softness and descend into slumber. Before Papa Yew finishes his ritual and returns, you've already fallen fast asleep. Yet even as your body rests, your mind remains Awake.You find yourself there again, standing on the hide of the Serpent that is everything. From this angle, all you can see is that vast river of shining scales, trailing off into the infinite void. Though you long to view the Ouroboros in its entirety again, such a feat is now beyond you. The mere thought of taking a single step saps all of the strength from your dream-self.At least you're not alone, for Cleopatra floats before you. Her white robe still billows about her homely figure and her fingers are still stained with all manner of reagents.“I see that you have embraced change. You have become.”“I have Awoken,” you confirm, just to see how she reacts. She doesn't. Her expression remains sombre and resigned.“It was inevitable. So begins your journey towards stasis.”“I thought that stasis was impossible?”“It is. That has never stopped us from trying to reach it.”This time, the words do not come from Cleopatra, but from another woman, just as plain and soft-bodied. Her black hair has been coiled into small buns, a loose brown robe hangs from her body and any beauty that she once had has been ruined by burn scars. You know her name – Sun Bu'er.“Why? The people that we fought, weren't they agents of stasis? Why do we fight for the same goal as them?”“What else does the Serpent have to offer that is worth seeking?”These words come from a severe Persian man with an unkempt black beard, dressed in flowing robes and with a turban coiled about his head. He is none other than Abu Bakr al-Razi.“What form does stasis take, that we have all sought, in one form or another?”“Immortality.”
“That is what you shall seek, as we did.”“With each step that you take in the pursuit of eternal life, your talents shall expand.”“Yet you will fail, as we did.”Every sentence comes from a new figure, a previous incarnation of your soul.“Isn't this endless cycle of failure its own form of stasis?” There is no answer, only a solemn stare from each reflection of your self. “What am I supposed to do, to try and achieve immortality?”“Through chrysopoeia, produce gold. Through annihilation, produce aether. Barakah. Prana. Qi. Mana. Quintessence.”So many words for the same thing, uttered by so many mouths. How many lives have you lived?“What does any of that have to do with living forever?”“It is but a single step. The caterpillar does not know the butterfly that it will become with the first bite that it takes. It simply does what its nature demands.”A part of you yearns to defy these prior incarnations of yours. Nothing triggers your oppositional defiance like the insistence of inevitability. However, they aren't asking for anything that is particularly concerning – the use of alchemy to create gold and qi doesn't sound very malign or suspicious. What do you have to lose by doing such a thing, especially if it's the first step down the road to eternal life?>Prioritise this assignment. You should follow the instructions of your past selves, if it will lead to the expansion of your talents.>Keep it in mind, but you have more important things to take care of. Meeting the other Awakened of Atlanta comes first.>Put no effort into pursuing this goal. If you happen to fulfil the wishes of these ghosts, so be it, but it will be purely coincidental.>Refuse to do their bidding in any shape or form. Fuck them, you won't do what they tell you to. If that means denying power, so be it.
>>6433495>Keep it in mind, but you have more important things to take care of. Meeting the other Awakened of Atlanta comes first.>Put no effort into pursuing this goal. If you happen to fulfil the wishes of these ghosts, so be it, but it will be purely coincidental.>"What it is, shall be, and I'll leave it at that"Fuck you, me, you can't tell me-me what to do
>>6433495>Keep it in mind, but you have more important things to take care of. Meeting the other Awakened of Atlanta comes first.Reminds me so much of Red Lion, great alchemical book by a Hungarian lady that lives through WWII (you would like it, QM). I feel Henry is a regression, low in karma or what have you, and so I imagine him being a bit more self interested and slow to eventually approach The Great Work. I also think we will need friends if we're going to survive and proceed.
>>6433495>>Put no effort into pursuing this goal. If you happen to fulfil the wishes of these ghosts, so be it, but it will be purely coincidental.Eternal life is overrated anyway, even if it was achievable.
>>6433500>>6433549Looking back at our earlier vote for Fugu's motivation:>Altruism. You don't do this for yourself, you do this for the people. You yearn to lead the masses down the path to enlightenment, to free them from scarcity and show them how to create limitless energy for themselves.How do we feel about Fugu trying to uplift OTHERS to eternal life, in order to pursue the project in a different way, later? Or eventually investing in perfecting his own form so he can help perfect those of others?
>>6433553We'd want to sort out the limitless energy first, I think. That's our first love, and if we ever got to the point that people stopped dying, the population would explode, making resources and energy in extremely high demand.And while we may be altruistic, we're also a mildly paranoid conspiracy theorist. Us being proven right about the conspiracies will likely make us unbearably smug for a while (once the shock wears off), but the root personality that drove us into that mindset will creep back in eventually.
>>6433495>Prioritise this assignment. You should follow the instructions of your past selves, if it will lead to the expansion of your talents.The ghosts have helped us out so far. Also even not getting to immortality but most of the way there will still be useful.
>>6433495>>Prioritise this assignment. You should follow the instructions of your past selves, if it will lead to the expansion of your talents.Objective: Survive.Also, hopefully, learn about the Nephandi. They are my favorite "dark" mages.
>>6433765If Mages are orthodox cultivators, then the Nephandi are unorthodox cultivators. Far to many mage fans buy into the anti-nephandi propaganda and rhetoric. Personally, I believe it's because they fear examining their own actions and know that Nephandi are just as human as they are, and they cut into their own recruitment numbers.
>So we've got one vote for both "keep it in mind" and "put no effort into it," one vote each for "keep it in mind" and "put no effort into it," and two votes for "prioritise this assignment.">I consider this a bit of a tie, so I'll wait a couple of hours for someone to break it before I roll for it.
>>6433119I have a question about this.. what if you do a vulgar spell infront of someone who isn't awakened but believes, like a skeptic or a philosopher?
>>6433901believes its normal*
>>6433901>>Put no effort into pursuing this goal. If you happen to fulfil the wishes of these ghosts, so be it, but it will be purely coincidental.
>>6433907I would pick to refuse, but I am an intelligent voter
>>6433901I can answer that. Vulgar magic performed in front of witnesses who believe in magic, i.e. that your type of magic is possible, generates less paradox. It's why so many mages want to start cults: having witnesses who believe you can do what you are attempting makes the attempt easier and can even grant a modified difficulty or auto-successes. >Put no effort into pursuing this goal. If you happen to fulfil the wishes of these ghosts, so be it, but it will be purely coincidental.
Got a question QM. WIll you be doing merits and flaws, or will those come up if the quest lasts?
>>6433910are you like a co-writer? How can you answer this so confidently, you are not the QM (also QM if you are reading this, please get a capcode)
>>6433915Because this game is using a pre-established setting, Mage: The Awakening, from World of Darkness. Maybe it's Ascension, I only know Awakening lore from playing in mixed-template games (which, generally, Mage players suck all the fun out of, usually unintentionally at least). Fugu may not know this stuff in character, but what anon said is true.
>>6433915Because I have read the rule book. The near 700 page long rulebook. I have even read the Mage supplement of How Do You Do That explaining the rules. Mage: The Ascension is famous for how bad its rules are.
>>6433901>A Sleeper who is a true believer, who genuinely believes in the form of magic that you are practising (in the case of Fúgū, someone who places just as much faith as him in waidan, neidan, qigong and wushu) does not count as a witness for the purpose of this quest, though if the magic is vulgar, it remains vulgar.>If there is a large enough group of these true believers present to observe a display of vulgar magic that they believe in, and no Sleepers who do not believe in the magic being performed, then the magic may even count as coincidental instead of vulgar.>Additionally, there are locations where Sleepers are more open to the supernatural occurring, typically due to the beliefs of the Sleepers that frequent those locations. For example, conjuring and communing with the spirits of the dead might be coincidental in a graveyard that is known to be haunted.>Turning vulgar magic into coincidental magic is dependent on where you do it, who you do it in front of, and how you try to dress it up.>For example, if he knew about Paradox at the time, Fúgū could have tried washing or cleaning his clothes with something as he tried to transmute away the dirt. This would have tricked the universe into accepting his magic as coincidental, instead of punishing it for being vulgar.>>6433913>I am adapting and simplifying the system of Mage: the Ascension into a quest-friendly format, that is easier for /qst/ to engage with. There will not be a full character creation process, so no Merits or Flaws, or dots in Attributes or Abilities or Backgrounds.>Fúgū may acquire permanent advantages and disadvantage based on what occurs during the quest, but the only relevant stats are Fúgū's Spheres, Quintessence, Paradox and Health. I will explain how I am handling Health in this quest when it becomes relevant.
>>6433495>Keep it in mind, but you have more important things to take care of. Meeting the other Awakened of Atlanta comes first.Preventing early death by learning about the world as it is now sounds like an important step for what our past selves want too and we can prioritize immortality research later on if we want to. Great quest so far by the way!
Oh man I didn't even know this was an actual game, I just thought the QM was incredibly creative (not to downplay the quest, it's great thus far)
>>6433927Mad science in a supervillain's island lair could be considered vulgar or coincidental with his minions. However, mad science performed in a church in front of those who don't believe in science means it would be vulgar with witnesses and thus generate more paradox. For magic, you have to consider the instruments being used, the setting, the tangentials (the phases of the moon, day of the year, what is the intent behind what is being done, etc...), the Mage's paradigm, what spheres the mage possesses, and the resonance (the residual magic aura that builds up from repetitive or grand displays of magic).
“I guess that this step is inevitable, just like everything else you have told me.”“It is.”“In that case, if everything is predetermined, there's no reason for me to waste energy chasing after immortality. I will take each step when I am meant to, no matter how much effort I put into the process. Let it happen, when it should happen. Let the Serpent turn.”“If that is how you wish to proceed, so be it.”You had hoped that you would earn some sort of reaction from your prior incarnations, by turning their insistence on inevitability and predetermination against them. Instead, they remain indifferent, as resigned and solemn as they were before. It irritates you a little, just how implacable they are.Nevertheless, you mean what you say. You will not actively pursue immortality. If the means of achieving this first step that they speak of happen to fall into your lap, then you will make use of them. All you know is that you not go out of your way to make the wishes of these ghosts a reality. You have not Awoken from the tedium of one machine, just become a cog in another. You are your own man. You are Henry Cobbledick – you are Fúgū.With that innermost declaration, the apparitions fade along with the scales of the Serpent. The void engulfs everything, leaving you adrift in the oblivion of a dreamless sleep, until wakefulness finds you.“Man, you sleep like a fuckin' log.”With a groan, you push yourself up from where you lie. Though the couch fights against you every step of the way, you manage to sit up and open your eyes. Faint light pours in through the window and into the gaudy apartment of Papa Yew. Dawn has arrived, if only just. Whatever lives in the covered cube that's sitting in the middle of the floor, it's quietly clucking and crooning to himself.“What time is it..?”“Just went six. Get this shit down you, we got company comin' in twenty to pick you up.”Papa Yew chucks something on the cushion of the couch beside you. It's a bottle of water, along with a bowl made of cheap black plastic, sealed with a transparent lid. A double hash brown waits for you inside of the container, smothered, covered, chunked and diced.God bless Waffle House.Without hesitation, you tuck into the gooey mess of shredded potato, sautéed onion, smoky ham, diced tomatoes and American cheese, washing it down with the bottled water. After everything that you've gone through since you last ate, it might just be the best thing that you've ever tasted. You sit in silence with Papa Yew, who is busy demolishing an even larger bowl of breakfast slop. It's a moment of peace, during which you don't have to deal with his cussing and he doesn't have to deal with your questions. It's a chance for the two of you to share an unspoken appreciation for the simple things in life.
Before five minutes have passed, you've both finished and the peace has passed, as another order is barked at you.“Go get yourself cleaned up, you still look like a fuckin' mess.”“Yeah, whatever. Thanks for the food.”There's not much that you can do to tidy yourself up, all things considered. It's not like you have a change of clothes and while they're that filthy, it's not really worth showering. You splash your face with some water and scrub away the grime, you rinse your teeth with mouthwash and you spray yourself down with enough deodorant to hopefully mask any odour. You consider shaving away the patchy stubble that you've sprouted, but you decide against it. All the while, you never let Xuanyuan leave your sight. It's the only precious thing that you have left in your life.By the time that you've done, you only have five minutes left before 'company' is due to arrive. Papa Yew's too busy tending to the shrines scattered throughout the apartment to pay you much attention, though he does pause every minute or so to peer out of the window, for any sign of his guests. All you can do is sit back and finish that bottle of water, while you wait.The last thing that you expect is for the air near the front door to fizz angrily, only to suddenly split into a yawning gateway, crackling with energy.Papa Yew cries out and staggers away from the window that he was staring out of. You haul yourself to your feet and draw your sword from its scabbard, as quickly as you are able. You almost cut yourself in the process – you have no practice when it comes to wielding such a blade.Fortunately, it is not a squad of soldiers spitting plasma and lightning who march out of that portal. Instead, it is but a middle-aged man, dressed in the distinctive white suit of a Southern gentleman. His right eye is sharp and blue while his left is cloudy and blind, surrounded by a lattice of purple scarring. A head full of greying hair is slicked back away from his weathered face, while a drooping moustache of the same hue hangs beneath his bulbous nose and over his mouth. In his right hand, he wields a heavy cane hewn from hickory. His left remains free and outstretched, fingertips still faintly glowing with arcane light.“What the fuck, man?! I thought you were gettin' your fuckin' butler to drive you here or some shit!”“I did not believe that we had the time for that, nor do I believe that we can afford to be so blatant at this juncture.” The stranger speaks with a noticeable drawl, though it isn't strong enough for you to consider him a full-blown stereotype. He doesn't spare Papa Yew a glance, instead turning his attention towards you and stretching his hand out. “Ptolemy Lux bani Flambeau, at your service, sir. You must be this Fugu fellow that my associate here spoke of?”
You realise that your sword is still drawn and that your posture is still guarded. Can you afford to relax around this man? There's also the matter of Papa Yew, who looks like he was on the verge of a heart attack thanks to Ptolemy's sudden arrival.>You're pleased to make his acquaintance. Give him all of the respect that he has given you, and more. To shatter space like that, he must be a particularly powerful Awakened.>It's good to meet him. Shake his hand, but leave it at that. You can be civil but you're not going to debase yourself. After all, you are Awakened, just like him.>Ask for a warning next time. You were just as alarmed by his sudden arrival as Papa Yew was. You were mere moments away from stabbing the guy.>Demand an apology for Papa Yew. The man has put his life on the line for you, given you shelter, and even brought you breakfast. The least that Ptolemy can do is say sorry to him.>Keep your sword ready. He wields the same techniques as the agents of oligarchy. You aren't going to let your guard down until you are assured that you can trust him.
>>6434017>It's good to meet him. Shake his hand, but leave it at that. You can be civil but you're not going to debase yourself. After all, you are Awakened, just like him.
>>6434017>It's good to meet him. Shake his hand, but leave it at that. You can be civil but you're not going to debase yourself. After all, you are Awakened, just like him.Be polite, be efficient, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
>>6434017>>It's good to meet him. Shake his hand, but leave it at that. You can be civil but you're not going to debase yourself. After all, you are Awakened, just like him.We are so very out of our depth still. But that's no reason to go bowing and scraping. For all we know, acting subservient might have some weird interaction with our powers.
You sheath your sword. It takes more than a few seconds, to clumsily slide Xuanyuan back into its scabbard. Once again, you nearly cut yourself in the process. You really need some practice with it.“It's Fúgū, but uh, likewise. It's good to meet you, Ptolemy.”Your hand shakes his. While his grasp is firm, yours is somewhat clammy. Nevertheless, the gentleman doesn't show any sign of being unimpressed with you. Instead, the greying mystic merely smiles as he withdraws his hand. It join his other, on top of that heavy cane that he rests his weight upon.“I would prefer if you made good use of my title of magister, but I do suppose that you are yet to learn of my order, let alone become a part of it.” His attention swivels towards Papa Yew and his eyes lose all trace of the kindness that he regarded you with. “I take it that you have not informed the fellow of all that much?”“Nah, man. What was I supposed to do, stay awake all fuckin' night, showin' him the ropes? Fucker needed some shut-eye so I let him have it.”You can sense a little animosity between the two of them. Papa Yew might be showing Ptolemy the same amount of respect that he gave you, but the greying gentleman seems far less tolerant of such behaviour than you are.“It had been a long day,” you butt in, in an effort to defuse some of the tension. “As soon as I sat down, I couldn't keep my eyes open. Once we get to wherever we're going, I'll have plenty of time to learn about being Awakened, right?” Neither of the men seem particularly happy about your interruption, but neither of them criticise you for it either.“As you say, Fú-gū.” Ptolemy attempts to say your new name properly, but judging from the grimace that makes, he isn't very fond of it. “I do suppose that we had better be on our way. We have but a minute before this gate of mine seals itself, so I do suggest that we hurry.”“Whatever,” is Papa Yew's report. “You two have fun on the other side.”“When I say 'we,' I mean the three of us, Yew.” The magister refuses to use any honorific when speaking to the oungan. “I doubt that you were subtle when you were bringing this fellow to your abode. I do believe that the Union shall be here before the day is done and if you are still here when they arrive, that shall be that.”“Fuck off. The lwa took good care of me and Fugu, they made damn sure that the feds ain't got shit on us. He's in your hands now, I've got my own shit to sort out.”
Do you have as much faith in the spirits as Papa Yew does, or would he be safer if he came with you?>Ptolemy is right. The two of you were pretty conspicuous, especially thanks to your soiled clothes and the sword you brought with you, even if it was covered by a tarp. It's safer for Papa Yew if he leaves this place behind.>You want Papa Yew to come along. Not in order to keep him safe, but just so that you aren't left alone with the magister. Ptolemy clearly has a very different perspective, which he may try and compel you to share.>Papa Yew is a grown-ass man. He can look after himself. The fat black cemetery caretaker has faith in his own abilities, so you should have some faith in them too. He doesn't need either of you to protect him.>Stay out of this. This is an argument that doesn't involve you. Papa Yew will think of you as a condescending asshole no matter what side you take, while Ptolemy might not appreciate you stepping out of line.
>>6434265>You want Papa Yew to come along. Not in order to keep him safe, but just so that you aren't left alone with the magister. Ptolemy clearly has a very different perspective, which he may try and compel you to share.
>>6434265>>Stay out of this. This is an argument that doesn't involve you. Papa Yew will think of you as a condescending asshole no matter what side you take, while Ptolemy might not appreciate you stepping out of line.I like Yew, and would appreciate his perspective in addition to what Ptolemy will have to say, but the whole point of the peppered rum thing was to minimize our profile on the way here. Plus, he's already done plenty for us, and it's obvious that he doesn't want to come along right now.
>>6434265>>You want Papa Yew to come along. Not in order to keep him safe, but just so that you aren't left alone with the magister. Ptolemy clearly has a very different perspective, which he may try and compel you to share.Fuck the hermetics. Actual Lucifer taught their founder, Hermes, as a tactic to try to deal with the Earth-Bound situation.
>>6434271>>>Stay out of this. This is an argument that doesn't involve you. Papa Yew will think of you as a condescending asshole no matter what side you take, while Ptolemy might not appreciate you stepping out of line.>>6434272Good point.Swtiching sides.>>Stay out of this. This is an argument that doesn't involve you. Papa Yew will think of you as a condescending asshole no matter what side you take, while Ptolemy might not appreciate you stepping out of line.
>>6434265>Stay out of this. This is an argument that doesn't involve you. Papa Yew will think of you as a condescending asshole no matter what side you take, while Ptolemy might not appreciate you stepping out of line.
You remain silent. Papa Yew's a big boy, he can take care of himself. As for the magister, you're not sure that he would appreciate the interruption.“So be it, Yew. If you do end up in the clutches of the Union, know that I will not come to your rescue. This way, Fúgū. By my reckoning, we have but thirty seconds left before the gate closes, and I will not allow myself to be caught by our adversaries in such a place.”Without another word, Ptolemy Lux turns around and strides through the portal from hence he came. The radiance of the eldritch gate swallows his body whole with an angry hiss.“Go on, get. Just don't let him fuck with your head.”That's as much of a goodbye as you're going to get out of Papa Yew. Regardless, you lift a hand in a gesture of farewell before you turn towards the portal, catching a glimpse of him nodding back at you. You can't afford to hesitate, considering how little time you have left. Putting your faith in the magister, you stride forward into the light and allow it to engulf you, consuming your body and your vision alike.When the light fades, you are elsewhere.Sunlight struggles to shine through the dusty windows of a vast cellar, with bare brick walls and great stone slabs that pave the floor. Many of the bricks and slabs bear symbols smeared on their surfaces with white paint, symbols which belong to a script that you have seen before, but cannot name. You are certain that you saw some of these characters on the hide of the Ouroboros, etched into its scales, yet your memory of your Awakening is already foggy. All that you can remember is the power that you possessed, and how empty you feel now in comparison to then.The arcane gate closes shut behind you, its radiance ceasing to be. You look behind yourself, at the wall where the portal once was. Most of it is bare, though more symbols are painted in a circle that formed the edge of the gate, at least while it was extant. To either side of that eldritch door frame, black candles burn, their blue flames dimming to a more natural orange as the magic fades.More of these candles can be found throughout the cellar, sitting in candelabra. They are the only source of light, other than the windows. The air is surprisingly dry for a chamber mostly buried beneath the earth, though it carries a woody aroma, thanks to all of the ageing books. Bookcases are scattered throughout the basement, stacked with tattered texts and occult paraphernalia. The only other forms of furniture that can be seen are a few antique chairs and a similarly old desk, sat in the middle of the room.“So,” Ptolemy begins as he leads the way towards that desk of his, “you have Awoken. From what I understand, it was quite a traumatic experience for you.” He pulls out one of the chairs, gesturing for you to take a seat. You do so. Though it is cushioned, it is far stiffer and less pillowy than the sweat-stained couch at Papa Yew's.
“Something like that. This... Union that you've mentioned a couple of times, they came to take me away yesterday afternoon, but I Awoke, like you said.”“The mundane details are irrelevant,” the magister replies, pushing in your chair once you've made yourself as comfortable as you can get. He circles around to take his own seat on the other side of the desk, speaking all the while. “I know about the Union, Fúgū. I have no need to hear more about them. What I am more interested in, is the nature of your Awakening. Who, or what, visited you in your time of need? What did you see, when you accepted their aid and followed their lead?”“Speak of us, but not of you. He need not know that you are but our latest incarnation, that you are but another turning of the wheel. Let him believe that we guide you, rather than learn that we are you.”You can feel the breath of Cleopatra as she whispers into your ear, a sensation that almost causes you to shiver. Her stained fingers rest against your shoulders while she waits for you to make your decision, and determine what you shall tell Ptolemy.>The whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Your soul is that of myriad other alchemists who sought immortality and failed, who were consumed by the Serpent and born again.>Leave out the reincarnation, as Cleopatra asks. She is your guide, who seeks to lead you down the road to immortality and who showed you the Ouroboros, in all of its glory.>Focus on what you accomplished during your Awakening and your mastery of qigong, of waidan and neidan. Hopefully this will still be of interest to him, even if it is a distraction.>Make something up. Nikola Tesla came to your aid in your hour of need and showed you the majesty of the Big Bang. Ptolemy needn't know any of the truth.
>>6434488>>Leave out the reincarnation, as Cleopatra asks. She is your guide, who seeks to lead you down the road to immortality and who showed you the Ouroboros, in all of its glory.We're not planning on pursuing the immortality angle anyway, and our "background" isn't relevant to our powers as far as we can tell. If he presses, we can talk about our interest in alchemy and zero-point energy stuff
>>6434488>Leave out the reincarnation, as Cleopatra asks. She is your guide, who seeks to lead you down the road to immortality and who showed you the Ouroboros, in all of its glory.
>>6434488>Leave out the reincarnation, as Cleopatra asks. She is your guide, who seeks to lead you down the road to immortality and who showed you the Ouroboros, in all of its glory.Cleo's been a good guide so far.
>>6434488>>Leave out the reincarnation, as Cleopatra asks. She is your guide, who seeks to lead you down the road to immortality and who showed you the Ouroboros, in all of its glory.Past lives is an actual background in Mage: The Ascension that works as a sort of special dice pool you can roll to see if you have ever encountered or learned of something in a previous life. It can even grant temporary or permanent skills. It works like Legacy for Demon the Fallen.
“When the agents who grabbed me were about to throw me into a van, I... She appeared before me. Some woman who looked like she was straight out of Ancient Rome or something, her fingers stained yellow and purple and black. She didn't even need to introduce herself, I knew her name as soon as I saw her. Cleopatra – not a queen, but an alchemist.”That gets Ptolemy's attention. He leans forward, blue eye and blind eye alike gleaming in the candlelight while he waits for you to continue.“Tread carefully.”“She wants me to live forever. She wants me to use the philosopher's stone to make an elixir of life, just like she did. To help me with this, she showed me... She showed me the Ouroboros, that Serpent that is the One is All. Through it is All, and by it is All, for if it is not All, All is Nothing.” You gulp, your mouth dry as you recall the words burned into your mind during the moment of your Awakening. “Once I had seen it, once I was free from it... I could do anything. Now I am a part of the Serpent again.”“I am grateful for your honesty,” the magister remarks. “You see, though the process might have seemed entirely unique from your perspective, the truth is that it was anything but. Each one of us has a Word, Fúgū, the Avatar of our Will that shapes our perception. Yours is Cleopatra. She was the lens through which you glimpsed the true nature of the universe.”Ptolemy hesitates for a moment and rests his cane against the arm of his chair, so that he might steeple his fingers. His one good eye never leaves your gaze.“Unlike you, I did not stumble into enlightenment. I earned this privilege through years of slaving away and more painstaking effort than you will ever know. The Word that I chose was Genapherim and when I achieved my oneness with it, my light touched every last corner of this earth. I saw the universe through that lens that I had made.” He wets his lips, before his drawling continues. “You see, Fúgū, my understanding of reality is spoiled by subjectivity, just like your own. Yet by recognising what we have in common and identifying the pattern that underlies our perspectives, we can achieve objectivity and grasp a single, universal truth.”The pregnant pause that follows makes it clear that you are supposed to ask the very obvious question. You decide not to disappoint the magister.“What truth is that?” “The power that we wield is magic, Fúgū. It is our Will made manifest. Though the likes of Yew might prefer nomenclature such as Awakened, the truth of the matter is that he is a mage, just like you and I. We may try to delude himself into believing that his power comes from his primitive ancestor worship, but the truth is that it is born from his oneness with his Word. I have no doubt that you channel your own Will through... particular beliefs. What would you say is the nature of your magic, Fúgū?”
“Well... I would say that I channel my qi through Taoist disciplines.” You're a little excited. No one's ever shown interest in your interests before. “You see, qigong serves as the basis of neidan, which is inner alchemy, though a strong understanding of qi is still of vital importance to waidan, which is – ”“Forgive me for disappointing you, but all of this qi-gong and nei-dan and wai-dan, it's all an illusion.”Oh.“I said that I chose my own Word, Fúgū. I did not lie. I have been trained in accordance with the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus, like the rest of my Order. We have spent millennia unravelling the objective nature of reality, so that we may see the Divine through clear eyes, rather than through the fog of Taoism, Vodou and other superstition. Our studies have revealed to us that magic can be broke down into three categories: Theurgy, astrology, and alchemy. So you see, Fúgū, even though you are... a little rough around the edges, I can already see that you are far closer to the truth than the likes of Yew. For that reason, I would like you to consider a proposition of mine.”“You want me to be trained in the ways of your order as well.” You don't need Ptolemy to pause, in order to understand what he is offering.“You have the right of it.” The magister sits back in his chair and wet his lips once more, before he drawls on. “I had to train for five years as an apprentice before I was able to become one with my Word, and for two more before my mentor was willing to recognise me as an initiate of our Order. As you are already capable of wielding true magic and have manifested the Avatar of your Will, I imagine that the duration of your apprenticeship won't be half as long, provided that you are able to adapt to the Hermetic style of alchemy with some alacrity.”“Your pursuit of the elixir of life shall take you through a labyrinth. The path that this magus offers shall lead you out of this maze and expedite the journey.”Yet the path would not be your own, it would be one of Ptolemy's design. Though he uses the word 'magic' in order to describe the power of the Awakened, the magister makes it seem far more mechanical than mystical. Yet Cleopatra makes it sound like he speaks the truth, as though this Order unravelled all of the secrets of the cosmos long ago. You need only follow their formulae in order to achieve your goals.>Accept the offer. If this Order of Hermes has already mastered magic, then as a mage, you should seek to learn from them.>You need time to think about it. Hopefully Ptolemy will understand that you can't decide right now. It's a big decision, after all.>Refuse the magister. You want discover the truth of the universe for yourself, without following in the footsteps of others.>Stand by your beliefs. Through neidan and waidan, you shall master the Serpent and become xian. The Tao is the truth. Hermeticism is delusion.
>>6434816>You need time to think about it. Hopefully Ptolemy will understand that you can't decide right now. It's a big decision, after all.>Prod him. If the Hermetic Order exists and people like Papa Yew exist who don't align with the Hermetics, does that mean there are different groups?
>>6434864+1Evil white man won't let us join to our Chinese Brothers and Sisters
>>6434816>You need time to think about it. Hopefully Ptolemy will understand that you can't decide right now. It's a big decision, after all.I hope its the Labyrinth I'm thinking of.Dual traditions are a merit in Mage: The Ascension; the hermetics are incredibly wealthy mages, and the Akashic Brotherhood only started to let non-asians join in the last century.
>>6434864Support. If we're enough of a prodigy that we can unlock our word and avatar without training, I'm interested in how far we could make it ourselves or even if there's others out there we can talk to. Though I am inclined to take his offer, we'll get to immediate learning of more of what we need.
>>6434864+1 Too early to make a commitment like that, we know him less than we do Yew, and as grumpy as he was, in a way I feel Yew respected us more than Ptolemy...
>>6434816>>6434864+1 support.Fugu used to work in corporate right? Number one rule of corporate is get everything in writing. Imagine accepting a job from a mage guild without even reading the fine print.
>>6434816>Accept the offer. If this Order of Hermes has already mastered magic, then as a mage, you should seek to learn from them.We're already used to pretending to follow the rule and example of others. This is an excellent, if lengthy, opportunity to learn what the hermetics think or know about alchemy and other aspects of magery.
You let the silence linger as you try to figure out what to say. You already know that you will not accept his offer – at least not right away – but you have to find the right words to convey that without offending Ptolemy.“I'm grateful for the offer,” you begin, “and I'm honoured that you consider me worthy of this opportunity. It's just a big decision, too big for me to rush into. I need some time to think about my other options first, before I can commit to something like this. I need to be certain that I am making the right choice.”“What other options do you have?”“I... was hoping that you could tell me, actually.” This is the difficult part. “Papa Yew doesn't belong to your Order. Are there many like him, who don't follow your teachings? Are there groups of mages other than your own, who have different views about what we've seen and what we do?”You had hoped to avoid upsetting the magister by using his terminology. Your hopes are dashed when you see his expression shift, from the patient and understanding mien of a teacher, to something far more stony and aloof. His hands move to grasp the arms of his antique chair.“Allow me to determine whether I truly understand what you are insinuating.” His tone has become colder. “I have spoken of the true nature of this reality that we live in, something that has been studied by a most noble tradition for thousands of years. I have given you the opportunity to become a part of this Order and learn the truth for yourself, to liberate your mind from your blinkered perspective. After all that I have said and done, your first desire is to... shop around? Clearly, you have either neglected to listen to my words, or you have refused to believe them. I am uncertain which is worse.”“Look, all of this is new to me, I need time to get my head around... everything. Only an idiot would make such an important decision without knowing what they're getting into, and what they might be missing.”“I have said enough of the Order of Hermes Trismegistus for you to be able to understand what it is, Fugu.” Ptolemy no longer puts in the conscious effort required for him to say your name properly. “You know that you would be joining an ancient instution, devoted to the pursuit of knowledge and truth. For you to believe that this is not the highest honour, you would have to doubt everything that I have said.”“Less than twenty-four hours ago, I Awakened.” You struggle to keep the growing frustration out of your voice. “I saw the Ouroboros, magister. I saw every last atom of our universe in its scales. In that moment, I was aware of everything – everything. Now you're telling me that is was all... false, that the most important thing that I've ever experienced was just Cleopatra playing tricks on my mind. You've got to understand how difficult it is to swallow that. I need time to digest everything.”
At last, Ptolemy relents. His expression softens, as does his grip on the arms of his chair. A sigh rattles past his lips before he speaks once more, any hardness having left his tone.“I suppose that I struggle to sympathise with your perspective, considering that I served the Order for years before I ever experienced oneness with my Word. I had already internalised our truths and I knew that everything that I saw, was witnessed through the lens of my Word. I was prepared for that moment. You were not ready for yours, so I shall give you the time that you need to come to terms with the subjective nature of your Cleopatra, and the Ouroboros that she had you behold.”“Allow him to remain ignorant of eternal return.”“Until you feel able to make a decision, I shall answer any question that you might have, even those concerning orders other than my own. After all, I am obligated to respect the other Mystical Traditions, to which my Order is bound.” Another sigh leaves the magister's lips. He clearly thinks little of this obligation of his.“That is enough of an answer for now.” Considering how heated the conversation became, maybe it's for the best if you don't express too much interest in these other Traditions. “Instead, I was wondering why Papa Yew chose to contact you, considering how the two of you... didn't seem to get along.”You find it hard to believe that Papa Yew's plan was to give you to the Order of Hermes, to which he doesn't even belong.“He did so because my obligations are numerous, my dear Fúgū. To my dismay, the mages of Georgia work as a collective and if I am to benefit from their endeavours, I must contribute in my own way. 'From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs,' as the odious Marx would say.” The magister grimaces. It isn't a policy that he seems to approve of. “As my estate is far larger than that of any of my collaborators, it is my duty to house those in service to the Traditions who are in need of shelter.”“I don't serve any of these Traditions.”“No, you do not. You are only here because Yew asked a favour of myself, because you may yet contribute to our cause, and because I happen to be feeling generous at this point in time. It is a generosity that I hope you will nor exploit.”“Of course I won't.”“Superb.” With those two syllables, Ptolemy reaches forward to pick up a small silver service bell from the surface of his desk. You thought it was just decorative, but its chime is as clear as a clarion when he rings it. The sound carries through the cellar and beyond, bouncing off of the brick and the stone until it inevitably fades. Not long after, the sound of shoes pattering against the floor can be heard, as someone makes their way down the stairs and into the candlelit chamber.
The woman who stops at the foot of the staircase must only be a little older than twenty, and looks a little too skinny for her own good. Her tawny hair has been cut short in a boyish style, devoid of fashion or flair. Blue eyes contrast with tanned skin, betraying her frequent exposure to the sun. As for her clothes, she is dressed in a crisp white shirt, blacks trousers with a half apron of the same hue tied about her waist, and dress shoes. Not so different from your own attire, but without all of the sweat and dirt that stains it.“Yes, Master?”“Fúgū,” says Ptolemy, paying no heed to the young woman beyond a single glance. “I would like you to meet Med, one of my many apprentices. Though none of them are yet to conceive their respective Words, let alone achieve oneness with them, rest assured that they are all dedicated to the Hermetic Order. Each of them knows of the truth, even if they are witness to see it for themselves.”Med simply bows her head. Not knowing quite what to say or do, you just nod in return.“As I have business to attend to, Med shall see to your breakfast, provide you with clean clothes, and show you to your quarters. She will answer any questions that you ask to the best of her ability. Should you wish to explore the estate, I ask that you do so in her company. Though you are a guest of mine, I do appreciate a certain degree of privacy and discretion.” Ptolemy's attention then shifts towards Med. “Do you have any questions, apprentice?”“No, Master.”“In which case, I shall not keep you from your duty.” The magister pushes himself upright with some effort, before he deigns to regard you once more. You rise as well, clutching the sheathed Xuanyuan by your side as you do. “We shall have the opportunity to speak later, Fúgū. Until that time, I bid you good day.”You're not given the opportunity to respond to Ptolemy's dismissal of you before Med speaks, her tone quiet but insistent.“If you would follow me, sir.”You hesitate for only a moment, before you fellow the lead of the apprentice towards the stairs that await you. As soon as you've walked past him, Ptolemy seats himself once more and focuses on the papers laid across his desk, which you did not have the opportunity to read. It would seem that his interest in you has waned, after your refusal of his offer – or rather, your refusal to accept it on the spot.Once you're out of the cellar, it becomes evident that you have found yourself inside of an old plantation house, built in the neoclassical style. Imacculate white plaster covers every surface but the floor, while the ceiling is held aloft by fluted columns of Doric design. You occasionally pass other men and women of various ages, all clad in the same outfit as Med, yet they simply bow their heads and refuse to meet your gaze. Other apprentices, you can only assume.
“If you do not object, I will take you to the dining room and see to it that your breakfast is prepared.”“Oh, no. No need, but thank you, I've already eaten.”“In which case, you will require a change of clothes, as the Master stated. We should have a spare uniform in your size, sir.”She is polite enough to not remark on how filthy your present garments are. She pauses as her plans change, stopping just long enough to recalculate her route and for you to interject, if that is your wish.>Accept the change of clothes. You can't recall the last time that you were this uncomfortable in your own clothing.>Keep wearing what you've got on. Not only have you become accustomed to the soiled fabric, but you're making a statement.>Ask to be taken to the laundry room. Through waidan, you shall try to clean your clothes once more, but this time, in a more subtle manner. You need no servants. (Matter ••.)>You want to know precisely how many people can be found in this place. You shall have to empty your mind and reach out, in order to sense their qi. (Life •.)>Peer towards the Serpent's tail, rather than its head. You want to see what happened in the past, rather than the future. What happened in these corridors, in the hour before your arrival? (Time •.)>Though it may take some focus, you want to learn all of the lifeforms in this mansion and everything that they were up to over the course of the last hour. (Life • / Time •.)>It's best that you don't waste your qi on such frivolous efforts, especially when you are supposed to be following Med. She might not appreciate tardiness. >Simply do as you are bidden. Allow yourself to be taken to your quarters, where you shall wait until you are called upon by the magister.>Take this opportunity to interrogate Med. She might not be Awakened like you, but she likely knows a lot more about magic than you do.>Ask if there are any other mages staying in Ptolemy's house and if there are any, ask to see them. It is his duty to provide shelter, after all.>Open your mind to the presence of ambient and solidified qi, which you might incorporate into your own. Go to it, if you find any. (Prime •.)>Please choose one option from each of the three groups.
>>6435108It's a shame he took such offense to our request for more information, but it is understandable.>Accept the change of clothes. You can't recall the last time that you were this uncomfortable in your own clothing.Our cloths are conspicuous, uncomfortable, and we learned our lesson on frivolous magic use.>It's best that you don't waste your qi on such frivolous efforts, especially when you are supposed to be following Med. She might not appreciate tardiness. It might be nice to know, but it seems doubtful that we'd learn anything worth the risk.>Take this opportunity to interrogate Med. She might not be Awakened like you, but she likely knows a lot more about magic than you do. Given more time later, hopefully we can also see if there are any other mages to talk to.
>>6435108>Accept the change of clothes. You can't recall the last time that you were this uncomfortable in your own clothing.Free stuff and we won't stand out that much anymore while here.>Though it may take some focus, you want to learn all of the lifeforms in this mansion and everything that they were up to over the course of the last hour. (Life • / Time •.)Curiosity. And meta-curiosity about combining the two. >Take this opportunity to interrogate Med. She might not be Awakened like you, but she likely knows a lot more about magic than you do.Free intel
>>6435108>Accept the change of clothes. You can't recall the last time that you were this uncomfortable in your own clothing.Might as well.>It's best that you don't waste your qi on such frivolous efforts, especially when you are supposed to be following Med. She might not appreciate tardiness. >Take this opportunity to interrogate Med. She might not be Awakened like you, but she likely knows a lot more about magic than you do.Lets follow and annoy her. Ptolemy is the spitting image of a Hermetic, grumpy ass guy. Think I liked Papa Yew a bit more.
>>6435108>Accept the change of clothes. You can't recall the last time that you were this uncomfortable in your own clothing.And>It's best that you don't waste your qi on such frivolous efforts, especially when you are supposed to be following Med. She might not appreciate tardiness.And also >Ask if there are any other mages staying in Ptolemy's house and if there are any, ask to see them. It is his duty to provide shelter, after all.I bet Yew partially doesn't get along with this guy because he runs his plantation like a plantation... But also, that advice to not let him get in our head was salient. Surely there's a mage around here who is genuinely friendly, maybe even trustworthy?
“Thanks.”You have nothing else to say regarding the clothes that you've been offered. With a nod, Med continues to lead the way through the corridors of Ptolemy's home. It takes less than a minute for her to guide you to the laundry room, where another apprentice is hard at work pressing shirts fresh out of the dryer. Picking up one of the dozen neatly folded sets of clothes that have already been prepared, Med presents it to you. Though you offers her thanks once more, you hesitate and glance about.“So uh, where should I change?”“Oh.” She blinks, as though she didn't consider that. “If you wish for privacy, sir, I can show you to the nearest restroom. That would be just this way.”So, the magister's apprentices don't seem to care much about personal privacy. It's a little cultish, but you'll let it slide.It doesn't take you long to change into the clothes that you have been given. The shirt is a little too snug around your midriff for your liking, but as long as you suck your gut in, you don't look too ridiculous in it. You shouldn't be surprised, considering how most of the apprentices seem to be in pretty good shape, if a little on the skinny side. In the end, you decide against putting on the half apron, just so you can be more easily distinguished from Ptolemy's students. Once you're finished, Med is waiting for you outside. She can't keep herself from assessing how poorly the shirt fits your figure, but thankfully she refrains from commenting.“I'll take your clothes and see to it that they're washed, sir. For now, if you'll follow me, I'll show you to one of the available guest rooms.”“That isn't necessary,” you remark. “There's a few things I'd like to ask you about, actually. Are you allowed to take me outside?”“Yes, sir, provided that we don't go beyond the limits of the property. If you'll follow me, I'll show you to the garden.”Once again, she leads and you follow. You take the opportunity to look around, to peer through open doors and see what lies inside. In this part of the house, the quarters originally intended for slaves have been renovated into dormitories occupied by Ptolemy's students, most of whom are already up and hard at work. Towards the front of the house, the rooms become larger and more elaborate. An apprentice is busy arranging chairs in some sort of assembly hall, while another is cleaning the dining room now that breakfast has been finished. You even catch a glimpse inside another room that must serve as a laboratory, judging from all of the elaborate glassware that can be seen on the shelves within.“Though the Jewess never achieved immortality, the same cannot be said for her invention. Her alembics may yet be of use to you.”
The morning sun shines down on you, stinging your eyes once you step outside. From the outside, Ptolemy's home looks less like a country home and more like an ancient Greek temple. The portico, supported by thick, fluted columns, grants you shade as you behold over an acre of lawn. Of course, yet another student is hard at work mowing it.“Ptolemy must come from big money, to afford a place like this.”“His master did,” Med replies, clasping her hands behind her back as she comes to a stop beside you. “This house once belonged to the Master's mentor. After his death, the Master was given this house in accordance with his mentor's will.”“So if you manage to Awaken, there's a chance that you might end up inheriting this place next, as Ptolemy's star pupil?”“I want to cultivate my Will and become my Word in order to better understand the truth, sir. The material benefits of achieving the fourth degree are irrelevant to me.” If she's offended by your question, she doesn't show it.“Fourth degree? I thought that Awakening was the first step of becoming a mage.”“I have achieved the second degree and proven that I am capable of magic, sir. I cannot work my Will like the Master and have yet to name my Word, but I can perform minor cantrips associated with Ars Virium.”“In which case, what is the difference between what you do, and what I do?”“If you are a mage, sir, then by your Word, your Will is done. Your understanding of the truth, what you call your 'Awakening,' allows you to alter the universe as you wish. It is the highest state of humanity. What I do is called goetia, or low magic. I must perform specific rites in order to change the world in a specific way, with the same result each time if I perform the ritual successfully. It is the difference between knowing individual words of a language, and having a fluent, native understanding of that language.”“Speaking of language... Med. Is that really your name?” Though you are curious about what sort of magic she can perform, perhaps it is for the best that you don't ask for a demonstration.“No, it is not. We do not use our given names while we are present on the Master's estate, in order to detach ourselves from the outside world. Instead, each of us is assigned an Enochian letter by which we are known, until we achieve the fourth degree and earn a true name from the Master.”Holy shit.“Has anyone here ever Awakened – I mean, achieved the fourth degree? What makes you think that you are going to?”“The Master was the last, sir. Even if I do not learn of my Word and become one with it, I am eternally grateful for everything that I have been taught. The Master has shown me that magic is real and that the world is full of wonder, that the powers that be try to hide from humanity at any cost. Even as a zelator, I can do things that most other humans would never dream of. It is my privilege to serve the Master.”
At this point, she is beginning to express some emotion. Rather than being offended by your questions, she is proud that she has earned the right to be here. She is honoured to be an apprentice of Ptolemy Lux and she will hold her head high for the rest of her life. Your lack of understanding means less than nothing to her.“Has he taught you anything about the other orders of mages, at least? He makes it sound like there's more than just the Order of Hermes out there.”“The other Mystical Traditions are not the focus of our studies, though we have been informed of their existence. Most of what I know, I have learned from interaction with the Master's other guests. Other than you, the Master's house is currently home to one of the Mercurial Elite and a scientist who belongs to the Society of Ether.”You can't help but sense some distaste in her tone, when she speaks of the latter of the two. Before you can question her any further about these individuals, she speaks again, her tone terse.“Though the Master asked me to accompany you, if we remain out here for much longer, I may miss the first lecture of the day. I would be grateful if you either accompanied me to the lyceum or allowed me to lead you to your room. I do not want this task to impair my studies, sir.”>Go with her to the lecture hall, so that you might learn aside her. You might as well see for yourself what sort of things Ptolemy teaches his students, if he wants you to become one of them.>Fine, you'll go to your room, though you may take the opportunity to explore on your own once you're unsupervised. You'd like to be able to look around without Med watching you like a hawk.>Inquire about these other guests of the magister and ask to be left with one of them instead. If you're going to have to sit in one place, you'd like to be able to learn from another mage as you do so.>Prevent Med from going to the lecture. You want to use this opportunity to try and deprogram her, to make her realise just how unhealthy her attitude towards Ptolemy and his teachings is.
>>6435253>>Go with her to the lecture hall, so that you might learn aside her. You might as well see for yourself what sort of things Ptolemy teaches his students, if he wants you to become one of them.The chance to sit in an actual magic class is too tempting, and it should hopefully give us at least a touch of larger understanding. Also, listening to their teachings should hopefully signal that we're not taking their hospitality for granted.This is an odd setup, but these people are here willingly, aren't being abused, and are actually being taught magic. I see no issue with it, though I have no interest in living so strictly ourselves.They keep speaking about a Word. I don't think our Awakening had a central word, unless you count Ouroboros.
>>Go with her to the lecture hall, so that you might learn aside her. You might as well see for yourself what sort of things Ptolemy teaches his students, if he wants you to become one of them.The Hermetics are hardcore cultists. There is abuse, but it is the abuse styled as "for your own good" with the intent of bringing out your true potential. Such abuse would not be dissimilar from the abuse present in the film Whiplash.
>>6435253>Inquire about these other guests of the magister and ask to be left with one of them instead. If you're going to have to sit in one place, you'd like to be able to learn from another mage as you do so.Let's meet the Mercurialoid.
>>6435253>Inquire about these other guests of the magister and ask to be left with one of them instead. If you're going to have to sit in one place, you'd like to be able to learn from another mage as you do so.I would like to go to the lecture, but it's a good time to not only learn about the other traditions, but also for networkHonestly? I would love to be part of a different tradition than the Chinese one (I can't remember the name desu), because it would be interesting to see how Henry's view change or incorporates the things he learned. Hell, I believe the Hermetics or the Etherites are perfect fits for him, but I wanna play Henry like someone intelligent enough to REALLY look around and learn before officially joining a tradition, to know if they're a good fit for them and know how they really operate
>>6435253>Go with her to the lecture hall, so that you might learn aside her. You might as well see for yourself what sort of things Ptolemy teaches his students, if he wants you to become one of them.We'll have an opportunity to talk to talk to the other guys later presumably. I want to see what Ptolemy has to offer.
>Locking the vote there, going with attending the lecture.
“Alright. When it's time, we can make attend this lesson. I've got a few more questions though...”You inquire about the nature of these guests, the Elite and the Etherite. The former is a more recent arrival, who seeks shelter in the magister's estate after she earned the ire of the Union with her actions. The latter of the two has been a guest in Ptolemy's home for over a year and serves as the eyes and ears with which he perceives the outside world, in exchange for food and lodging. In order to ensure that his students remain focused on their studies, the Hermetic wizard has cut them off from the rest of society.Another red flag, though you refrain from commenting on it.As for the factions that they belong to, Med confesses that she knows next to nothing about the Mercurial Elite, just that they once belonged to the Union, much like the Society of Ether. She is more aware of the Etherites, who she describes as scientists who have established a theory about the existence of a fifth element known as ether, which serves as the basis for all phenomena that defies conventional physics. The apprentice doesn't seem particularly impressed by this thesis, but Cleopatra seems intrigued.“Heirs to the legacy of Atlantis, Troy, Baghdad. Their philosophy is not a path, but a pair of Icarian wings.”Next, you ask about the Union. All that Papa Yew said about them was that they were akin to the Illuminati, that you were always right about a shadow government that has dictated the course of history for centuries. According to Med, they are a league of like-minded mages, not unlike the Order of Hermes. Unlike Ptolemy and his Hermetic ilk, they have no interest in enlightening humanity. Instead, their goal is to control the world, to ensure that there is no Word or Will but their own.Before she is able to say much more about them however, the ringing of a bell can be heard, larger and louder than the little thing that Ptolemy rang in the basement.“It is time. If you would follow me, sir.”You follow Med back into the house, where the other apprentices are gathering and filing towards the assembly room that you saw earlier. You join them in the hall and Med directs you to one of twenty empty seats, though she does not sit in her own. As the students assembly, they all stand to attention and await the arrival of the magister. There are sixteen of them present, a couple of whom appear to be middle-aged, while one looks young enough that he might actually be a minor.All of them stand in silence, and so you do the same. It is somewhat awkward and eerie but thankfully, you do not need to wait for long. Ptolemy strides into the hall and takes his place behind the lectern which all of you face. With a wordless gesture from their teacher, all of the students seat themselves in unison. You take a seat with the rest of them, so that you might witness the sort of wisdom that Ptolemy shares with his apprentices.
You get the impression that the lesson has been restructured to cater to you, because it begins with the magister quizzing his students about foundational concepts. The subject of the lecture is astrology – or rather, cosmology – and you find yourself struggling to take in all of the information, if only because it's all so outlandish.The physical world possesses a Jungian shadow, fittingly known as the Umbra. It is a realm born from mankind's unconscious perception of the universe, a parallel dimension where energy, matter and even life are spontaneously generated by the insensate Will of the Masses. Everything that humanity is aware of has a reflection in the Otherworlds of the Umbra, particularly other planets. In many cases, a thing can have numerous reflections, to represent the many different unconscious interpretations of that thing.Such is the case for each planet of the solar system. Each of these has a Penumbral version known as a Shard Realm, which embodies what contemporary humanity unconsciously thinks about that celestial body, and another version known as a Shade Realm, a far more fantastical interpretation of that planet which revolves around its associated Sphere.What is a Sphere? It is one of nine aspects of reality governed by magic. In order from Mercury to Pluto – the Order of Hermes still considers Pluto a planet, due to its spiritual significance – the Spheres of these Shade Realms are Correspondence, Life, Prime, Forces, Matter, Time, Spirit, Mind and Entropy. Most of these are self-explanatory, but Correspondence concerns three-dimensional space, Prime concerns the fifth element that is Quintessence, and Entropy concerns probability and spontaneous processes.For whatever reason, despite its immense importance to cultures across the world, the moon lacks a Shade Realm of its own. While it is commonly suggested that it might share the Shade Realm of Prime with Earth, this is impossible to discern. What mages have been able to discover is that the Shard Realm of Luna exists in three states that are simultaneously extant. That of the moon as the Masses believe it to be, a barren and cratered rock. That of the moon as the Traditions know it, an increasingly perilous crossroads that connects the Otherworlds. That of the moon as seen through the lens of superstition, teeming with all manner of wondrous spirits.The inhabitants of that third incarnation of the moon serve the focus of today's lesson. Luna herself is a spirit, a syncretic amalgamation of numerous moon goddesses, who also exist as independent deities, subservient to the deity that they live upon. Selene, Diana, Chang'e, Awilix, and so on. There are also the numerous legends born of lunar pareidolia, such as the Cain the Wanderer, the woodcutter Wu Gang, and the Jade Rabbit Yutu. Myriad other entities call Luna home, each representing a different belief regarding the moon.
However, Ptolemy is interested in one lunar entity above all others. That would be Thoth, one of the two gods embodied by the legendary Hermes Trismegistus. By invoking this Egyptian deity through goetic means, a practitioner of low magic may be able to divine events that are soon to unfold. The magister proceeds to weave his hands through the air, chanting in a tongue that you have not heard before. Where his fingers wander, airborne particles absorb all light, forming arcane symbols that float in the air and belong to the Enochian script. These are the runes that his apprentices must inscribe, and the words that he utters are those that his students must repeat, if they are to have any hope achieving foresight.You have no doubt that the invocation would be easier to memorise if you had any knowledge of Enochian, but even then, you imagine that you would struggle to internalise the ritual. Some of the younger students are hurriedly copying the Angelical symbols into the notebooks that serve as their impromptu grimoires, while some of the more experienced apprentices mouth the invocation as it leaves Ptolemy's lips, reciting it from memory. Three days from now, on a night when the moon is at its fullest, each of them will have the opportunity to perform this ritual. Should any of them succeed, the magister promises to elevate them to the third degree forthwith.You have been sitting here for over an hour, listening to a wizard dressed like a Southern gentleman in his plantation house ramble on about Jungian shadow planets, a vast assortment of apparently extant lunar entities, and a spell that would supposedly allow his devoted disciples to peer into the future, if only any of them could actually cast it.How do you feel about it all?>It's utter drivel. If even half of the things that he says are true, you would be astonished. He and his minions are far more delusional than you ever were as a Sleeper.>Ptolemy might be able to wield magic, but his students cannot. They are nothing more than a cult of rubes, and he exploits their yearning for power in order to feed his own ego.>He speaks the truth. You believe most of what you have heard, but you still feel thoroughly uncomfortable about the way that he is treating his apprentices. It's manipulative.>You get it. You understand that Ptolemy is trying to motivate his students and push them to their limits, by promising such a meaningful reward. He's earned some respect from you.>You now have the destire to learn Enochian, study this ritual and see if you can perform it yourself. Ptolemy has successfully managed to pique your interest. You want to learn.
>>6435685>Ptolemy might be able to wield magic, but his students cannot. They are nothing more than a cult of rubes, and he exploits their yearning for power in order to feed his own ego.We have broken free from the yoke of corporate wagecuckery, and at the same time broke free from the yoke of the illusory 'order' of reality. We know an exploitative hierarchy when we see it. Ptolemy had the misfortune of getting roped into this while he was still a Sleeper, and it led him right into an ego-trap upon Awakening. I think there's useful information here, but it's filtered through a lens in order to maintain a particular social order - that's the opposite of everything Fugu wants for himself, I would think.
>>6435685>>You get it. You understand that Ptolemy is trying to motivate his students and push them to their limits, by promising such a meaningful reward. He's earned some respect from you.I don't necessarily like how they're going about it, but I get it. And for all we know, these methods do eventually yield results. If there are such dramatically different ways of Awakening, it stands to reason that there are different ways to induce the wake up process.>You have been sitting here for over an hour, listening to a wizard dressed like a Southern gentleman in his plantation house ramble on about Jungian shadow planets, a vast assortment of apparently extant lunar entities, and a spell that would supposedly allow his devoted disciples to peer into the future, if only any of them could actually cast it.We could have been described in a similar crazy manner before our awakening. We were deep in conspiracy theories and mysticism, and would have been called nuts by most people if we'd tried to educate them.
>>6435685>>He speaks the truth. You believe most of what you have heard, but you still feel thoroughly uncomfortable about the way that he is treating his apprentices. It's manipulative.We are a living proof that awakening by being self-taught is possible, and we're shown that being in this kind of cult is also possible. Normal people can ascend, and by Med's own words, they can wield Magick to some degree and with some rituals and preparations. The problem here is that it's more of a cult and there most be other ways to awaken people without indoctrination. Maybe the other Traditions are the same, but for the moment, we don't know that.
>>6435685>>6435701>>He speaks the truth. You believe most of what you have heard, but you still feel thoroughly uncomfortable about the way that he is treating his apprentices. It's manipulative.What's funny is that his lecture is half right and half formed by inaccuracies, ignorance, and bias. The Jungian shadow is canonically how some nephandi grow their power. By exploiting the shadow selves of others and mastering one's own shadow self, you could convince someone into virtually anything. Cosmology is also a canon skill used for Umbral travel and represents one's unified understanding of the cosmos. Most mages do not possess that skill, and virtually no technocrats do.
>>6435685Options two, three and five all feel partially right. Learning enochian and trying to do the ritual would be interesting if only out of curiosity. That said, there are probably as much truths as falsities in his lectures and while it's none of our business I don't want us to become one of the students the way he treats them. Guess I'll settle with>He speaks the truth. You believe most of what you have heard, but you still feel thoroughly uncomfortable about the way that he is treating his apprentices. It's manipulative.as a middle ground.
You are willing to believe this ritual might allow its invoker to catch a glimpse of the future before it unfolds. After all, you know that precognition is possible, so you see no reason to question Ptolemy's method of achieving it, especially when he has proven on more than one occasion that his magic is very real. First the conjuration of the portal that brought you to this place, and now the manifestation of the Enochian equation that hovers in empty space. You're even willing to accept that Med was telling the truth when she said that she is capable of performing magic, even if she describes it as low and goetic.None of this changes the fact that Ptolemy is leading his students on, with the promise of such significant progress if they are able to perform the ritual successfully. You know a fool's errand when you see one. Perhaps the magister is using this as an opportunity to assess the methodology of his students in their pursuit of this impossible task, but he is still isn't being honest with the people who have devoted their lives to him. It's a little cruel.Ptolemy repeats the verbal component of the invocation a few more times, droning on and on. It gives some of his slower students the opportunity to jot down what is being said. The most senior students stay true to the Angelical script, the less experienced jot down the chant as best as they can in English, and a few clever clogs use phonetic transcription. You suppose that this is a point in the magister's favour – if this was a true cult, he would seek to eradicate these differences in methodology and enforce a single approach. Instead, he seems to be allowing his students to find their own way to his 'truth.'After several minutes of this, the lecture at last concludes. The students rise and begin to put away the chairs at Ptolemy's behest, clearing the floor of the chamber so that fencing practice may begin. Med ushers you out of the way to stand out of the way next to the entrance of the assembly hall, through which some of the apprentices depart to prepare lunch. It becomes clear to you that Ptolemy's operation runs like a well-oiled machine, in which each of his disciples serves as a vital cog. For every student who is focused on their education, there is always another who is hard at work maintaining Ptolemy's estate, until the time comes for the two of them to swap places.“I am aware that you are yet to eat, Med. Go and help with luncheon – the sooner that it is prepared, the sooner you will be able to fill your belly. I shall tend to our guest in your absence.”Those words come from none other than the magister himself. Without saying anything, the young woman who gave you guidance and exposition bows her head to her master and turns to depart. You are left to stand beside Ptolemy and observe the wizard's apprentices, as they begin distribute foils and whites among themselves.“I do hope that you found the lesson enlightening, Fúgū.”
“It was interesting,” you confess. “I'm surprised that your Order knows so much about all of these Otherworlds, when they must be so hard to reach.”“Oh, the mages of old did so much more than simply reach these Umbral realms. There was once a stronghold unlike any other, that served as the heart of our Order. Doissetep, they called it, a fortress built in a hidden space that existed between all of the incarnations of Mars.”“Are you telling me that you've been to Mars?” You're flabbergasted. You always knew that the shadow government was holding humanity back, but you had no idea that other freethinkers had already broken free from the shackles imposed on mankind and laid claim to other planets.“Sadly, that was before my time.” Ptolemy turns away, his one good eye staring off into space. “By the time that I became one with my Word, Doissetep had already fallen. Most of the Order blame the Union for its downfall, though no one knows for certain.”Even though you have beheld the Ouroboros in its entirety, you still struggle to grasp the enormity of the conflict that you find yourself in the middle of. The Union does not just seek absolute authority over Earth, but over every corner of creation. Yet is the Order of Hermes truly any better? The control that Ptolemy exercises over his students could be considered just another form of tyranny, shrouded in mysticism and esoterica. Then again, the only people that the magister rules over a score of loyal apprentices. He and his Order do not reign over the billions who call Earth home from its shadows. The Hermetics are by far the lesser evil.“So, what's next?” It's the first thing that you say after a lingering silence. The existence of a Hermetic fortress on Mars is far too discombobulating for you to have anything to add. “What's going to happen to me if I don't join your Order?”“After everything that you have seen and heard, you continue to doubt the veracity of my words?” You were prepared for Ptolemy to become sour once more. Thankfully, he manages to keep his temper in check. “Should you reject this most generous offer of mine, I may introduce you to associates of mine who seek students of their own. They may be more tolerant of this peculiar paradigm of yours, and grateful to have an apprentice to shape in their image.” “So you'd just sell me to the highest bidder?” You can't help but feel like a piece of meat, soon to be inspected by and passed between various mystics. It's hard to not feel offended.“You make it sound like you have no choice in the matter, Fúgū. None of us will compel you to learn from us, if you do not wish to. Such goes against the ethos of the Traditions. Though if you insist on standing alone and learning from no one, should you wish to remain here, then you shall have to contribute to my estate in some manner. I have little tolerance for dead weight.”
“However,” he continues, “we are yet to reach that point, and I would like to think that I am capable of magnanimity. You are my guest, and so it is my duty to satisfy any need that you might have, within reason, of course. What can I offer to you, while you are here?” After his earlier outburst, it seems that Ptolemy is determined to play the part of the gracious host, perhaps as a method of proving himself worthy of your apprenticeship, or as a way of asserting his wealth and superiority.>You wish for the means to learn Enochian. This language of angels has piqued your interest and it may be your first step towards truly understanding the Hermetic method.>Access to his laboratory would be a useful thing. If nothing, it might be a step towards satisfying the demands of Cleopatra and putting an end to her prattling.>Your soul yearns for the fifth element. Ptolemy spoke of the Quintessential power of the Prime Sphere, which you know as qi. Without it, you are diminished.>A chance to participate in the fencing practice would be nice. If nothing else, it is an opportunity to learn how to wield Xuanyuan properly, though it isn't exactly a foil.>All you want is to be excused so that you can meet with the magister's Awakened guests, the Etherite and Elite, preferably without one of his students looking over your shoulder.>Knowledge about the other Traditions, please and thank you. You're sick and tired of Ptolemy constantly ignoring your interest in the other Awakened factions.>You want to leave. You're finished with this place and you have no interest in ending up as the minion of any of these mages. So fuck them, you'll mange on your own.
>>6436214>>Your soul yearns for the fifth element. Ptolemy spoke of the Quintessential power of the Prime Sphere, which you know as qi. Without it, you are diminished.>>A chance to participate in the fencing practice would be nice. If nothing else, it is an opportunity to learn how to wield Xuanyuan properly, though it isn't exactly a foil.I'd like to start here, and if I had to pick one of the two, it would be the second - once we learn some basic drills and principles for swordplay, we can use Time, later, to rapidly develop those fundamentals, and Life to augment our strength, reflexes, and endurance. And eventually we will be able to combine both with Matter to become the jade-boned golden-skinned mercury-blooded alchemical demigod we were always meant to beWe are a ways away from using magic to defend ourselves reliably, and there are more things to worry about in the dark corners of this world than left-handed wizards.
>>6436214>>You wish for the means to learn Enochian. This language of angels has piqued your interest and it may be your first step towards truly understanding the Hermetic method.Fencing is tempting, but sword practice will be easier to come by than knowledge in the future.
>>6436214>>A chance to participate in the fencing practice would be nice. If nothing else, it is an opportunity to learn how to wield Xuanyuan properly, though it isn't exactly a foil.Will never say no to magic sword.
>>6436214>>You wish for the means to learn Enochian. This language of angels has piqued your interest and it may be your first step towards truly understanding the Hermetic method.
>I'll be available to post an update in two hours, so I'd lie the tie between Enochian and sword practice to be broken by then. If it isn't, then I'll roll for it.
>>6436214>You wish for the means to learn Enochian. This language of angels has piqued your interest and it may be your first step towards truly understanding the Hermetic method.Probably our only chance to do that, albeit fencing would've been nice.
“I suppose I'd like to try and learn Enochian. I couldn't understand any of that ritual, but I'd like to give it a shot myself, if I'm able to make sense of the language.”“While I do not have enough time on my hands to personally teach you the fundamentals of Angelical, I shall have an apprentice of mine attend to you. Gisg!” A lanky young man, certainly no older than twenty, pauses in the process of donning his fencing whites. He immediately rushes over to join you and the magister.“Yes, Master?”“I would greatly appreciate if you could show this guest of mine to the library, and see to it that he is supplied with a copy of the Complete Enochian Dictionary, for him to keep. You will attend to him and answer that questions that he happens to have. Consider this an opportunity to reinforce your own grasp of the language.”“Thank you,” you interject, in an effort to smooth things over. Ptolemy is giving you this book as an olive branch, so you suppose that you should honour his wishes and give him a little respect in turn. “Once I am finished with the book, I'll see about returning it, I promise.”“Think nothing of it, my dear Fúgū. We've a few more copies in this house of mine, to help new students along with their studies. Now go with Gisg, for I've a few matters of my own to attend to.”With that, the magister takes his leave, his cane clicking against the tiled floor as he departs. As for Gisg, the boy seems somewhat sullen to miss fencing practice, but you suppose that Ptolemy thinks that he needs a little more practice with Enochian. You are shown to the manor to a rather modest library, furnished with only a dozen or so bookcases. It is still large enough to house well over a thousand books, but you suppose that you suspected more from a wizard's personal collection.It doesn't take long for Gisg to locate a copy of the book that he was instructed to give to you. The Complete Enochian Dictionary, written by Donald C. Laycock. You cannot help but feel sympathy for a fellow bearer of an unfortunately phallic surname. Perhaps to the chagrin of Gisg, you spend a long while lingering on the introduction. It introduces two sixteenth century Englishmen – John Dee, a famous and worldly scholar of that period, and Edward Kelley, described as something of an occult charlatan. The book goes into depth regarding their numerous seances and how they supposedly learned the language from angels with which they communed.Laycock argues that the mapping of Enochian letters to the Latin alphabet and its strongly English pronunciation mean that it is likely a constructed language rather a natural one. However, he does remark that Angelical grammar is inexplicable and allows for multiple meanings of most statements. Certainly, that's what thwarts you when you try to figure out how to construct a basic sentence. 'I am alive' might as well mean 'it dwells in me,' 'I make life,' or 'the living visit me.'
“Where most see infinity, you see the Ouroboros. Is All not One?”You see it now. There is but one true meaning, the one that you intend whenever you speak or write. You Will it to be so. A Sleeper might not be able to determine what you mean – certainly, when you show a sentence that you have constructed to Gisg, all he can do is present you with some of its many possible interpretations. He is incapable of determining which is correct, which meaning you have impressed your Will upon. Only the Awakened are able to pluck truth out of such potentiality. No matter whether Enochian was invented or learned from angels, Dee and Kelley have given the world a language that only mages can truly comprehend.That is the test. Ptolemy wishes to see if any of his students are capable of isolating the correct meaning and imprinting it on the sigils that they shall draw and the incantations that they shall utter. Why would Thoth ever answer any invocation that does not petition him with the utmost precision? Without such intentionality and Will behind their actions, every last apprentice shall fail.Time flies when you are having fun and the ringing of a bell, combined with the bright sunlight flooding in through the windows, indicates that it is time for lunch. Gisg doesn't hesitate to lead the way to the dining room.A single long table has enough spaces for everyone present, though it seem as though Ptolemy is absent. He must eat elsewhere. You are led to a seat near the head of the table, where a small portion of Brunswick stew and a slice of cornbread await you. Chunks of pork, tomato and okra float around in the brown broth, alongside corn kernels and butter beans. The atmosphere is relatively relaxed, with many of the apprentices happily chatting with each other about their studies as they eat.A pair of women are the last to arrive, both of whom look very out of place among the uniform apprentices.One of them is a pallid and willowy woman, who looks like she must be in her early thirties, has her thinning brown hair tied back in a messy ponytail and her big blue eyes hidden behind thick glasses. Unfortunately, the spectacles don't much to hide the bags under her eyes, or the crow's feet that border them. A loose white tank top hangs off of her skinny torso, while baggy grey sweatpants look like they're moments away from falling down her legs. She's opted to go barefoot and does nothing to hide the numerous scars that litter the insides of her arms.
The other is a lot more colourful, a twenty-something with a dyed blue pixie cut that's starting to show its blonde roots and black eyes that seem to swallow all light. Unlike the first woman, she puts a lot more effort into how she looks, her lips glossy, lashes heavy with mascara, eyes framed with liner and imperfections all hidden with concealer. An oversized pink zip-up hoodie draped over her upper half contrasts with the snug black yoga pants that cling to her legs, which are tucked into chunky white sneakers. She couldn't look more bored if she tried.Her attention remains fixed on her phone as she takes a seat to the right of the scarred woman, who takes her place to the right of you. Her blue eyes, almost a little too big for her face, stare at you for a moment before she speaks.“Hey, are you new here? You look a little old for a new student, but I guess the magister must be lowering his standards a little. I mean, I'm not saying that it's a bad thing!” She speaks with the gentle rasp of vocal fry, though her tone is bright and cheerful, no matter how tired she looks.“He must be getting desperate,” is all that the bored woman mumbles without looking up, to herself rather than anyone else. Her fingertips continue to dance over the screen of her phone.“I'm not one of his apprentices, I'm... just here until I'm able to figure out my next step. If you're not here to learn from him, then you must be..?” You trail off, to give them the opportunities to introduce themselves. Pixie Cut doesn't deign to respond at all, while Ponytail doesn't seem to realise that it was a social cue until several seconds have passed – or maybe you just did a bad job expressing it. A conversation between the socially inept is always a nightmare.“Oh, sorry, I'm Aynorbee, though Nor is just fine. I run comms and tech support for the magister. It's kinda boring, but it's worth it for two hots and a cot, plus he doesn't give me shit for my implants. All in all, I'd say it's a pretty sweet deal.”“Call me Fúgū, I'm just here as a guest for now. What do you mean, your implants?”“Oh, where do I start?” Nor's worn-out face lights up with a grin. “I've gooot... sixty-three different ether-interactive devices inside of me right now. Storage, sensors, processors, enhancers, distributors... I'd go on, but the food would be cold by the time that I'd be done.”“I guess that explains all of the scars.”
“Most of them. Well, some of them. I've identified a positive correlation between the success rate of ether interaction and pain, though it's really hard to quantify. All you can do is rate how much something hurts on a scale of one to ten, it's not exactly accurate.” She waves about a hand in a dismissive gesture. “Anyway, I think it's got something to do with adrenaline.”>Express further interest in Aynorbee's methods. Can she give some examples of her implants? By ether interaction, does she mean magic? Have others tested her hypothesis regarding pain?>Let Nor know that you're worried about her. It doesn't matter if this helps her use magic, she's got to realise that none of this is good for her and that her 'implants' are entirely unnecessary.>Focus on whatever organisation Aynorbee belongs to. Surely she must work for one of the other mystical Traditions, if she is not part of Ptolemy's Order. That's the only part of her that you're interested in.>Shift the subject to Pixie Cut. The other woman hasn't said a word beyond that muttered comment about Ptolemy. Perhaps by focusing on her, you might be able to move the conversation away from Nor's self-harm.>Nope. You're not doing this One of these women is clearly unhinged, and the other has less than zero interest in you. You really should focus on your food instead and excuse yourself from this conversation.
>>6436214>Access to his laboratory would be a useful thing. If nothing, it might be a step towards satisfying the demands of Cleopatra and putting an end to her prattling.Show him we are no fool.
>>6436585>>Express further interest in Aynorbee's methods. Can she give some examples of her implants? By ether interaction, does she mean magic? Have others tested her hypothesis regarding pain?Pain being a path to enlightenment? Far more common a theme in Eastern fiction and martial practice than you would think.How do you think Akashics harden their hands so they can punch with fire?
>>6436585Implants? Sounds like tech.>Express further interest in Aynorbee's methods. Can she give some examples of her implants? By ether interaction, does she mean magic? Have others tested her hypothesis regarding pain?The pain thing is worrying, but it's worth hearing her out, at least.
>>6436585>Express further interest in Aynorbee's methods. Can she give some examples of her implants? By ether interaction, does she mean magic? Have others tested her hypothesis regarding pain?I don't think I want Fugu to join the Etheroids, but I could see him getting along with them a lot better than with the Hermetics, overall. Pixie Cut must be the Mercurialoid. QM, I like how you make all of the Mages seem pretty miserable themselves, or generally miserable to be around, it's extremely authentic to the World of Darkness.
>>6436585>>Nope. You're not doing this One of these women is clearly unhinged, and the other has less than zero interest in you. You really should focus on your food instead and excuse yourself from this conversation.
>>6436585>Focus on whatever organisation Aynorbee belongs to. Surely she must work for one of the other mystical Traditions, if she is not part of Ptolemy's Order. That's the only part of her that you're interested in.I assume these two are Ptolemy's guests.
“Hold on, you've mentioned 'ether interaction' a couple of times now. Are you saying that you are able to manipulate the fifth element with your implants?” Or rather, the sixth element. You prefer Wuxing over Empedoclean elemental theory, but there's no need for you to quibble over minutia right now. “I suppose that means that you belong to the Society of Ether – one of Ptolemy's apprentices mentioned them. She said that you study the stuff, but I didn't realise that you have such profound control over it.”“Well, I already know that the magister and his students don't think much of Science.” She puts a lot of emphasis on Ptolemy's title, and you recall that he prefers it when he is referred to by his title. You guess that Nor must take etiquette a little more seriously than you. “That's fine, I'm not gonna infringe on their right to believe in magic when they're cooking my food and making my bed. But yes, my implants interact with ambient ether, plus my internal ether. I used to call it orgone before I went through my Empowerment, but the Society opened my eyes. Most of the principles still apply though.”“What do you mean, your Empowerment?”“Oh uh, sorry. Before I achieved... oneness with my Word, that's what the magister calls it, right? Before I Awakened – that's what most of the other Traditions go with.” The differences in terminology are starting to become a headache. So many words, for what's effectively the same thing. “Hey, which one are you with? If you're not a student here, you've got to be with one of them.”“No, I'm... I just went through my Awakening. I'm new to all of this, I'm just trying to get a grip on everything that's going on. The magister's letting me stay here until I figure out where I'm going from here.”“Oh... Oh! I thought I recognised you from somewhere! You're that dragon guy that's gone viral! I mean, not like it's done anything to move the needle, the Techies have done their usual cover-up. How did you end up on their radar?”“I'm not sure, maybe they found out about my research, I can't think of any other reason.” If Nor was fascinated by orgone energy before her Awakening, then it seems like an obsession with the esoteric plays an important part in who gets to become a mage – or a Scientist, if you were to ask the Etherite. When she says Techies, you assume that she means the shadow government – the Union. Yet how could they possibly manage to cover up everything that happened? Your transformation, the portal, the cyborgs... How could the Masses ignore all of that? “I was at work and then they came to take me away, I don't know why. Before they could manage it, I Awoke.”
“That's just like them.” For once, it's not Aynorbee who speaks, but the woman with the pixie cut – the Mercurial Elite, you suppose. She doesn't even look towards you as she comments on your predicament. “They try so hard to stop something from happening, that they end up responsible for it happening at all. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, I guess.”“It all worked out in the for you though, right? They popped your cherry, so you bloodied their noses. Good job, Foogoo! Just uh, don't try doing it again. It might've been easy while you were Empowered, but don't let that high go to your head. You're still human.”“So are you, but that doesn't stop you from cutting. Does pain really improve the performance of your implants? There's got to be a better way of doing it than...” You gesture to the track marks and razor scars that litter her arms with your fork, before you tuck back into that stew. It is already starting to cool a little and thanks to the conversation, you're eating far more slowly than any of Ptolemy's apprentices.“I tried a shock collar, but the current messed with a bunch of them. Besides, the pain didn't last long enough, it was just a quick jolt and that was it. It's gotta be a slow burn, you know? Anyway, I think that it's got something to do with the chemical composition of norepinephrine, it's gotta carry orders of magnitude more ether than other hormones. That's why a lot of us are Empowered during moments of stress, our adrenal glands accumulate all of this internal ether and when they dump it all into our bloodstream, that triggers a chain reaction, right?”“I think I understand. Have you considered acupuncture instead? You could use it to stimulate the production of endorphins, which might – ”“Acupuncture, seriously? Come on, that's total bullshit. Besides, isn't that used for pain relief. The ether interactivity of my implants only increases when it hurts, and only when it hurts a lot. So thanks for the advice but I'm gonna keep cutting, because it works.”All of a sudden, Nor's voice has hardened and all of that exuberance and eagerness to share has been replaced by a defensiveness that borders on hostility. You're reminded of when you neglected to accept Ptolemy's offer – it seems as though none of the Awakened appreciate it when their methods are questioned. Certainly, you feel a little frustrated by how quickly Aynorbee dismissed your suggestion, but you try to focus on your food instead of lingering on the disagreement.“Maybe you should show Fúgū what the internet thinks of him,” Pixie Cut mutters after a minute of awkward silence.
“I... Yeah, okay. Sorry, one of the reasons why I came here was to get away from all of the assholes questioning my methodology. Not that you're an asshole, just... ” Aynorbee sighs. “Anyway, ConspiracyTok is all over you. They'll move on in a week, but you might find it funny.”>Sure, you're up for watching a few silly videos on the internet. If nothing else, it might defuse the tension.>Insist on your interest in learning more about Nor, especially her implants. She still hasn't said much about them.>See if you can spend some time with the other woman instead. She's barely said a thing, and you've learned enough from Aynorbee.>Invite Pixie Cut along. Not only do you want to learn her methods, but you want to see how they contrast with Nor's.>Take your leave. You're far more interested in Hermeticism than you are in this pair of crazy bitches.
>>6436800>Sure, you're up for watching a few silly videos on the internet. If nothing else, it might defuse the tension.
>>6436800>>Invite Pixie Cut along. Not only do you want to learn her methods, but you want to see how they contrast with Nor's.Every mage believes they are truly right. And if they ever genuinely question their paradigm, they will have to change it, risk losing it, or double down.
>>6436585>Express further interest in Aynorbee's methods. Can she give some examples of her implants? By ether interaction, does she mean magic? Have others tested her hypothesis regarding pain?
>>6436800>Invite Pixie Cut along. Not only do you want to learn her methods, but you want to see how they contrast with Nor's.
>>6436800>>Invite Pixie Cut along. Not only do you want to learn her methods, but you want to see how they contrast with Nor's.
>>6436800>>Invite Pixie Cut along. Not only do you want to learn her methods, but you want to see how they contrast with Nor's.While I'm not a huge fan of how "the magister" operates, I'd take him every time over getting into cutting ourselves.Sidenote: it appears we are going to need to be more careful when talking to other Awakened if we want to avoid offense. We're not exactly socialites, but we did work in an office, so we've got to have some social niceties we can lean on.
>>6436800>Invite Pixie Cut along. Not only do you want to learn her methods, but you want to see how they contrast with Nor's.>>6436831There are other ways to be an Etheroids, but I agree.
>>6436800>>Take your leave. You're far more interested in Hermeticism than you are in this pair of crazy bitches.
QM is this a pure Mage game, or are Vampires and Werewolves out there bumping around in the night too?
>>6436856>I think that it's important to clarify early on that this is not intended to be a quest that features every game of the World of Darkness equally. This quest has been and will continue to be focused almost exclusively on Mage: the Ascension. If an aspect of any other World of Darkness game features in this quest, it will be as a cameo or a C plot. If anyone was looking forward to this being an all-encompassing World of Darkness quest, I am sorry to disappoint you, but I really want to focus on Mage: the Ascension first and foremost.
>>6436915Not disappointing! Just didn't know if we might end up running afoul of any other kinds of creepy crawlies - or might make friends with them. Got a soft spot for Nosferatu.
“I think that the magister might be grateful if the three of us stick together for a while. It would allow his apprentices to focus on studying, instead of babysitting his guests. Besides, I don't even know what you're called yet.”The blue-haired woman doesn't seem to appreciate becoming the focus of the conversation. She stubbornly remains silent, until it seems like Nor is about to say something. Rather than allow the Etherite to introduce her, she reluctantly states her own name, her black eyes reflecting the screen of the phone that she stares down at.“Vox Pop, but Vox is just fine. I was a lot younger when I chose to be called that, and names have a habit of sticking to you. I mean, you might not like being called Fúgū for very long, but it's not like you can go back in time and change your mind.”“Why would I want to change my name?” You're rather proud of it.“Maybe because it's gibberish? If you wanted your name to mean 'happiness in loneliness' or something, you should have gone with Gū Fú, though I'm pretty sure that it also means 'to disappoint.' Fúgū, though? I'm not exactly fluent in Mandarin, but I think that means sweet fuck all.”Oh.Your cheeks feel so hot that you could swear that someone set your head on fire. Nor raises a hand to her mouth and barely manages to choke back her laughter. Even Vox can't keep herself from smirking at you when she looks up from her phone, just to see your reaction to this revelation. She isn't disappointed by your obvious embarrassment.“Well, uh, how do you know it's Chinese?”“You're literally carrying around a fucking jian.”Your fingers squeeze tightly around the scabbard of Xuanyuan, which has laid in your lap while you've been eating and talking with these other Awakened.“... Maybe it was a conscious decision. Disappointing someone means failing to meet their expectations, so I chose to invert that, because I'll be exceeding expectations. So, Fú Gū instead of Gū Fú. Shorten that, and you get Fúgū.”“Seriously? That's like saying the opposite of the word 'happy' is the word 'pyhap.'” Shaking her head in disbelief, Vox turns her attention back to the screen of her phone.“Well, I thought that it was a pretty good save.” Nor can't keep herself from sniggering a little at your predicament. Her efforts to do so only lead to her punctuating her laughter with the occasional snort. “You wanna come along and see Fúgū's 'Awakening?' It's kinda cool.”“Sure, why not.”Perhaps it's just your imagination, but Vox Pop's tone seems to have warmed up a little, even though she still strives to appear aloof. You'd like to think that by being the butt of her joke, you managed to break the ice a little and smooth over the earlier tension.
It doesn't take you much longer to finish your lunch, though the process is still peppered with small talk. Vox's knowledge of Mandarin comes from being biracial and having a Chinese mother, while most of Nor's implants are sensors that feed information to her through tactile means. She boasts total awareness of every form of electromagnetism, and even the ability to manipulate it through implanted ether-reactive magnets and field generators. If the woman is to believed, Nor even generates her own Wi-Fi and is capable of almost instantaneously sealing the wounds caused by her cutting, through the precise redirection of her internal ether using strategically located modulators. You are once again reminded of acupuncture, but you decide against mentioning it this time.The three of you depart to seek out Nor's guest room, which has become a far more permanent abode and her impromptu office and workshop. As soon as you step within, you're reminded of the gaudy madness of Papa Yew's apartment, just taken in a different direction. Partially disassembled appliances litter every surface, including the floor, their wiring spilling everywhere like mechanical guts. Clearly, Ptolemy's students gave on cleaning the room long ago, as the carpet is stained in numerous places with dried blood, to the point where you can smell its metallic tang in the air. You imagine that there is even more to be seen beneath the plastic shells of dismantled electronics, and you refuse to look in the direction of her en suite bathroom. You'd rather remain ignorant to any gore that might be found within that place.Rather than seat herself at her desk, Nor throws herself on her unmade bed, where her laptop awaits. Unlike the rest of her room, that piece of equipment is immaculate, so lovingly maintained that you could almost swear that it's fresh out of the factory. Vox seats herself at the foot of the bed, while you sweep the disembowelled carcasses of a hair dryer and a toaster off of the chair by Nor's desk. Once you've sat down, the Etherite sees about bringing up the videos that she's mentioned, most of which come straight out of TikTok, but a few which are clips from local news. She starts with those first.“... Disaster struck at two in the afternoon earlier today at Peachtree Center, Atlanta, when scheduled roadworks took a catastrophic turn. One of the workmen had the misfortune of striking an underground gas pipe that didn't use the correct yellow polyethylene tubing, which highlights the importance of using the right materials for our nation's infrastructure, so that tragic accidents like these never occur again...”“You have to be joking,” you groan. “They're trying to explain it all away as some sort of construction accident? There weren't even any roadworks! None of this explains why a dragon was there, surely someone had to record that!” With a shit-eating grin, Nor plays another clip.
“... People heading back into the office after lunch today were greeted by an unusual sight – a Chinese New Year parade, in the middle of June, no less. Due to an outbreak of COVID that swept through the Chinese community of Atlanta during February, festivities were delayed indefinitely, but it seems as though they finally got to opportunity to celebrate their heritage this sunny summer afternoon...”“This is such bullshit!” You are honestly flabbergasted, to the point where you can't contain your anger. Are the Sleepers really so easily fooled by the shadow government's machinations? “You said I've gone viral. Surely there's at least a couple of videos of the truth?”At your behest, Nor brings up TikTok and introduces you to one ConspiracyTok video after another, all of which features shaky footage of your battle with the Union, taken with camera phones through dirty office windows or half a mile down the street. That grin never leaves her face, even as your disbelief grows.“Seriously guys, don't tell me any of you fell for this crap. Look at this, at the one minute thirty-two seconds mark. See how the dragon grows an extra claw out of nowhere, only for it to disappear a second later? This was so obviously generated using AI that I'm shocked it isn't clipping through walls or something.”“Okay, this is like, one of the worst instances of cultural appropriation that I've ever seen. I mean, look at how white this guy is, couldn't they have chosen someone from a culturally appropriate background or something? If they're gonna pull this kinda publicity stunt to open a restaurant or something, this is like, the biggest turn-off for people looking for authentic Japanese food. It's just really fucking gross, you know?”“This is a step too far. We've got to send them a message and let them know that they can't stomp all over our heritage like this. I don't know what film this is an advert for, but no self-respecting white man would transform into an Asian dragon. We've got our dragons, like the one that Saint George slew! Our dragons have wings, damn it! We've got to let them know that we've had enough of this slimy subversion of the culture of our European ancestors!”“Now look at this, right here, right... here. Can you see it? The man didn't turn into a dragon, he fell through the manhole into the jaws of the monster below. It's not even a dragon at all, it has all of the properties of a greater olm. That's right, you guessed it. This is yet another point in favour in favour of the irrefutable existence of Agartha.”“How much more of this crap is there?” At this point, your frustration has diminished. Instead, you just feel disappointed by the Masses. “Isn't there anyone out there who actually accepts what really happened, who's trying to get the truth out?”
“No one who isn't buried by the algorithm,” remarks Vox, who has been watching the clips with an interest that she has failed to disguise. “This is how it always goes. Any attempt to expose what really goes on always end up perceived as some kind of AI-driven publicity stunt. The Union doesn't even need to hide the truth any more.”“What about the people who were actually there? There's no way that they're going to forget that they saw an actual dragon.”“Unfortunately, they will.” Nor's grin has slipped off of her face. It's been replaced by an apologetic frown. “The Techies probably tracked down anyone who posted the original footage and wiped their brains clean. I doubt they emember anything from yesterday except for an ordinary day at work. Maybe a couple of people slipped through the cracks, but not enough to make a difference.”“These Techies, this Union... They're just in it for control? They're doing all of this, just so that they can rule over mankind with an iron fist?” Though Vox shoots Nor a look of warning, the pallid Etherite responds after just a second of hesitation.“Well... The idea is that they know what's best for mankind, and they're kinda right. I mean, look at the world we live in. There's more people than ever before, living better lives than ever before. This is the world that the Technocratic Union made. They just go way too far, you know? They don't see that etheric Science could be used to fix so many of the world's problems, they just see us as a threat to the Masses. If they treat fellow Scientists like that, how do you think they feel about people who call themselves mages?”“There has to be a way of fighting back.” The more that you hear, the more helpless you feel.“Honestly? From what I've been told, there was no fight with the Union for a couple of decades.” Your attention shifts towards Vox, who is far more nonchalant than sympathetic. “Maybe they had bigger problems to deal with than the Awakened, who knows? All I can say is that sometime last year, the cold war got hot, and now they're picking us off like flies.”“Why can't things just go back to the way they were?” These words are uttered by Nor, who lets out a petulant huff. “Don't tell the magister, but I can deal with the Techies being in charge. I even kinda like it, but why can't they just leave us the fuck alone?”>Defend the Union's actions. You're quickly starting to realise how dangerous the Awakened really are.>Agree with Aynorbee. Though the Techies have gone too far, the world that they have made is pretty neat.>You resent the Union for denying humanity a choice. Men should be free to decide what sort of world they want to live in.>As long as the Technocracy exists in any form, it will seek control. It must be destroyed, there is no alternative.>Earth must be reset. It must become a world of wonder and magic, cleansed of every last trace of the Union's influence.
>>6437108>The Union is a collection of corrupted, desperate, and afraid "rationalists" clinging to the lie of safety. This is the world of darkness and a World of Gods and Monsters. The Technocracy has only been around for at most half a millennium. That's nothing. Eventually, magic will come back once the apocalypse kicks off, which is actually largely their fault. See Demon the Fallen.The nephandi have a saying I love, which goes like this. "We fear no gods or monsters because we are the gods and we are the monsters."
>>6437108I'm gonna +1 >>6437115 I like this approach for Henry
>>6437108>>You resent the Union for denying humanity a choice. Men should be free to decide what sort of world they want to live in.
>>6437108>You resent the Union for denying humanity a choice. Men should be free to decide what sort of world they want to live in.>>6437115+1 to this too
>Locking the vote there and going with >>6437115's write-in.
>>6437108>You resent the Union for denying humanity a choice. Men should be free to decide what sort of world they want to live in.>>6437115This is also good.
“They never will, because they're terrified of us.” This is everything that you have learned over the past twenty-four hours, crystallised. Everything that you have gone through, all of it has led to this singular realisation.“We've all been born in a box, in a world with so many arbitrary, pointless rules. The Union, Techies, whatever you want to call them – one of Ptolemy's students said they're Awakened too, right? Well, they're so scared of the truth that they woke up to, that they want to shove everyone back into an endless sleep. There's nothing but the box and the box is safe, that's the lie that they tell themselves. They can't imagine a world where energy is limitless, they can't think of a world where everyone lives forever.”You've hidden that fire smouldering in your heart for so long, that it's liberating to finally let it loose. Now you've burned away that sense of helplessness, you just can't stop.“Well, let them cling to the lie that they've made. Let them try to stop us from blazing a trail across the stars, and making a future free from the rules that they want to shackle everyone with. If they want their fear to rule over them and make the rest of mankind bend the knee to it, so be it. We will all be free, no matter how hard they try. There's no running from the truth.”Neither of the women seem particularly pleased by your declaration. While the expression of Vox Pop has hardened, Aynorbee frankly looks a little scared. Her big blue eyes have only widened further and look like they're close to popping out of their sockets. There is even a third woman is troubled by your declaration.“You stray from the path. The elixir of life slips further out of reach. Such regression is unwise.”“A path, a box, all limits that we impose on ourselves. Are you no better than the Union that you stand against?”Another voice reverberating in your soul – another prior incarnation of yours, perhaps? You do not know its name.“Oh yeah? And what is 'the truth' supposed to be? Is it Ptolemy's rambling about Words and Wills, or is it her etheric science?” Vox gestures towards the Etherite when she makes that remark, though Nor just averts her eyes and turns the laptop away from you, so that she and she alone may focus on the screen. This is a conversation that she does not want to participate in.“I'm still figuring that out,” you confess, though your newfound resolve doesn't diminish at all. “All I know is that the real world isn't the sham that the Union wants it to be. But that was a rhetorical question, wasn't it?”
“Well, 'the truth' is that there is no such thing as 'the truth.' There is no grand, sweeping narrative that neatly explains how everything functions. Any rules or laws that we attribute to the universe are just a human invention, they aren't actually real. The same is true for all of these Awakened theories about how everything works, they're just our way trying to make sense of the chaos. There's no system that can define it.”Great. She's a postmodernist.“That doesn't change the fact that the things that we do work,” she continues. “I don't know how you did it, but you transformed into a fucking dragon. Nor can manipulate electromagnetic fields or whatever with her implants. Ptolemy and his students can cast magic spells with their rituals. All of these things are real and true. I'm not going to pretend that I know why, but reality is malleable enough for us all to be right at the same time.”“A philosophy with the width of the Mediterranean and the depth of a beggar's cup.”“I can't help but notice that you haven't said anything about what you do, or what you believe in – other than nothing, that is.” Though you can appreciate that Vox is in favour of a big tent that accepts every Awakened approach, you remain sceptical of her methodology.“Even though the universe is flexible, the Masses have far more control over it than any single Awakened. Has anyone explained the nature of Paradox to you?”“I think so,” you respond. “I'm guessing that is your word for... the dreaming of the Sleepers? That's what Papa Yew described it as, when we're punished for using our power to do things that defy their narrow perception of reality.”“Shit, you know Yew?” For a moment, Vox is taken aback.“Now I feel bad for you. The few times I've met him, he's been a fucking asshole.” This is the first time that Nor has spoken in a while, though she still doesn't look up from her laptop.“Well, he taught you pretty well,” Vox continues. “I guess I just manipulate the power that the Sleepers have, by messing with their perception. If they think something is dangerous, it's dangerous. If they think something shouldn't be in a place, they'll ignore it. So on, so forth.”“But how do you do that?”“Graffiti, usually. Sometimes it's subliminal, but usually something blunt works just as well. Some of the other Elite call it 'memetic hacking,' but I think that's just pretentious.” She almost seems a little flustered, as you push her to explain herself. She doesn't seem particularly interested in talking about it.
At this point, you've been exposed to numerous different forms of Awakened power. The vodou of Papa Yew, and the Hermetic magic of Ptolemy Lux. The implants of Aynorbee, and the memetic graffiti of Vox Pop. Last but not least, there is your Taoist alchemy and the balancing of waidan and neidan. In a way, Vox is correct – you have seen evidence that at least some of these methods produce tangible results. Yet is that really because they are all simultaneously correct? Should you broaden your horizons, or should you remain true to yourself?>The truth lies in the Tao. All of this is possible because all of these Awakened somehow interface qi through their disparate methods. If they think otherwise, they are delusional.>There is an objective truth, these different systems just interpret it in different ways. The only one in the wrong is Vox Pop, for thinking that the universe is devoid of meaning.>While there is a single truth that defines the universe, it is vast. Each of these disciplines explores only a single facet of it. Your understanding will only grow if you learn as many as you can.>Vox is right. Every Awakened methodology is simultaneously valid and meaningless. Just because they work, that doesn't mean that they say anything about the nature of reality.
>>6437385>“Well, 'the truth' is that there is no such thing as 'the truth.' There is no grand, sweeping narrative that neatly explains how everything functions. Any rules or laws that we attribute to the universe are just a human invention, they aren't actually real.eeeeewwwww.>>6437387>The truth lies in the Tao. All of this is possible because all of these Awakened somehow interface qi through their disparate methods. If they think otherwise, they are delusional.Let's stay away from the "blind men and the elephant".
>>6437387>The Dao is Truth. The pursuit of enlightenment is the pursuit of oneness with the Dao. Orthodox, Unorthodox, all paths lead to enlightenment, but some paths lead to greater enlightenment than others.
>>6437387>There is an objective truth, these different systems just interpret it in different ways. The only one in the wrong is Vox Pop, for thinking that the universe is devoid of meaning.>"The way I see it, Ether existing and being a vital part of us Awakened, even if we call it by other names through our Wills and Words, is a constant that spreads through all of us. Maybe the truth is reaching a point where we grab Ether with our bare hands and use the most pure essence of it and make what we do, as effortless and powerful as possible. Maybe the end goal of it all would be of the Masses also reaching that power, or maybe us getting it and weaving a more united and better world, without the excessive control that the Union wants to inflict. What is certain is that they're hunting us, and the least we can do is just giving up and lose to them. If they understand the world as a number in a spreadsheet where the Awakened and the Awakenings are at 0, where they only remain, at what point we can say existence is alive? Or that we're even living?"I got inspired, and I just want Henry to fuck them up with some really deep philosophical questioning that will be enough to give us an idea for a breakthrough (lmao)
>>6437387What's funny is that out of all the traditions, it's the Chorus who are closest to the actual truth. Except God is canonically a woman in WOD who asked Lucifer to rebel; Lucifer asked The Ten to awaken humanity to their full potential, thus creating the first mages/helped Lilith in Eden/created the nephilim (which is a mage merit that lets you use lores that are smaller versions of spheres that don't cause paradox and are used by angels).
>>6437393I like your effort, anon, so I will back this up with +1 I also lean towards the idea that we are all interfacing with a different level of reality using philosophical/ritualistic implements that allow us to focus and enact our will. For Nor, those devices and the pain let her reach clarity and singular focus, while for us it's balancing our inner energies and transmuting essence. Big tent is clearly the most logical interpretation of what we have seen, but the NIHILISM from Vox is so weaksauce. I see Henry being an advocate for his own methodology and ideals, but not nearly so arrogant as Ptolemy or Nor about it. Taoism is good because you don't have to cut yourself and you can achieve power without having to jump through the hoops of the Hermetic education program. That doesn't mean those other paths are worthless, and clearly an Energy Liberationist like Henry could even learn some valuable ideas from someone like Nor. Too bad she is an apologist for the Energy Elite.
>>6437387>There is an objective truth, these different systems just interpret it in different ways. The only one in the wrong is Vox Pop, for thinking that the universe is devoid of meaning.
Rolled 2 (1d100)>>6437401>>6437393I cast my vote in favor of these.
>>6437387>The truth lies in the Tao. All of this is possible because all of these Awakened somehow interface qi through their disparate methods. If they think otherwise, they are delusional.
>Locking the vote there. There's a lot of interesting ideas, so I think I can create something that makes use of all of them.
The Tao is the truth. Through harmony with the Tao, anything is possible. Yet there are ways of stumbling into alignment with the flow of the universe, thanks to the convergent evolution of disparate philosophies. Those who do not know the wisdom of Laozi are still able to interpret the Tao through other means, even if they are less elegant. The Hermeticism of Ptolemy Lux, the Etheric Science of Aynorbee, these are nothing more than primitive methods of pursuing the Tao. They touch the truth, even if they are not aware of its totality like you are.However, it wouldn't be wise to word it like that. This knowledge is enough and if it means staying on the good side of other Awakened, you are capable of swallowing your pride.“Whatever you want to call it, ether does exist. It's a constant that all of us can touch, it's a vital part of becoming and being Awakened.” Nor glances up from her laptop. She seems pleasantly surprised by the acknowledgement of her philosophy. “The truth is that the Sleepers deserve the chance to interact with ether like we do, that all of us should strive to become one with it, so that we can wield to the best of our ability against those who would keep the Masses down. Together, we can make a better world, but we can't do it as long as the Union is still hunting us. To them, the universe is just a bunch numbers on a spreadsheet, something to be optimised and controlled. They won't stop until everything runs like clockwork, until there's no difference between life and death.”“You seem pretty confident about what the Union wants, for a guy who was a Sleeper yesterday.” Vox Pop doesn't seem particularly moved by your speech, but then again, you haven't seen any sign of her being moved by anything so far.“You don't need to Awaken to figure out what they're trying to do. I've known about them for years, I've always known that there was someone in the shadows, holding us back, imposing limits on humanity to keep us all in check. The only difference is that now I know their name.”“I mean, the world isn't so bad right now.” While Nor seems to have relaxed now that you've consciously softened your rhetoric, she's still hesitant. “Thanks to them, we have flight, refrigeration, the internet... Humanity has never had it better. I was just fine with the truce, I don't think that we've got to fight them.”“Who's to say that we wouldn't have all of that and so much more, if it wasn't for them? The Union is all about limits, the only change that they allow is so slow and incremental that it barely feels like change at all. If it wasn't for them, who knows what the world would look like, how much we would be able to accomplish without some shadow government holding us back?”Maybe that's a little too much. Take it back a notch, Fúgū.
“All I am saying is that people deserve the chance to choose what kind of world that they live in,” you add, “and they're never going to get that right as long as the Union insists on making decisions for everyone. As long they're in charge, the Sleepers will never really know what it's like to be free.”“Wow, look at you.” At this point, you're not surprised that Vox is hiding how she really feels about your screed behind a veil of insincerity. “You spend one day as one of us, and you've already become some sort of dad bod freedom fighter.”“Dad bod? He doesn't have the muscles for that.” Nor can't help but snicker a little. “Skinny fat, maybe?”You let them tease you. In fact, you consider it a sign of your victory. Neither of them can argue against what you've said, or have any desire to do so. You shouldn't compel them to verbally agree with you, however – if nothing else, you have learned that every last one of the Awakened is stubborn and proud. Even Vox, in her own way.“So, I keep hearing about all of these Traditions,” you remark, trying to shift the subject away from your unimpressive physique. “I know about the Order of Hermes and a little about the Society of Ether. What about the uh, the Mercurial Elite? You're one of them, right, Vox?”You linger in the company of Nor and Vox for quite some time, learning of the myriad Awakened factions. To begin with the Mercurial Elite, they seem to be one of two subgroups that adhere to the same philosophy. They both believe that everything that exists is nothing more than information, that the universe functions like a program. Those who Awaken are able to perceive and interact with the source code of this program. Vox doesn't like wording it this way and prefers simple statements like 'reality is malleable' instead. While the Mercurial Elite are dedicated to using these principles to improve the extant world, the other faction are more interested in escaping from it. These Virtual Adepts are in the process of developing a Reality 2.0, a universe separate from the original that is designed according to their specification.“They're insane and they're cowards, thinking that they can just run away,” Vox bitterly mutters. “It's an escapist fucking fantasy.”“A task as Sisyphean as your own.”As for the Society of Ether, you already know a little etheric science. According to them, ether is a substance that permeates all of reality, through which anything is possible. Through the usage of devices that can interact with ether on a local level, a Scientist can defy the laws of physics. Such is what the Trojan philosopher Aretus teaches through metaphor, in the Kitab al-Alacir. It is a book that was responsible for Aynorbee's Empowerment, that was loaned to her by one of the two Etherites that she knows.
“I haven't spoken to either of them in years,” she admits with a shrug. “We've each got our own projects to focus on and Science isn't really a collaborative process.” Unfortunately, their knowledge regarding the other Traditions is limited.There are the Celestial Chorus, who believe that they are nothing more than conduits for God's will, and that God is responsible for their Awakening. Vox knows a couple of them, a Southern Baptist and a National Baptist. The first one's an asshole, the second's alright, if she's to be believed. There's also the Dreamspeakers, a bunch of shamans who believe that their power comes from communion with the spirit world.“I'm guessing that Yew is one of them?” It seems obvious to you, but Vox shakes her head.“Actually, no. I only know one of them and while she's really into Vodou, I think she hates Yew's guts. I've only ever seen them in the same room once and it wasn't pretty.”Instead, Papa Yew belongs to the Chakravanti. All Vox knows about them is that they view being Awakened as some sort of sacred duty, something about restoring balance to the world. He's the only member of the Tradition who either of them know, but apparently there's also a Hindu out there who Yew has mentioned a couple of times. There's also the Akashayana, who are interested in achieving enlightenment and escaping from the chaos of the world, rather than fixing it. Both women only know one Akashic, who is some sort of Zen Buddhist.“I think he's called Keido or something? He's even whiter than you, I think you'd get along great.”You aren't so sure.The Ecstatics are another faction, who believe that an elevated state of consciousness is key to Awakening. There's two of them out there, some yoga enthusiast who is a friend of Vox's and a drug dealer who both women despise. Finally, there are the Verbenae, who embrace magic as a property of the natural world that can be found in the land and the creatures that live on it. Vox wants to say that there aren't any in Georgia, but according to Nor, there's a witch in Savannah.“How the fuck do you know someone who I don't?” The Elite actually sounds surprised.“I don't know, but she's great. She's the only one who's ever helped me install my implants.” You're not sure how great this witch is, if she's happy to enable Nor's self-harming shenanigans.Finally, there are a couple of Awakened who call themselves Hollow Ones, but Vox makes it sound like they aren't a Tradition. Apparently, they're just gothic trailer trash who keep to themselves and don't really cooperate or collaborate with any of the other groups. By your count, this means that in all of Georgia, there are less than twenty of the Awakened, excluding any that the two women aren't aware of. Against the monolithic power of the Union, it doesn't seem like much of a resistance.
It's not much, but at least you know something about each of the Traditions now. You find yourself armed with enough knowledge to inform Ptolemy about the particular factions that interest you, or at least the ones that you want to learn more about. He might not be happy if you reject the Order of Hermes, but as he has said, he is obliged to introduce you to associates who may be able to serve as your mentor.So, where do your interests lie so far? What options do you want to explore?>The Order of Hermes.>The Mercurial Elite.>The Virtual Adepts.>The Society of Ether.>The Celestial Chorus.>The Dreamspeakers.>The Chakravanti.>The Akashayana.>The Ecstatics.>The Verbenae. >There is nowhere where you belong.>You may choose multiple options, unless you choose the final option.
>>6437858>The Chakravanti.Funny enough this seems most aligned with Fugu's altruistic philosophy and aversion to a lot of these other group's odd proclivities.
>>6437856>They both believe that everything that exists is nothing more than information, that the universe functions like a program.Huh. Sounds like they're operating under a variant of the "we're all part in a simulation" theory.Hmm.Henry has two aspects in tension: 1) his rage against the shadow government, and 2) his desire to bring the "light" to the Sleepers.The Chakravanti seems to kinda-sorta align with #2, but no one seems to be focused on fighting the good fight, as it were.There seems to be several factions with the objective of escaping reality through various means, which is largely opposite to our goals. Even if it would be incredibly cool to see/work on Reality 2.0.Ether looks to be an analogue to our Qi, so I could see us getting along with them.The Ecstatics also have aspects in common with our Awakening.If we wanted to worship the Snake, we could go for the chorus.>>6437858So far, I'm feeling like the Chakravanti are most aligned with us, but we might as well get a little more info about some of the other more promising options.>The Chakravanti.>The Society of Ether.>The Ecstatics.
>>6437858>The Society of Ether>The Chakravanti>The AkashayanaFunny enough, like how Henry reacted to Keido, the Akashayana are not really fit for him. The only reason I'm voting is because they're the ones that are closer to the type of magic and Will as Henry. But, the Chakravanti and Society of Ether are the ones that fit him moreThe Chakravanti because of the higher purpose that they have and the one that Henry saw for himself, and Society of Ether because they lean more into Science and tinkering with Ether, something that Henry himself is really interested.I'm leaning more with the Etherites because they don't seem to be asking you exclusively to follow a certain believe system, like with the Order of Hermes and the Chorus, and the Chakravanti seems more leaning into the spiritual, which is also cool with me.
>>6437858>The Order of Hermes.Going against the grain, but Ptolemy and his Order of Hermes seem the best fit for us to start with. Long term we probably won't stick around, and his control over the students is a little shady, but he teaches real magic which we're able to understand, and while he's a little cranky he genuinely seems to want to help us.>The Akashayana.>The Society of Ether.Ideally if we're going to overthrow the shadow government, or at least kick them in the balls, we need to find the most capable of these different groups and bring them together. That means we should try for the ones who aren't totally insane and/or isolated in their own little worlds.
>>6437858>>The Chakravanti.
>>6437858>There is nowhere where you belong
>>6437858>The Order of Hermes>The AkashayanaThe funny thing is, our strongest spheres are matter and prime, which are the spheres the Technocracy like the most. With them at two or three, you can start making simple one-time magic items or tech. Shame we don't have Mind or Forces, which are the spheres the factions Im interested in look out for.
>>6438177>>6437858Changing to>The Chakravanti.>The Ecstatics.
The lack of information regarding most of these disparate groups makes it difficult for you to determine which ones are worth your time, if any.The Chakravanti appeal to you more than any other, based on the little that Vox and Nor could tell you about them. Of all of the Traditions, they seem to be the only one who use their Awakening as an opportunity to serve the greater good. Unfortunately, you do not know how they go about this. Though Papa Yew exhibited altruism by lending you a hand, you don't understand how he 'restores balance to the world' by posing as the groundskeeper of a cemetery.“They will hate you for the path that you must walk.”The Society of Ether are another possibility, for they are closer to the truth than most. Ether is but another word for qi, the fundamental stuff of the universe. Yet the Etherites fail to realise that they are the true conduits of this vital energy. They hobble themselves, by relying on tools and trinkets. On the other hand, the methodology of the Akashics is on point. By achieving a higher understanding of reality, they better themselves. It's unfortunate that their goal is so fucking Buddhist. If existence is suffering, it should be improved by living in harmony with the Tao. Life isn't something for mankind to flee from.“Which shall take you farther? Wings of wax, or a will of iron?”The Ecstatic method doesn't seem too different from the Akashic one, though it sounds as though they seek a higher state of consciousness for its own sake. The fact that one of them seems to accomplish this through narcotic means is questionable. Finally, there is the Order of Hermes. The magic that Ptolemy teaches is very much real, even if it does not align with the Tao. The magister argues in favour of control over harmony, that reality should be bent to one's Will. The Hermetic way is one of purest Yang. It could be a useful tool, as long you are able to counterbalance its influence on your qi.“He wants to lead you down a road well trodden. They would do nothing but distract you from your works.”“Is it a question of which would give you the best tools, or which would be the best tool? Why allow yourself to be led, when you can lead? Think not of the revolution of the Ouroboros, but of your own.”The conversation with Vox and Nor continues a while longer. It's mostly just the blue-haired woman making various comments about other Awakened and the last time that a lot of them met, during a conclave of the Traditions last year. Aynorbee's interjections have grown few and far between at this point. Though she seemed to be energetic and cheerful to begin with, all of that energy seems to have left her by now. The opposite is true of Vox Pop, who seems more than happy to lead the conversation now that she's finally opened up. Though she still isn't particularly expressive, the Elite certainly has a lot to say.
“Look, I hope neither of you mind, but I do have work to get on with. The magister doesn't let me stay here free of charge. My report's due tomorrow, so I better get on it.” It seems like Nor's social battery has run dry, after only an hour or so of banter.“You've got to write reports for him? I thought you weren't one of his students.”“He likes to keep an eye on academia. Every week, I've got to give him a summary of all of the latest research and papers and dissertations and whatever. I think it's how he looks for prospective students or something. Anyway, could you just go, please? I've got work to do.”“Um, yeah. Sure, see you later.” Though you never got the impression that they're particularly good friends, you can tell that Vox isn't all that happy about being shooed by the Etherite. She gets up from the bed and makes her leave, blood-stained carpeting and discarded circuitry crunching beneath her feet.“Thanks, for everything. I appreciate it.”That's your awkward farewell as you take your own leave, though you take more care to avoid the detritus on the floor. It's actually a relief when you step out of the chaos of Aynorbee's quarters and into the sterile white of the corridor beyond. Suddenly, the metallic tang that filled your nostrils has been replaced by fresh air. You close the door behind you and leave the Etherite to her work.“Do you know her well?” That's your question to Vox, who replies with a shrug.“Not really. Before I came here to lie low, I'd only met her twice. All of that implant shit really skeeves me out, and all of the cutting... I'm not going to say it to her face, but one of these days, she's going to end up killing herself.”“You heard her. She cuts herself, because it works.” After her outburst over lunch, you're not going to question Nor's methods again. “I suppose I should find Med or Gisg or something, since I'm not supposed to wander around on my own.”“They're probably in the middle of a lesson,” Vox replies nonchalantly. “If there's one thing I've learn about Ptolemy's cult, it's that they take their studies seriously. Nothing matters more to them than Awakening, and 'the magister' has convinced them all that Hermeticism is the only way that it'll ever happen. We can hang around until they're finished for the day, if you need company.”You're somewhat surprised by the offer, but is there really much more that you can learn from the postmodernist graffiti mage? You don't exactly have much in common.>Hang out with Vox Pop. Maybe you can find out more about her Awakening, or why she has to lay low here.>Seek out Ptolemy and his students. If they are in the middle of a lesson, it's an opportunity for you to learn.>Return to the library. There's plenty of other books there, which will allow you to learn on your own terms.>Explore the mansion. While everyone else is occupied, this is a chance for you to uncover some secrets.
>>6438277>>Hang out with Vox Pop. Maybe you can find out more about her Awakening, or why she has to lay low here.It would be a waste to not take the opportunity after it took so long for her to open up. Even if we don't learn a ton, cultivating connections in this brave new world is no bad thing.
>>6438277>Hang out with Vox Pop. Maybe you can find out more about her Awakening, or why she has to lay low here.We don't need to be besties, but we won't survive without reliable contacts. Eventually we owe Papa Yew a lunch or something to thank him for his hospitality.
>>6438277>Hang out with Vox Pop. Maybe you can find out more about her Awakening, or why she has to lay low here.Friend!
>>6438277>Hang out with Vox Pop. Maybe you can find out more about her Awakening, or why she has to lay low here.Probably best to deepen our connections and learn more about what makes a mage.
>>6438277>>Seek out Ptolemy and his students. If they are in the middle of a lesson, it's an opportunity for you to learn.
>>6438277>Return to the library. There's plenty of other books there, which will allow you to learn on your own terms.
“Sure.”It's a little odd. Before today, the only people who ever tolerated your presence were your colleagues, and that was because it was a part of their job. You've gone from spending day after day working alongside tired white collar workers, to hanging out with a colourful woman who is a decade your junior and has almost nothing in common with you.The only significant trait that you share is that you've both Awakened. You suppose that is enough, in a world that is so hostile towards those who no longer Sleep.“So, what happened, to make you have to come here in the first place? Sometimes it seems like you'd rather be anywhere else.”“I decided to mess with the Union,” she says with a shrug while she leads the way through the corridor. “A friend of mine went missing earlier in the year, and all evidence points towards them grabbing him. I was at a low point and wanted to get a little payback. Do you remember a shooting that happened around two weeks ago, somewhere around Sylvan Hills?”“Maybe?” Honestly, you're not sure. Sometimes it feels like someone's shot dead every other day in Atlanta. “Wait, was this the one that kicked off that race riot? I remember hearing something about protests at a police academy afterwards. Didn't they try to burn it down?”“I was hoping that they would succeed. Anyway, it wasn't actually the police who killed that guy. I don't know who did it, but I planted a few suggestions into people's heads to make them think it was the cops. It's not really that difficult to convince them, when there's already resentment there. I even managed to gaslight a couple of guys into thinking that they saw the guy get shot by a fed.”“There was a reason for this, right?”“I mean, yeah. I'm not a fucking psycho. That academy is a Union monitoring station. The locals don't notice all of the Black Suits who come and go, even I never gave that place a second glance. But there was this guy that I knew, he always seemed really fucking stoned – the thing is, he always insisted that he had never done weed or anything else. I got a bit suspicious, so I put him through some deprogramming. As soon as the fog had cleared, all he would talk about was that place and all of the crazy shit that he had seen. That broke the spell on me as well, suddenly I could remember all of the times that I saw men in black around that place.”By the time that Vox is finished, you have already arrived at her room. The interior is a hell of a lot cleaner than Aynorbee's, though it seems as though she's living out of a small suitcase that she's yet to unpack, beyond a few sets of clothes.
“How many places like that are there?” You sit on the edge of the desk, while Vox seats herself at the bottom of her bed. A favourite spot of hers, apparently.“Who knows? There could be three in Atlanta, or there could be thirty. Breaking through all of that subliminal indoctrination wasn't exactly easy. Anyway, I don't know if they've figured out that I was responsible or not, but I wasn't gonna stick around to find out. I asked Ptolemy to extract me and ever since, I've been stuck here. That's the story, I guess.”“He did say that it's his duty to offer this place as a safehouse for other mages.” Vox grimaces at your choice of words. “Sorry – Awakened. Ptolemy made it sound like everyone has a part of play, so I've got to wonder, do you have any responsibilities?”“Yeah, I keep people out of places. Our gracious host calls it warding, he's even had me set up a few in the woods around here. It's just a case of putting the right symbols in the right places, so that people get the impression that they should stay the fuck away. It's not really that different from what the Union does at that police academy.” So far, everything that she has said about her abilities indicates that she is some sort of mentalist. You'll need to make sure that she doesn't tamper with your thoughts. “My turn to ask a question. What's with the sword, the name, the whole... Chinese thing? How did you get into that stuff?”“I don't really know,” you begin. “A couple of years after I had left college and found a stable job, I found myself wondering if there was really nothing more to life than that. Everything had become a monotonous routine, I couldn't find any joy in anything. A couple of times, I was so tired of the world that I considered... Anyway, I eventually started looking into mindfulness as a way out of that. The Tao resonated with me in a way that nothing else did, it taught me that I could find happiness in life, through harmony with the universe. I guess that's what drove a lot of my research – the desire to balance the monotony of my work with some sort of excitement. A little yang to counter the excess of yin, I guess.”“Oh yeah? What sort of research is that?” You're not sure if Vox is amused or bemused, but at least she's not judging you. You already feel awfully self-conscious, for speaking so much about your interests. Last time you tried, Ptolemy cut you off before you were able to say much at all.
“Well, I started learning about qigong and wushu, since I wanted to cultivate a healthier mind and a healthier body.” You try to ignore her judgemental stare dropping towards your gut. “I also wanted to try and improve myself through alchemy, not just waidan and neidan, but the Western tradition as well. I figured there had to be some sort of truth behind it, because... Well, I've always suspected that there was some sort of shadow government, someone controlling society. Everything that we've been taught about physics, about science, it's just never made sense. It always seemed like it was constructed in order to keep the Masses in their place, so I started looking into free energy as well. Perpetual motion, reactionless drives, that sort of thing.”“That's... I mean, that is a lot.” Vox doesn't seem to know what to say, after hearing all of that. If she thinks that you're crazy, at least she's kind enough not to say it. “I've gotta give you credit though, you were more right about the world than I ever was before my Awakening.”“How did yours go? You've seen mine for yourself, it's only right that I know what you went through.”“Hold on, you asked me two questions, I've only asked you one so far. I'll consider answering you, but only if you show me what you can do with all of this Taoist stuff. I wanna see it for myself.”>Nope. You are not a circus performer. You have your dignity and you are not going to waste your qi on such a needless endeavour. You refuse to put on a show for this woman's amusement.>Attune your qi to that of Vox. Become aware of her vital energy, learn of every feature and flaw of her physical form, and hope that she does not consider this a violation of her privacy. (Life •.)>Have her write down a statement which you cannot see, then peer into the future so that you might foresee what is written. But does this power come from the Tao, or your connection to the Ouroboros? (Time •)>Through waidan, transmute one substance into another before the very eyes of Vox. Due to the lack of the appropriate instruments, you know that this risks incurring the wrath of Paradox. (Matter ••.)>Become one with Xuanyuan. Let your qi flow into its mystical steel and demonstrate the might of your sword through the art of cutting. Hopefully Ptolemy will forgive the property damage. (Prime ••. This will spend 1 point of Quintessence. You have 1 point of Quintessence that you may spend.)
>>6438455QM, I want to do something subtle and non-paradoxical, but more impressive than the trick with the paper. Could we attune ourselves to a coin with Matter 1, in order to help us more easily anticipate how it will flip with Time 1, and then just flip it a half dozen times or more and call it every time? Both subtle powers of perception but on a small scale, impressive but not vulgar. Then we just tell her that we don't want to do anything vulgar, but that this is a demonstration of Taoist oneness, being aligned with the natural order of things and thus able to anticipate what will be with clarity, able to be one with the coin. Very mindful, much wise.
>>6438455>>Through waidan, transmute one substance into another before the very eyes of Vox. Due to the lack of the appropriate instruments, you know that this risks incurring the wrath of Paradox. (Matter ••.)
>>6438455>Become one with Xuanyuan. Let your qi flow into its mystical steel and demonstrate the might of your sword through the art of cutting. Hopefully Ptolemy will forgive the property damage. (Prime ••. This will spend 1 point of Quintessence. You have 1 point of Quintessence that you may spend.)Seems like the best option to do something cool without it being a paradox magnet or being too pedestrian.
>>6438455>Attune your qi to that of Vox. Become aware of her vital energy, learn of every feature and flaw of her physical form, and hope that she does not consider this a violation of her privacy. (Life •.)
>>6438464>The manipulation of probability usually falls under the Sphere of Entropy. However, I think that this combination of knowledge of the intrinsic properties of the coin through Matter and knowledge of the potential outcomes through Time can be used to determine how the coin is most likely to land in this instance. If people want to vote for this write-in, I'll allow it.
>>6438464>>6438469Alright! That'll be my vote then! Thanks(:
>>6438464+1I'm sure Henry will fail a couple of times, but attunement to the coin + looking into the future looks like a safe way to bypass into Entropy
>>6438455I'm still going to support >>6438464, but I thought of something cool we could do if Vix thinks we're bullshitting her or if she's not impressed>With a short meditation by putting our palm against Xuanyuan, attune to our blade, granting our fingernail to become as sharp as our sword, and gently show her how with a single pass we cut some paper like a sharp knifeI believe that with our single dot in Life, Matter 2 and maybe Prime (or maybe not using prime and using 1 Quintessence instead) we can do this. Xuanyuan was already made out of Qi and we should be able to just transfer that sharpness, and maybe, we won't be butt fucked by Paradox because we should be able to make it look like a party trick where we either applied pressure or with some flick of the wrist.
>>6438464Support, this is cool.
>>6438455>>6438464+1 to this. Would support the other write-in too but I suspect we won't get enough votes for it as many have cast theirs already.
>>6438493>Right now, your power over Life is limited to what is stated in >>6430416 and your power over Matter is limited to what is stated in >>6430005 and >>6431083. No matter if you argue that your nails should governed by Life because they are a part of your living body, or if you argue that they should be governed by Matter because they are made of dead keratin, neither Sphere currently allows you to alter their sharpness and combining them would not allow you to achieve that either.>The only method of sharpening them that you currently possess is Prime ••, which allows you to spend a point of Quintessence to make a single attack especially damaging. That is what you are doing with your sword in the option that I provided, and that is what you would do to your nail.>In order to limit confusion, I am going to repost all of your current Spheres and what they are individually capable of in a single post that is easier to refer back to.
>You have Life •. You may use this Sphere to perceive the presence of nearby life, as well as the biological composition and overall health of any organism that you detect.>You have Matter •. You may use this Sphere to perceive the material composition, underlying structure, intrinsic properties and integral stability of any inert object.>You have Matter ••. You may use this Sphere to transmute one substance into another similar substance, without altering its shape or state. You may turn water into wine, lead into gold, salt into sugar, and so on. Rare substances are more difficult to produce.>You have Prime •. You may use this Sphere to perceive and absorb ambient Quintessence. This is a resource that you may spend to reduce the difficulty of rolls, though it will gain other uses as your proficiency with Prime grows.>You have Prime ••. You may use this Sphere to detect and absorb solidified Quintessence. You may spend Quintessence to energise attacks, reinforce defences and craft Trinkets and Charms.>You have Time •. You may use this sphere to perceive your immediate surroundings as they were up to an hour before now, or as they might possibly be up to one hour from now. Retrocognition is reliable. Precognition is not.
>Locking the vote there and going with the write-in of >>6438464.
“Sure, I can do that.” If she wants to see a magic trick, you'll show her one. You rummage around in your pockets for a moment, before you remember that these aren't your clothes. If you ever had any loose change, it's probably still in the pockets of the pants stained with grave dirt. “Do you uh, have any change on you?”“Seriously? A coin trick? Is this something that you used to do to impress your nephew or something?”“I don't have a nephew. I do have three nieces though.” You can't remember the last time you saw any of them. You're not exactly close to either of your brothers. “You called it Paradox, right? There's no way I'm going to risk going through that again just to put on a show for you. So give me a coin already.”“Okay, fine. I've got... Yeah, I've got a quarter. Will that do?”“It should.” You hope so, at least. You hold out a hand and Vox drops a tarnished quarter into your palm. It's a pretty old one too, 1964. Good. The longer it has been around for, the more likely it is to have imperfections that you can use to your advantage. “I'm going to guess which way it'll land and flip it. Not just once, either. I'm going to call it five, six times in a row.”“Come on, there's a fifty-fifty chance that you get it right every time. That's not magic, that's just luck. It'll be more impressive if you call all of the flips right now, in the right order and everything.”“That's not something that I can do, the future isn't set in stone like that.” There are too many potential possibilities. While you might be able to reliably predict what might happen in the next few seconds, the more you look ahead, the more unreliable your foresight becomes. You saw that in the cemetery, with all of those wildly divergent futures. “Can you give me a moment? I need to focus.”“Fine, whatever. At least it'll be funny if you fuck up.”While Vox settles back against the foot of the bed to watch, you kick off your shoes and seat yourself on the floor, cross-legged. Once more, you regulate your breathing in an effort to draw your jing into your lower dantian, along with the essence that clings to the coin. These shall become your qi, which shall become shen, which shall become wu wei. Through this, you shall become one with the void in which the Ouroboros dwells, and ascertain the Serpent's revolution.All of this, to call a coin toss.>I want three rolls of dice+1d100 and I will accept the best of three. You will need to roll 50 or higher in order to succeed at this task. The higher you roll above the target number, the better the outcome.>Each roller may choose to say “Spend Quintessence,” in order to spend 1 point of Quintessence and decrease the target number of the roll by 4. For example, if two out of three rollers say “Spend Quintessence,” 2 points of Quintessence are spent and the target number is decreased by 8. You have 1 point of Quintessence that you may spend.
Rolled 74 (1d100)>>6438714rollin boss
Rolled 53 (1d100)>>6438714
Rolled 68 (1d100)>>6438714I am the force and the force is with meI am the force and the force is with me
>>6438715Great roll
>>6438714>Come on, there's a fifty-fifty chance that you get it right every time.Sure, but the odds we get all 6 right is 1/64. It runs on powers of 2, so each additional right flip is half as likely as the previous. 7 is 1/128, 8 is 1/256, etc.
It is not just energy that flows into you from the coin, but knowledge.Though both sides are significantly scratched, the observe has suffered more damage than the reverse. The face of George Washion has been worn down to the point where it is unrecognisable, while the text by his chin has become illegible. The reeding that the Founding Father faces has been worn down to the point where it almost entirely smooth. On the other side, the more significant detailing has led to the accumulation of debris – a congealed mixture of sweat, dead skin and food residue, with minute traces of urine and faecal matter. Though the latex coating used in scratchers can be found in most of the reeding, it is particularly prevalent near the base of the coin, where the year of its manufacture is written.The most important information is that the weight of the quarter is not evenly distributed, thanks to all of the above factors. That is knowledge that you can use.As all thought and effort leaves your mind, the tarnished coin looks less like a coin and more like the scale of a great beast. You are there again, on the hide of the Ouroboros, if only for a fraction of a second. Through the Tao, all is possible. The innumerable plates that cover the Serpent flow like a river but through your oneness with the universe, you can see where they may wander. The emptiness of your mind is filled with all of the potential that the future holds and by balancing all of those odds, you are left with a probable outcome.“Heads.”It is difficult, to take action while maintaining wu wei. It must be effortless, it must be thoughtless, it must be innate. You aren't even of the movement of your muscles as you flip the coin and catch it. You do not perceive the outcome. There is only the Ouroboros – to heed the result would be to ground your self and peel it away from the Tao. All you can do is call the next toss and realise it.“Heads. Tails. Heads. Heads. Tails. Tails. Tails. Heads. Tails.”Yet this detachment from the material plane cannot last forever. Your curiosity about your success rate so far gets the better of you and you find yourself perceiving the physical universe once more. Where there was the Ouroboros, there is now Vox's room. There was a burnished scale, there is now a dirty coin, resting in the palm of your hands. It's tails.“You, uh, you're stopping there? That was ten in a row by my count. That's two to the power of ten, so that's like... one in five hundred? Not bad.” One in one thousand and twenty-four, actually, but you feel no need to correct her. While the blue-haired woman shows no sign of being visibly impressed, she rarely shows signs of any emotion. You wonder if that might be her mentalism at work, or if that's just the sort of person she is.
“It's difficult to remain in harmony with the Tao for long. There's just too many distractions.” You decide against mentioning that your mind interprets the Tao as a giant snake biting its own tail. “Anyway, I hope you're satisfied.” You can't help but grunt as you shift out of that cross-legged pose. You were only like that for a few minutes, but you're already a little stiff.“I guess. You used some sort of breathing exercise to do it? I know a couple of Awakened who use meditation, but never to predict the future like that.”“It's called dantian breathing, though I guess you could call it breathing with your diaphragm. I draw the unrefined essence that dwells in my body into my lower dantian, where it becomes energy. I channel that energy into my middle dantian, where it joins my spirit. I let my spirit flow into my upper dantian, where it reaches from my body to touch the Tao.”As you explain each stage of the process, you gesture from your gut to your heart, and then to the bridge of your noses. You are relieved that Vox doesn't seem particularly sceptical of your methods.“You really are into this stuff. I still think you'd get along great with Keido, you know.”“He's a Buddhist. That's completely different.”“Whatever, I don't know enough about it to argue with you. You've earned another answer from me though, so are you still interested in how I Awakened?”“You got to see how the Union 'popped my cherry,' so it's only fair that I get to hear what you went through. I guess that you did something similar?”“Nothing like that, actually. I was studying philosophy in college, I had a great boyfriend, but I just... I guess I was bored with life. I fell down a rabbit hole, sorta like you did. There were a lot of drugs and arguments and big fat zeroes on assignments. I ended up dropping out and as soon as he found out, my boyfriend dumped me. I freaked the fuck out and... that's when it happened.”“Don't you have an Avatar, or a Word?” You aren't certain if they're the same thing, but that was the impression that you got from Ptolemy's explanation.“I do, yeah. Art talks to me. As in, I can literally hear it fucking talk.” Vox frowns and scratches at her temple for a moment. It doesn't seem to be something that she's very happy about. “Drawings, paintings, images on a screen... If it's a picture that was made by someone else, it always comes to life and always has something to say to me. It's fucking maddening, but at least the stuff that I make stays still. I guess that's why I took up graffiti. I don't have to deal with all that bullshit if I can just paint over it.”“So, what then?”
“All of the world became colours which all flowed together into this muddy, black abyss. Everything and everyone was just a streak of paint, draining into the murk and dissolving into the darkness... Look, I know I offered to tell you about it, but this is way heavier than I thought it would be. It doesn't matter. None of it fucking matters.”It's a little baffling that you had to be abducted by the Union in order to Awaken, while all Vox had to do was go through a bad breakup. Then again, it doesn't sound like her head was in a good place at the time. At the time, it probably felt like her whole world was falling apart. That's what you try to tell yourself, at least.The conversation shifts away from her Awakening and back to your respective abilities – your 'magic,' so to speak. Vox Pop continues to needle you about your Taoism, so you supply her with answers. Qigong, wushu, neidan and waidan, you explain all of it as best as you can. She's a lot more reluctant to speak about her own methods, though she's willing to make a demonstration by drawing a line on the floor between the two of you, staining the carpet with a Sharpie in the process.“Go on, just try to cross that line – if you think you can.”Why does she sound so confident, as if walking over the line is such a significant challenge? What magic has she imbued the line with, why is it there at all? What's the point in visibly demarcating such a boundary, if there isn't a consequence for crossing it? All of a sudden, you find that your stomach has tied itself into knots, thanks to all of the terrible possibilities that the boundary represents. Perhaps if you truly pushed yourself, you could transgress and cross that line – but Vox has already made her point.According to her, her magic is as simple as taking advantage of internalised symbolism. So many different shapes and symbols are attributed with significant meaning by mankind, she just exploits that meaning and amplifies it. Even something as basic as a line can plant a powerful suggestion in the mind of someone who wants to go past it.The conversation continues for a while longer, with Vox explaining the potency that humans attribute to symbols, an entirely imagined power that these things do not truly possess. It all plays a part in the war that she wages against metanarratives – there is no higher meaning, there is no fundamental truth underlying all of this. Everything only means anything because people want it to. At least she knows better than try and say this directly about the Tao.Eventually, the topic shifts to something else.“So, what's your plan?”“What do you mean?” In response to your question, Vox Pop shrugs her shoulders.
“Well, it's not like you're gonna be staying here for long, unless you're planning on studying under Ptolemy or doing something to earn your keep, like Nor. I'm giving it another week before I'm outta here. I'm probably not going back to Atlanta for a while, but the whole cult atmosphere is driving me crazy.”“So what, are you just going to live out of your luggage for the rest of your life?”“Only for a little while. I'm used to couchsurfing, but it shouldn't take me too long to find somewhere permanent. I just need to think of the right sob story and find the right shoulders to cry on.” That does make you wonder. With her aversion to the truth, was anything that Vox said about her Awakening actually real? “That's what it's like, being Awakened. You either fight back against the Union and live your life on the run, or you hunker down and spend the rest of your life hiding from there. So I'll ask again – what's your plan?”>You should stay in Ptolemy's manor for as long as you can. It's the closest thing to a fortress that the Awakened have, from the sound of it.>It is about time that you got a little revenge. You need to stick it to the Union like Vox did, and find a way of fighting back against them.>You need to learn more about what it is to be Awakened from a suitable mentor. Finding the right Tradition for you should be your priority.>The Sleepers need your attention far more than the Awakened do. You want to focus on helping the Masses with your newfound abilities.>You would like to return to some sort of normality, after all this madness. Finding a new place among Sleepers should come before any shenanigans.>The acquisition of more power comes before all else, of course. You need to return to the heights that you experienced during your Awakening, you have to.
>>6438883>You need to learn more about what it is to be Awakened from a suitable mentor. Finding the right Tradition for you should be your priority.QM I have to tell you, I'm really impressed by your understanding of the source material and your ability to imaginatively deploy it in this story. Vox and her magic are both really interesting. It's a hard needle to thread but you make your comprehension of both WoD minutiae and real world esoterica/philosophy seem a lot more effortless than I know it is and knit them together very cohesively to keep the story immersive.
>>6438877>“Drawings, paintings, images on a screen... If it's a picture that was made by someone else, it always comes to life and always has something to say to me.Shame she didn't have us draw a stick figure or something and see what it had to say.>>6438883As I see it, we want to tear down the Union and help the Sleepers. But to do either of those, we need power. Power will come from our own abilities, and/or from any Allies we gather.Going for being powerful in our own right is tempting, but we still know so little about the world of the Awakened that we risk running face-first into more trouble.>You need to learn more about what it is to be Awakened from a suitable mentor. Finding the right Tradition for you should be your priority.Even if none of them quite align with our goals, having a group to learn from and rely on (at least for the smaller stuff) will go a long way in supporting our quest for enough power to Make A Difference.
>>6438883>You should stay in Ptolemy's manor for as long as you can. It's the closest thing to a fortress that the Awakened have, from the sound of it.I think we need to fight the Union and help the Sleepers, but there's realistically no way for us to do that in our current state. We're only recently awakened, and we're too weak/ignorant to do anything other than simple magic tricks like what we just did with Vox. I say we stick with Ptolemy for a little while, not long-term, but enough to increase our knowledge and get some more skills before we set out and find a suitable mentor/other people to help. We'll probably want to talk to Ptolemy about the whole student thing though, we're not going to be fully onboard with everything he does but if he gives us some leeway we can probably act as a tutor or something to his students.
>>6438883>You should stay in Ptolemy's manor for as long as you can. It's the closest thing to a fortress that the Awakened have, from the sound of it.
>>6438883>>You should stay in Ptolemy's manor for as long as you can. It's the closest thing to a fortress that the Awakened have, from the sound of it.
>>6437857Those are just the awakened you know about. This does not include Nephandi, my awesome and edgy decension boys, or marauders.
>>6438883>>You need to learn more about what it is to be Awakened from a suitable mentor. Finding the right Tradition for you should be your priority.Orphans don't last long, and the sooner we find a mentor, the sooner we can start to learn special skills.
>>6438883>>You need to learn more about what it is to be Awakened from a suitable mentor. Finding the right Tradition for you should be your priority.
>>6438883>It is about time that you got a little revenge. You need to stick it to the Union like Vox did, and find a way of fighting back against them.Wouldn't mind hanging out with her more. Maybe see if we can learn some mind
>>6438883>You need to learn more about what it is to be Awakened from a suitable mentor. Finding the right Tradition for you should be your priority.Agreeing with >>6438955 here. Tutelage to gain power as a means against the shadow government and for helping the sleepers.
