Wardens Backstory

• As a rambunctious kid, Tempus stole an old Victorian pocket-watch from Foggy while the old Invested was visiting the New York House. Foggy knew he'd done it, however, and reassured him that he could have it, cementing a fatherly relationship that endured as Tempus grew up. (EM22)

• The Sibyl knew that the beloved of DAN was going to die – she all but told him so. She didn't tell him any details, though, and DAN has sworn not to take revenge, because he is above that. (EM20)

• AJ took DAN to the River Styx. While there, the hideous shade of DAN's beloved crawled up out of the Styx, begging for help. AJ cast the ghost back into the River, discorporating it to send it down the river, but DAN was traumatized by the event. AJ feels tremendous guilt for this. (3)

Backstory Grid

Individuals

• Foggy, the Invested of London. A man who rose to his powers sometime in the Victorian Era, Foggy is every inch a gentleman's gentleman. Over the years, he has taken it upon himself to help newly Invested find their footing and figure out their abilities.
• The Iosan Sibyl is a seer and prophetess that those of a mystical bent frequently consult when they are in need of insight and wisdom. It is generally agreed that she has her own agenda, though exactly what that is no one can ascertain; despite this, she always speaks the truth as she envisions.

Groups

• The Zodiac Society: SHIELD, if it had been founded by Indiana Jones and Lara Croft. A worldwide organization dedicated to the preservation of world history and to securing the world's esoteric and magical history from mundane eyes.
• Shaitan: An arcane underworld crime syndicate on a global scale. They specialize in providing dark sorcery and summoned horrors for other criminals, cults, and the generally unscrupulous, and in securing arcane relics for their own selfish uses.
• Order of the Hammer: A secular organization with roots in the Inquisition, the Order of the Hammer seeks to eradicate and eliminate all magical use in the world. Modern-day witchhunters, the Order is known to maintain several fronts, including a paramilitary mercenary group, a research think tank, and an espionage branch with roots in the worldwide intelligence community.

Events

• The Blue Fire Days: Three to five years ago, something strange happened to the planar veils, and great rifts opened between the Earthly dimension and the Azure Void in which the Phoros witchlights dwell. As a result, events occurred all over the Earth where Phoros ran amuck and set great fires, and strange blue-violet-green "northern lights" style displays were seen in the sky all over the world. In the days since, sorcerers have worked carefully to help construct the idea that it was Earth passing closely to the tail of a comet that caused the chaos.
• The Walpurgisnacht Conjunction: Last year on Walpurgisnacht, a strange conjunction of stellar bodies created visions and waking nightmares for many of the esoteric entities of Earth. The visions were all dire and dread-inducing, although no one can agree whether it portends something specific or was simply a psychic backlash from the unusual conjunction.
• The Attack on Dvaravat: A force of strange extradimensional entities attacked Dvaravat on what seemed to be a fairly slow night.

Places

• Dvaravat (d-VA-ra VAT): The extradimensional nightclub and lounge for magicians and other esoteric folk, the "Heaven of Many Gates" is a strictly neutral location overseen by the hijra sorceress Chandi. Made up of eight levels, and festooned with countless doors and gateways, Dvaravat is a members-only establishment for one simple reason: to get in, you must have paid for the privilege and been given the Sanskrit sigil that permits one of those doors to open into it.
• The River Styx: A metaphysical underworld realm that manifests itself as a river into which souls are carried away to whatever resolution awaits them. They often appear on the shores and shamble, confused or angry, along that shoreline until they hear the call of the river.