DBT - New York by Dark - Story Seeds
Tyrants and Power
New York City sits atop a font of forgotten power dating back at least to the era of the Time Before, the Awakened have been ignorant of this power since the world was broken yet mystery has always called them back.
This story is true, a being known as the Architect kept its Sanctum here and it was within this Sanctum that the Architect worked the phenomenal power to erect the Celestial Ladder.
This story is true, burning with ambition the Exarchs also kept Sanctums here and studied the intricate spell work of the Architect to further their plans.
This story is true, the Exarchs wished to tame creation and first tried to do so by asserting themselves over the Divine Fire, even their own power could not control it and so they crafted a Machine that would in time spread across Creation, this Machine would later be known as the God Machine
This story is true, in preparation of their Ascension the Exarchs betrayed at least two of their peers, one was sacrificed to empower their reality defying God Machine and another was sacrificed to the Lower Depths to keep those hellish realms from consuming the world the Exarchs wished to control.
Prologue
Months ago the Guardians of the Veil uncovered a conspiracy by a Cabal lost to their own Hubris attempting to summon a being known as the Warden (the Exarch sacrificed to the Lower Depths) in to this world. Perhaps they thought they could control the entity, their motivations remain a mystery as the summoning was stoped by the Guardians and the ensuing Backlash consumed all members of the Cabal.
The ritual failed but was not entirely without effect for so prolific was the magic at work that the very fabric of the Lie was weakened resulting in doorways to the forgotten Sanctums from the Time Before. Each Sanctum discovered to this date is bound to a single Arcana leading some to theorize that these places were once the palaces of the Exarchs before their Ascension.
Rumors of artifacts, power, knowledge and untold secrets abound as the Cabals of New York hunt for any clue as to where the next palace might be found. The Mages of New York may have a head start but their peers from other cities are just as eager to uncover the truths that await all the while the Seers of the Throne see it as their duty to claim the palaces in the name of their tyrannical masters.