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| | ** ''Early July:'' [[Episode Ten: Frontal Assault]] | | ** ''Early July:'' [[Episode Ten: Frontal Assault]] |
| | ** ''Early July:'' [[Episode Eleven: Storm of the Century]] | | ** ''Early July:'' [[Episode Eleven: Storm of the Century]] |
| − | ===Episode Twelve===
| + | ** ''Mid July:'' [[Episode Twelve: Regina Rising]] |
| − | * '''[[Serafina]]''', '''[[Autumn]]''', and '''[[Issa]]''' rescue any Sleepers who might have been trapped in Shadow during the Verge storm. | + | ===Arc Four: Autumn Hallows=== |
| − | * '''[[Malachite]]''' and '''[[Rasayana]]''' head to New York to retrieve [[Danny Brewster|Danny]] from the hospital there. Strangely, [[Ophelia Rossetti|Ophelia]] doesn't come with us. She says she's made plans to get back to Astoria on her own. | + | * '''July 1010''' |
| − | * '''Serafina''' contacts her order to tell them what happened.
| + | ** ''Mid July:'' [[Episode Thirteen: The Passage of Shadow]] |
| − | * '''Rasayana''' learns from the Free Council that a Seer pylon was uncovered in Portland. The pylon got away, but they've now been identified.
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| − | * Leaving Danny sound asleep at Qurbani's house, we go to investigate the Babylon pylon's former sanctum.
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| − | * While post-cogging the place, '''Autumn''' finds a blank space in time, about three hours' worth, that occurred right before the pylon invaded the Regina the first time.
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| − | * '''Autumn''' and '''Rasayana''' cast cooperative ritual Time magic to punch through the time ward.
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| − | * [[Tanya Clark|Tanya]] calls while they are casting. She's at the Regina because she thought it was safe to return. '''Issa''' escorts her right back to Africa.
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| − | * Also during the ritual, '''Malachite''' finds a room with faint traces of writing left on the walls. He brings the writing out with Matter magic and finds an alphabet that is as creepy and disturbing to him as a mage as Atlantean was to him as a Sleeper.
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| − | * '''Autumn''' and '''Rasayana''' successfully bypass the Babylon pylon's Time spell. '''Autumn''' sees the pylon discussing the ritual they tried to cast at the Regina. They have the book they stole from us, the Ishtar Codex.
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| − | * From what they're saying, Qurbani is ''probably'' the “sacrifice” they need for the ritual, but they're not completely sure. [[Heroditas]] says that even if they've chosen the wrong one, “the other one” is close at hand.
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| − | * Apparently, the Babylon pylon is an Abyssal cult. They are trying to breach “the vault of heaven” and allow Her out into the world.
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| − | * Heroditas may be the one who revealed the Seer pylon in Portland, so that all attention would be diverted there and her pylon could work its ritual unmolested.
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| − | * The Proximi families of Astoria are here because of Her. According to Heroditas, they've been gathering around Her for generations.
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| − | * After they returned to their sanctum, Heroditas is concerned that the ritual was ruined without a sacrifice. [[Amenhotep]] isn't so sure. He says it was more like they opened a cage and let something out.
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| − | * [[Sofia Warren|Vellamo]] agrees. She says the fallen world ''wanted'' what she was doing. Heroditas says that the Eleventh Seal is inextricably linked with the fallen world.
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| − | * None of us can read the creepy writing in the basement, so we take pictures and video to send to some of '''Autumn's''' contacts. '''Autumn''' can tell that it's a varian of Atlantean.
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| − | * '''Autumn''' calls his primary Mysterium contact and fills him in on everything we've learned about the Babylon pylon and their weird ritual.
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| − | * Minutes later, we get a call telling us that '''Autumn's''' contact is one of the Seer agents who was exposed in Portland. D'oh.
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| − | * But it may work to our advantage, as the Seers aren't going to be any happier with what the Babylon pylon has been up to than we are.
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| − | * The Guardians send the [[Infirmerer]] and the [[Circuitor]] out to help '''Serafina''' with damage control.
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| − | * '''Autumn''' gets a call from Hypatia and tells her everything he accidentally told the Seer agent. She tells him that Seers refer to the Exarchs as the Ten Seals. The Eleventh Seal is a supposed Exarch that is a personification of the Abyss.
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| − | * '''Issa''' and '''Malachite''' team up to cast a ward on Qurbani's place.
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| − | * '''Serafina''' meets up with the Infirmerer and the Circuitor. The Circuitor gets busy planting evidence of a chemical spill to explain the mass “hallucinations.” '''Serafina''' and the Infirmerer go out to the local hospitals to edit a few memories.
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| − | * At the hospital, they run into Ophelia, who is followed by several members of Astoria's major families.
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| − | * Ophelia is clearly not acting like herself. Weirdly, everyone around acts like they know her and are thrilled to see her.
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| − | * When '''Serafina''' points Ophelia out to the Infirmerer, he doesn't seem to see her. Then he doesn't seem to hear what '''Serafina''' is saying. Before long, he doesn't register '''Serafina''' at all.
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| − | * '''Serafina''' starts following Ophelia and her entourage. She contacts the [[Abbot]] about the Infirmerer's strange behavior. Then she calls the rest of the cabal.
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| − | * '''Autumn''' stays behind to do some research.
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| − | * The rest of us drive to the address '''Serafina''' gives us. It's a really nice house that belongs to a member of the Warren family.
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| − | * On the way, '''Issa''' scries on Ophelia. She looks right at the scrying window, aware of it even though it's one of '''Issa's''' attainments.
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| − | * We walk into the house. Someone rushes out, to stop us apparently. But when he sees us, he becomes immediately ingratiating, much like how he acts around Ophelia.
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| − | * When '''Rasayana''' tries to hug her, she rebuffs him. '''Issa''' demands to know who she is. She seems surprised but pleased that it's so obvious she's not really Ophelia.
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| − | * Ophelia became the sacrifice when she came back from the brink of death after nearly drowning. But she is still in there somewhere.
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| − | * To '''Malachite's''' Prime sight, Abphelia appears deeply disturbing, much like the writing we found at the Babylon pylon's sanctum. There is a void in her, an insatiable hunger. But he also feels an affinity toward her, on some strange level.
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| − | * As we talk to her, she tells us pretty much everything we want to know. She is completely unafraid of us. She even thanks us for helping her cross over.
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| − | * She's been influencing Astoria for ages, through the Hallow at the Regina.
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| − | * She is a personification of the Abyss. She says that she is “what is not.” Eventually, she will unmake the world.
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| − | * No Awakened soul can perceive her. Or us, because we have mana from the Regina within us. As long as we have it, we can see her.
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| − | * After some experimentation, we learn that transferring Regina-tainted mana isn't enough to make a mage aware of us or Abphelia. It only works on mages who have performed the oblation at the Regina.
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| − | * Which means our sole potential ally is [[Auctorita]].
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| − | * '''Issa''' goes to recruit his grandmother by spiking her tea with tass from the Regina.
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| − | * '''Rasayana''' tries to cast a Fate spell to free Ophelia. Even though he succeeds, it backfires horribly. He gains a derangement and has a temporary meltdown, offering Abphelia anything if she'll give Ophelia back to him.
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| − | * '''Malachite'''' socks him in the jaw and gets him the hell out of there. Abphelia looks a little titillated at the display of violence.
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| − | | |
| − | ===Episode Thirteen=== | |
| − | * We start discussing options and divvying up our remaining tass. '''[[Malachite]]''' tries to harvest fresh tass from the Regina, but it is no longer generating any. | |
| − | * We decide to meet with [[Auctorita]], since she's our only possible ally. But as a precaution, '''[[Rasayana]]''' casts a mental shield on us.
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| − | * On the way, we see several dogs in an alley simply become unmade. An Abyssal spirit appears in their place.
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| − | * '''[[Serafina]]''' and '''Malachite''' go to follow it while the others continue on to the meeting with Auctorita.
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| − | * '''Serafina''' traps the spirit, examines it, and questions it. It doesn't know anything useful.
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| − | * The spirit's Ban is that it must find an Awakened master. Once it does that, something else will become its Ban. Its nature is to be a familiar.
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| − | * It grovels and whimpers and tries to tempt '''Serafina''' or '''Malachite''' into becoming its master. '''Serafina''' destroys it, and they leave to catch up with their cabalmates.
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| − | * Auctorita is waiting for us at the Babylon Gardens cemetery. She tells us that the Babylon pylon has been taken into custody by the Tetrarchy. She thinks she can get ahold of their belongings, which will hopefully contain the Ishtar Codex. | |
| − | * As we talk, the older portions of the cemetery are suddenly unmade. In their place, another Abyssal spirit appears, in the form of a black mist.
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| − | * Auctorita takes off. Bitch.
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| − | * The creature sets off '''Malachite's''' nictophobia, but he is able to suppress the fear. As a result, he gains a spontaneous knowledge of the Art of Befouling.
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| − | * After we manage to injure this Abyssal creature, it stops fighting us and offers us a chance to ask questions. It must truthfully answer any question, as long as the answer isn't being deliberately hidden from it. | |
| − | * '''[[Autumn]]''' remembers that this entity extracts a “terrible price” for any questions it answers, but he doesn't warn anybody. The bastard.
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| − | * Only '''Malachite''' and '''Rasayana''' get to ask their questions before the spirit realizes that '''Serafina''' is trying to read it. It vanishes in a huff.
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| − | * '''Malachite''' asks how to keep Abphelia from destroying the world. The creature says that the answer is hidden, but it can tell us where to find the answer. It says for us to go the “archives of the angels” and search for “the heart of murder,” “ the tears of the river,” “the moment of unity,” “the joy of enunciation,” and “the birth of the sun.”
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| − | * '''Rasayana''' asks how to save Ophelia. It tells him to enact the “Banishment of the Queen of Heaven” before her chrysalis is complete.
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| − | * They both lose a point of Wisdom.
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| − | * '''Autumn''' does a divination and learns that the world will be destroyed within a year.
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| − | * '''Serafina''' suspects that the clues the Abyssal offered us may refer to various spirits she's met around Astoria. She goes to investigate the possiblity.
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| − | * The rest of us travel ahead to Mount Angel. Mitchell goes with us. We get a couple of hotel rooms and start doing various rituals to prepare for a marathon research session.
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| − | * '''Autumn''' summons the spirit of Rubedo, his mentor from [[Magnum Opus]], confirming that she is dead. She tells him that Nigredo and Citrinas are dead also. Albedo was captured and tortured along with her. She doesn't know Albedo's fate.
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