Mage: The Awakening PbP - Nemesis

[Tokiwong]

Thessaly earns 1 Arcane Experience Point.

Cymbeline nods but does not speak taking everything in. Gawain does speak though with a broad if pained smile, “Impressive, a concise description of the Awakened… as much as I would enjoy debating the finer points of awakened society, I would prefer if perhaps I could be a shown a room to rest, clean, and collect my thoughts. I will only need Sanctuary for a few days at best.. no more then three I suppose.”

Cymbeline finally speaks, “I am a warlock?”

 

[Festy_Dog]

"Long story short? You are a warlock," Harlequin agrees with a nod, "Although while I think of it, you in particular may have some talent with manipulating forces, like light, heat, gravity, or cold."

He smirked on the inside when mentioning cold. Harlequin wasn't sure when it would be best to tell Cymbeline what actually happened in the alleyway, but he would do it soon, once it seemed her thoughts had settled somewhat.

 

[Shayuri]

"Yeah...sorry. Now that we're all in the club, I guess there's no reason not to adjourn to the real sanctuary. Everyone follow me."

Thessaly gets up and goes to the spiral staircase that loops up to the half-sized second floor of the bookstore, where the rarer, more valuable stock is kept. Her fingers move over the pole in the center of the steps, searching...then find the cleverly hidden switch. The floor under the stairs rotates away, revealing that the staircase goes both up AND down.

She waves the others over. "Down here." Then she goes first, down into the dark. A moment later light from below shines up.

 

[Festy_Dog]

"Ooh, impressive," Harlequin says as the secret door slides open, apparently ignorant of the fact that an opening door paled in comparison to he and his colleagues' ability to shape reality to their will.

He follows the others downstairs once the light comes on, carrying his briefcase and courier bag.

 

[Tokiwong]

Gawain smiles and follows Thessaly down into the Sanctum. Cymbeline looks numb and follows slowly. Gawain speaks while walking down into the Sanctum, “It has been years since I have seen the interior of this Sanctum… your grandmother and I were well acquainted in the past, she was an impressive woman… impressive in many ways. I am saddened to hear that she has passed, it leaves a hole in my heart that will not be soon filled.”

Gawain looks for a place to sit and smiles, “I cannot thank you enough for your aid… and hospitality…”

 

[Festy_Dog]

Hearing Gawain thank Thessaly, Harlequin realised it would be good etiquette to thank his hosts as well.

"Thessaly, I owe you and Cymbeline for patching up a complete stranger," he says, "I imagine I'll have no shortage of opportunities to repay that if Winnie is correct in you being under threat from Seers."

"Cymbeline, feel free to listen in but don't trouble yourself if anything goes over your head. Most of it concerns you however so you might be interested," Harlequin helps find a comfortable seat for the spaced-out Cymbeline in case the evening's events weigh upon her enough that she falls asleep, then sees about finding somewhere for himself to sit.

"Now down to business. First things first I want to fully explain what happened in the alley. I don't think any of you saw it since I was only aware of anyone exiting the store after the incident took place. In short, it wasn't a mugger and I didn't save Cymbeline, she saved me," Harlequin explained, "The guy who attacked us was a Banisher who referred to himself as 'Nemesis', and all things considered I would have ended up dead if it wasn't for Cymbeline. Just prior to her feinting she managed to hit Nemesis with an intense blast of cold that threw him into a parked car. It wasn't long after that when I noticed Thessaly and... Morrigan, is it? Anyway, I have two concerns, one of which you may have some insight into and one which worries me about the safety of any Awakened and possibly Sleepers in the area. The first; Cymbeline accessed the Supernal prior to her Awakening, which I'm guessing she had while she was passed out after doing so. I may not be terribly well read at this point, so correct me if I'm wrong, but could that mean something significant? Or is that something which people who are close to Awakening are capable of? The second; after being thrown some thirteen or so metres into a car this Nemesis guy still had it in him to make a rapid escape. Bringing him down doesn't look like a simple matter, and the local Guardians and Arrows should probably be given a heads up about him. He has the intent and ability to kill, he's looking for Mages and might also pose a threat to the Sleeper population."

 

[Tokiwong]

Harlequin makes a reflexive Wits + Subterfuge roll; he garners 1 success.

Harlequin

[sblock]Harlequin can see that rather oddly, Gawain looks relieved at the story he just told, as if he feared something else. It is subtle but Harlequin’s Guardian training allows him to read the elder mage, and see that he was concerned about Harlequin’s attacker but is now less concerned.[/sblock]

Cymbeline comes out of her shock briefly, “You mean… I saved you? But I don’t remember… I don’t remember any of that. I couldn’t have.”

Gawain smiles, “You must relax young lady, I am sure this Guardian speaks truth.”

Cymbeline turns to look at Harlequin, “How did I save you?”

 

[Festy_Dog]

Harlequin makes a mental note before responding to Cymbeline's query, "Well if I take a moment to try and recall the details of the event... I guess I can't say for certain whether you hit him with cold, the cold was just something I felt right before you hit him and there could be any number of explanations for it; collecting the heat from the area to convert it into kinetic energy maybe? I have no proficiency in Forces so I couldn't say for certain. That aside you hit him hard enough with a blast of something to throw him across the street and put a man-sized dent in the car across the other side, and while it certainly didn't bring him down it certainly scared him off.

"If your question is more in regards to how you were personally able to conjure and project that energy then I'm as clueless as you are. By my limited knowledge you shouldn't have been able to even do that at that until after your trip to Pandemonium. Long story short you didn't have anywhere to draw that energy from... unless... You don't remember what you did, and some people have their Awakening while they are still concious by experiencing the world around them as something entirely different," Harlequin ponders the possibilities, "It may be possible that between the point when you stopped screaming and the point when you collapsed you experienced your entire Awakening independent of the time flow here, thus moments before your collapse but after your Awakening your reflexive reaction to the situation here was to fight back against the perceived threat using an instinctual grasp of magic.

"Maybe. That's entirely off the top of my head, so anyone more experienced than I feel free to enlighten us to a more likely answer."

 

[Tokiwong]

Cymbeline replies, “I don’t understand… all of this… I want to believe it but this is crazy. Magic, spells… Pandemonium? What the hell is a Banisher? Why is any of this important. I…” Cymbeline turns away, thinking.

Gawain continues smiling, “You scare the poor girl.”

“I am not scared,” Cymbeline scowls, turning, “I am not SCARED!”

“I apologize young miss,” Gawain bows his head graciously.

“I just feel overwhelmed, I always felt different, felt as if I was meant for something more. I have felt that all my life, and these dreams; these horrible yet beautiful dreams haunt me… and my journey to this tower and the woman… the queen. I know it all means something. I feel like I have died, and have been born again. I feel naked right now… like I did in that place… that horrible place… but I know that I feel it in my bones. I know I am a warlock, a Mastigos,” Cymbeline says calmly.

Gawain nods, “Indeed.”

 

[Festy_Dog]

"My apologies. Pandemonium is the place you speak of, the one in which the iron tower is located from your dream. A Banisher is someone who has Awakened but... How to put this simply... They had noone to teach them and guide them when they needed it most. They can perceive magic, but by being able to perceive magic they can also perceive all the horrible things in the world and realise they are real. Because they have noone to teach them otherwise they come to the conclusion that magic is the source of all these evils they can see, and so they come to the conclusion that if they bring an end to magic, and those who use it, they can bring an end to the evils which they think are created by it," Harlequin says, "It's a downward spiral for them. Their misfortune only brings themselves and others further misfortune. They deserve pity, but it's more important to recognise them as serious threats."

What Cymbeline said, relating the experience of her Awakening, resonated within Harlequin. A feeling like rebirth, being stripped of all defenses. Unpleasant, but to be confronted so brutally by all of one's flaws was the critical part of the initiation into being a warlock. He empathised with her. When she mentioned her dreams, horrible yet beautiful, it reminded Harlequin of his Awakening. Despite the harsh experience Pandemonium was a beautiful place, or at least the one he experienced was.

Harlequin leaned back in his seat and smiled, "You're right, the Awakened are always meant for something more."