After the third day, the rain had subsided and the storm had finally moved on. The last of the red aurora had finally faded from the sky and the time had come to pick up the pieces after the destruction. The time had come to meet with the concilium.

Argentus got cleaned up and dressed in preparation to go to meet the Concilium.  He called on Polt.  "Polt, I didn't realize you were a diplomat.  Do you have any advice for today?"  He freely provided the spirit with information about what was going on, should it ask.

 Polt manifested in front of Argentus. "Well, I'm an emissary from Pluto. What were you expecting? As far as my advice, you already know what to expect from the Concilium at this point, so I'd say make sure you have your talking points ready. There's no real telling what your Order found or didn't find, so you may need to repeat yourself."

Argentus smirked.  "Really, Polt?  Indignation over not recognizing you as a diplomat?  You've spent the past weeks nonverbal and just pranking me and those around me.  Nothing personal now that I know you at least a little bit, but I thought you were not a spirit of the dead, but a spirit manifested from the element of death and needed to grow out your 1st rank immaturity.  If I had any idea that you were a ghost, I would have been expecting you were the ghost of an angry 3-year-old mute, that Pluto sent to punish me for contacting him via a third party."

He thought about the death spirit for a moment.  "Since you are an adult with the ability to communicate other than through the Influences of your form, what do you want to accomplish while you are out here with me?  And did Pluto give you a term on your stay here?"

 Polt looked at him with a smirk. "I'm still going to keep doing that, by the way. I hate the living world and everything in it. I hated it while alive and I hate it even more now. Unfortunately, Pluto saw fit to stick me to you... very likely indeed because you contacted him via third party... until you die or you rebuild the Court of Pluto. I'm personally fine with either outcome, whichever gets me home faster."

Prometheus comes out of the room where his dog was recovering from Surgery, having said what he hoped wasn't his final good bye to her. His typical hat was gone and he had clearly made and effort to clean, organize, and in some cases polish the mass of cables that made up his hair, before binding the longest in a rough pony tail.

It didn't look exactly great.... but it was clear he had run out of ideas other then hiding it entirely.

He was however wearing his typical Red Alligator skin coat, clearly oiled and polished, and was wearing a pair of matching suit pants, and a white shirt.

It was clearly an honest attempt at the formality such a meeting required, despite how uncomfortable he obviously felt like this. A failed attempt, but an attempt.

"Where is everyone else? Keeping them waiting is the worst choice we can make," he said, despite the fact it was almost impossible they would be late due to Mistral's portals.

 Grey arrived shortly after. She had makeup on covering her silvery body and a tiny black business suit, black skirt, white blouse, and little red bowtie. She had dyed her hair blonde and had applied glitter to her cheeks.

 She also had a pair of white fairy glitter wings pinned to the back of her coat. The only words that could accurately describe such an outfit were "business fairy".

As the cabal gathered to go meet the Concilium, Sal wears his own business attire, along with a long coat. "Should we go armed, or leave our weapons here?" he asks.

Noah had to portal in with Mistral, a big dragon was not something that could take a bus and the semi truck was still at the Ark. Noah for his part was dressed to kill. He had made himself a business suit that fit his natural form. "Not likely going to let us arm up. They wont likely even let us keep casting tools but there is no way they could get them all. All the same. It's a high alert meeting."

He smiled at Grey, "You look so ready you could take wall street."

Sal will leave his weapons behind, then. He hasn't fed lately, and doesn't want to risk carrying guns or blades into a tense situation. He says to the assembled group, "If I say the word 'mushin' it means I am about to lose control. I will need to be bound and locked away immediately until my rage subsides."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:37, Mon 13 Jan 2020.

Noah nodded, "Grey, if he says that word please use my armor and put him in a hamster ball."

"Sorry Sal but I never had thought to provide for feeding requirements. Once I have my accounts back I will see about getting you a blood bank fridge."

 Grey grins. "'Kay!"

Mistral had been disinclined to don formal dress for the summons to the Concilium, but had let Noah convince her.  By lucky chance she happened to take a visit to Paris on the second day with Lola, and there procured for herself a stylish pantsuit even she had to admit looked good on her. It was a tailored pale gray suit-pant and blazer over a sky-blue blouse with a ruffled neckline.  Her hair was pulled back into a neat blue-and-white bun, bound in ribbon.  She came out into the area they’d agreed to gather for the portal and looked to each of her gathered companions in their formal wear, inclining her head to them with a hint of a smile for Grey the business fairy.

When the question arose of going armed, Mistral answered, “I am never unarmed.”  There was quite clearly no place on the suit to conceal a weapon, much less the foot-long meteoric iron blade she usually carried.  Nonetheless, with a word of power uttered under Mistral’s breath the sheathed blade unraveled from nothing into her grasp, one hand on the hilt and the other on the sheath.  Another one whispered word and she dropped the sheathed blade from her dual grip, but imploded into nothing after falling only a few inches.  She said, “I may stow an arsenal in the spatial interstice and summon any item within to my fingertips at will, to anyplace... except whilst within a ward, which we will no doubt find ourselves within.  But, ways may be found to work around this.”  She extended a hand and asked, “Would anyone care to stow anything in Armoire d'armes de Mistral?”

Once all preparations had been made, Mistral wove a dragon-sized, vapor-limned portal to their appointment with the Concilium, then strode through it.

 The portal led into the side room of a large auditorium. The entire place was covered with Wards, with the sole exception of this particular room. People were still arriving and were shocked into silence as the horse-sized Noah stepped out of the portal. Everyone stared, slack jawed in amazement, as the group exited from the side room and into the concilium proper, complete with carpeted walkways, wooden podiums, and rows of chairs with nameplates, complete with representative flags from nearly two dozen countries... all of which contained the symbols denoting the ranks of both Master and Magister.

 There were also seats for the higher status individuals of each Order within New York, separated by a small bannister.

 Like with the other mages, there were gasps of surprise as Noah made himself visible. The group found that a place had been made for them on the main floor below the tiered chairs, so that they may address the rest of the conscilium. However, it took a bit of rearranging to accommodate Noah.

Argentus shook his head at Polt.  "Well, that's the second dumbest thing I've heard this week, after "some guys decided to kidnap Talion's kids."  Find something to like.  Or find something to change to make it more likable.  Or find something awful to hate and destroy it.  Being miserable for a time period of up to eternity - if I attain archmage status but fail to restore Pluto's court - on account of you were miserable for the few years of your mortal life is just stupid."

Argentus dressed in his most formal robes - the robes he had worn at each promotion within the Ladder and the Consilium, as well as when he was initiated into the Thrice-Great.  He helped array his spirits in whatever clothing they would most want to wear, then headed up to go.

He passed on the opportunity to store a weapon with Mistral.  He doubted they would take their tools, and shared that thought - in a gathering of so many mages of such rank, it would likely seem petty and pre-judging to do so.  Sal and Prometheus, as non-members might need to worry about it, though.  Besides that, it was doubtful that anything he would bring could make much difference.

Nevertheless, Argentus decided to bring the more innocuous weapons he had, to show he wasn't fearful, and to have things on hand just in case: under his robes he wore Harry's gun and carried his Strophados, with a full set of marbles inside it and a second set in his pocket.  In his breast pocket under layers of clothing, he carried the stone he had received from Atlas.  He left the assault rifle on the boat.  That would send the wrong message.

He moved toward his seat, greeting a few friends and acquaintances from out of town as he did so.  If he saw that the spot marked for him did not have at least the Master designation, he flagged down one of the pages - who likely would have been chosen from the lower-ranking members of the local Silver Ladder, to have it addressed before proceedings opened.  It would be a shame for the Ladder to not have recognized one of its own members at such a gathering.

Noah gave Mistral a small glass tube with a silver rock within. The rock looked like a natural formation of lead and seemed to be rather harmless. It was another time to save it so he gave Mistral one of his forehead to forehead pauses.

When the portal was made he hooked the end of his tail around a small roll case and walked with his cane upright. It would not due to be trundling around so he had to walk lightly. Once through the portal his eyes rolled around wildly and independent of one another as his teleportation vertigo kicked his tail.

Portals didnt floor him like pure teleportation did.

It took a bit for him to reorient himself and move again. He was very well behaved and even allowed his luggage to be inspected showing a number of projectors one would use upon a presentation. Once seated he would pick Grey up and set her on the table so she could get a better view. "Eyes open Grey. You're looking at the world class heavyweight division in magic."

Prometheus brings no weapons and offers none to Mistral. It would be a pointless gesture, they were their to seek forgiveness or take their punishment...

They weren't fighting or outrunning this, so why pretend otherwise.

However as he stepped through the portal, despite all the worst case scenarios he could have predicted, he clearly hadn't been thinking badly enough.

Swallowing and trying to emphasis to everyone just how much trouble they were in, Prometheus said to Argentus, "Is there enough Concilliums here to make this a Grand Convocation? Or just a lesser one? If its the former that's the first in a few Centuries right?"


Swallowing to suppress his fear he finished, "We maybe about to die...or be erased utterly, but being the cause of something so rare...." he trails off and glares at Noah, although his heart isn't entirely in it.

Mostly he was trying to avoid panic.

Noah slow turned his head to look at Prometheus. "There are more plans in play that can be counted. My presence has them looking not just for answers but satisfaction of curiosity.  It means all but the highest will be absolutely hungry for information. Given the Abyss has been shrinking, and the sudden atlantian wonders, they will be looking to benefit from it all."

"Their curiosity and greed will be to our benefit. And this is nothing. There was a worse scrape not too long ago. We will get out of this just fine but likely far more closely watched provided they dont act like fools."

He held out three scales that had been shed from when he was shot up. "We brought back the dead and made an immortal without inverting anyone's soul. Count that there are no archmages here who could do half as well as you. Stronger, yes, but you're no slouch man."

Argentus smiled to Prometheus.  "This is definitely Grand.  Great would include just one country or parts of neighboring countries and this would be the first in over a century.  This is the first Grand Council that I'm aware of in the last ever.  Some mystical Thearchs were looking forward to it being convened by the Oracles when the time was right to enter final battle with the Abyss before establishing the New unFallen World.  I guess we pre-empted them."

He did not smile to Noah but whispered, "Be careful.  You might already know all of this, but: unlike myself, most ranking members of the Silver Ladder - and by extension nearly all Magisters - evaluate factual data by... non-traditional standards.  A Guardian might say it's because of Hubris, though the Magisters would say it's because of 'struggling against the Lie.'  Implicit or explicit accusations of foolishness might backfire - hard."  He implied very carefully that while some were almost completely insane and many were only partially sane, they (and most of the rest of the Ladder) viewed it less as madness and more as battle scars.

Sal mused at the thought that in his entire unlife, he had next to no contact with mages before meeting the Cabal who counted him as of their own. Now he was seeing more mages in one place than there had, apparently, ever been before. He wondered how kindred younger than himself had managed to succumb to ennui, with all the surprises the world had to offer.

Mistral took the tube with a curious look, but then willed it to fold inward into a tiny polychoron before vanishing altogether, stowed safely away in a space-between-spaces.  She put her forehead against the dragon's and put a hand on his scaly neck and said quietly, "Time to make your entrance."

Mistral had trouble with authority, disliked being scrutinized and generally did not like social gatherings.  So, a Grand Concilium consisting of the most powerful and important mages in the world gathered to scrutinize her... that ranked pretty highly on her list of most uncomfortable situations imaginable.  She kept her face stonily neutral  and eyes forward, even as her awareness was cast in all directions.  She tried to keep a low profile even when that was entirely impossible.  She wished she at least still had her hood to hide beneath.

Trying to project nonchalant poise while feeling as if she were on her way to the gallows, Mistral made her way toward their place on the floor... which happened to be the focal point of the entire Concilium.  Unless stopped along the way she would take her seat here and sit knee-over-knee, looking comfortable while clenching and unclenching her fist beneath the table.

 As the group settled in to their seats, there was the unmistakable scent of coffee in the air... and not just any coffee, strong coffee, strong enough to give someone a caffeine buzz just by smelling it. Looking to the most obvious culprit, Grey, the group found that she did not have any coffee... but rather a massive 128oz cherry slushie that no one had seen her bring in. She slurped on it happily while swinging her legs in her chair.

 A little while too late, it occurred to Sal that the last time he had encountered a group of mages that they had pegged him as a vampire in under a minute... and that this gathering was during the day...

 A rough count of the name plates revealed Magisters from over 30 countries present, likely the largest gathering of Masters the world over in recorded history.

 One of the Magisters finally spoke up, one from Hungary. "What is this? These mages are called to answer for one of the greatest acts of Hubris in millennia and one of them dares show up polymorphed into a dragon?!?"

 The group noted that the man seemed to be speaking in his native language but the words they heard were in their own (everyone here seemed to be speaking French to Mistral, despite her knowing for a fact that her companions do not speak it).

 One of the men, an agent of the New York Free Council (and, it seems, the one elected by the Free Council to speak on their behalf) stood up and spoke. "Please, all things in due time. Before we get to that, the New York Silver Ladder received some last minute news regarding many of the events that have occurred over the last several days."

 He motioned for the leader of the Silver Ladder to stand. "Most esteemed Masters of the world, yesterday evening, it came to our attention that New York has become host to an Emperor class spirit named 'Apocalypse' and that it was responsible for both the recent storm and the solar flare."

 The Convocation burst into muttering amongst itself. The leader of the Silver Ladder waited for a few moments before he raised his hand for them to quiet down before he continued. "We were able confirm through the Spirit Courts that Apocalypse does indeed reside in the city. We were unable to confirm for certain that it caused the storm and solar flare, but we have no reason to doubt the information we received."

 The group's coven was temporarily forgotten in the panicked mumbling among the convocation members. Some of them began to speak up.

 "We must do something before the world is destroyed!"
 "We could banish it!"
 "Banish an Emperor? Are you insane?"
 "There must be something we can do!"

 The leader of the Silver Ladder banged a gavel to get everyone's attention. "That may be unwise. During our investigation, we have learned that the Emperor has been living among us peacefully for years. We have reason to believe that he was provoked. It then stands to reason that provoking him further would yield similar results."

 There was yet more muttering before the older man from the Free Council raised his hands to signal silence. He indicated the group. "This group has been working with the Emperor and, from what we can gather, were responsible for blunting the effects of the catastrophe that befell us. Is there anything else that any of you would like to say regarding the matter of the Emperor?"

 It seemed strange, but none of the New York mages had yet spoken Talion's name.


OOC: anyone with at least a single dot in Spirit knows that speaking a spirit's name is an invitation for them to listen in or manifest.

Argentus nodded and stood.  "Before this august company decides what to do on the matter of the Emperor, I would ask that they also judge him by his enemies.  In working with him both before and since our apparent demise, our primary opposition has been in the form of earthbound demons and Nephandi.  Apocalypse or not, if these are the Emperor's foes, attempting to reduce his power - even if successful and by dint of your great skill having no backlash - we might be inadvertently increasing theirs."

He let them consider that information for a moment before continuing.  "Furthermore, his main project has been in line with the Awakened Ideals - the shrinking of the Abyss and the return of the Supernal worlds.  In pursuit of that I have also personally witnessed him fostering the awakening of a fellow Obrimos."

He hoped that these would resonate with the Magisters in the room.  "In light of the work this cabal did to blunt the storm, as well as the existing positive relationship it has with the Emperor, and in light of the favors owed to this cabal by the Emperor, I request that the assembly consider making us the Consilium's official ambassadors to the Emperor.  Thus, we might have official communication, cooperation, and coordination in the goals of returning the Supernal Realms and opposing the agents of the Abyss.  Undoubtedly both sides of such an arrangement would see great gains, and the end of the Lie would be brought that much nearer."

He politely also refrained from mentioning the Emperor's name.  Even if the suggestion were rejected, he hoped that it conveyed a quiet warning: any action taken to discipline the Cabal for what they had done to save the city would have to be minor indeed, lest it incidentally bring them into tension - or heavens forbid, open conflict - with what might otherwise be the most powerful ally they had known in millennia.


01:44, Today: Argentus rolled 4 successes using 13d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 1,1,8,8,2,7,7,4,7,3, 6,8,9.  Manipulation + Persuasion [deals] + Consilium Status + WP.

Sal let his eyes droop, and his head nod slightly before jerking back up, as he saw little reason to pretend he wasn't supposed to be asleep right now. Even if the ring made it easier to stay awake all day, he was still tired. He refrained from speaking, as he really had nothing to say about the "Emperor."

 There was a long pause as the Concilium considered what had been said. Finally, one of them spoke up. "And what proof do you have of this? What would the Apocalypse have to gain from restoring the Supernal Realms?"

 The leader of the Silver Ladder spoke up in response. "We sent someone to the Emperor's lair yesterday and found evidence supporting Master Argentus's claims. While we don't know why the Emperor of Apocalypse has suddenly taken an interest in restoring the Supernal Realms, we have found that his lair does indeed support a thinner but still stable Gauntlet with supernal energies flowing freely from it."

 There was more mumbling among the members of the Grand Convocation before the leader (the New York Free Council head) raised both hands to call for silence. "We will postpone your request to become the official ambassador with the Emperor until the end of this Convocation, Master Argentus. There are still other things that must be discussed."

 There was a long pause, nearly four seconds before them man took a deep breath and looked directly at the 300lb Dragon in the room. "Noah, what have you done?"

 The rest of the Convocation was dead silent, awaiting his answer...

And now it was time for the free council libertine to open his big fat maw. Noah, being Noah, had set up a full on presentation with slides. He opened his little roll case and let the projector drones over about to their appointed locations. "I had a blow by blow presentation set up detailing how this all happened but if you wish to go that far back I am happy to oblige." the projectors lit up and showed the rosary on his wrist with its blue fire. "Holy fire from the host Throne who guards the throne room of the one above all. He who created the seen and unseen. Submitted as evidence for the following claim."

"With the help of a mentor I altered the part of my true name that states 'born of x father and x mother's to 'born of dragon,  raised by.'"

"A minor change, but one so profound as to ensure that if I stood in front of the entire population of the world I would not invoke even a wisp of paradox." Noah had a really good mentor.

He looked at the Merlin of NY. "Sorry, you know I normally share what insights I have. But given there was a earthbound demon I had to lay low. I ask your forgiveness if I seem brash showing up like this but my proxy human body was used to reverse the efforts of a pack of Nephandi."

"I mean no disrespect."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:11, Tue 14 Jan 2020.

Argentus nodded respectfully to his superior and took his seat.  He made way for Noah's presentation and hoped that it would be sufficient to pique the interest of the Magisters present.

Oooh.  He thought, That might be another French word I know.  He decided to google it when they were released to find out before using it near Mistral, though.

When Argent gave his speech about Talion, Prometheus had to admire the Ladder's clever use of connections. While he still doubted that the Emperor level spirit was entirely on their side...

...And it was likely that at least half of the people he likewise doubted such a thing...

...Revealing it as he did and getting those investigations done through the storm was a well though out play. No one would have time to counter the words of Argent or the Ladder, and so it would be set policy until Talion did something to mess it up. Talion was almost certainly coming out of this secure in his position, even if the rest of the Cabal died.

However when Noah started his presentation, Prometheus froze in his seat. Instead of offering a reasonable and sane explanation, or  better yet, requesting to have a Mind Mage at least confirm his words and sanity before he spoke....

...Noah jumped right into the explanation that would sound crazy. Both the trip before a Supernal Throne and altering his very existence and the no Paradox bit. And in turn confessed that his existence would now and forever be a gratuitous breach of the Veil.

The question was...how quickly would it be before the Guardians and Arrow called for their head.

"Noah," Prometheus muttered under his breath, "Now would be the time to remember you need to appease more then just the Free Council here. Please."

 There were angry murmurs among the Grand Convocation. The words most commonly picked out of the noise were "hubris" and "breach".

 The old man leading the Free Council banged his gavel and pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath. "You altered your True Name... into a dragon."

 He took a deep breath. "Even if you don't invoke Paradox with your presence, which itself is up for debate, your very form is a grave breach of the veil. Why? Why would you do such a thing?"

 Before Noah could answer, someone came rushing in from one of the side rooms to speak with the Merlin. When he spoke, he sounded visibly shaken. "I apologise to all those gathered here for the interruption, but I must call a brief recess. Someone here has been killed."

 The gathered members began muttering in confusion as the Merlin left into a side room. Guards barred any physical entrances and any areas that were lightly warded.

Noah looked up, down, left, and around. "You know, this is one giant target." Noah planted his hand on the side of his ear and called the Merlin or his Synth counterpart.

"Planning for way down the road. Doing this was a side effect of what is being planned. Sorry I couldnt contact you man. You may want to redouble the escape route to ensure it is clear. The Earthbound likely cant pass up a target like this. The storm was supposed to kill you all, when that was averted he may have a back up plan. Please stay safe Merlin."

He turned to the group. "anyone got anything? Highly likely it's either the earthbound forces or someone really screwed up."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:50, Tue 14 Jan 2020.

Mistral sat still and poised as the proceedings commenced, and though she paid close attention her expression were stoic and enigmatic as ever.  Argentus proved to be quite the adept politician in the way he'd primed the Silver Ladder to speak on their behalf, then explained and presented recent actions in a positive light.  When he'd finished his initial speech she glanced to him and inclined her head fractionally, which from her was akin to an applause.

Noah presented the incredible circumstances of his outrageous transformation in his matter-of-fact way, sans duplicity and asking forgiveness but not apologizing.  Mistral was sat with folded leg next to Noah's draconic hind-leg, and so she brushed her ankle against him in private support, though it would look like nothing but a slight shift in positioning to onlookers.  Mistral was glad for Noah and Argentus to take the spotlight and draw the Concilium's attention from her.  She'd resolved not to speak before the gathering unless by necessity, both to maintain a low profile and because it would be better for their case that she didn't.  By now the cabal was well-aware that she speaks plainly and has a general contempt for authority, neither of which would be favorable in the present circumstance.  She would guard her tongue to the best of her ability, but she'd never manage the level of diplomacy required for the situation.

Just as the heated responses to the dragon presentation came in the proceedings were stopped on account of a death on the premises.  Intriguing.  Unless prevented from doing so, Mistral quietly arose from her seat and blended into the hubbub of the recess.  She tried to unobtrusively make her way toward the focus of the disturbance, listening to whispers and trying to glimpse anything of interest.

---

The plan to get up assumes that people are up and milling about during the recess, but if there are guards on us and Mist couldn't move without causing trouble then she'll remain seated and try these rolls from there.

Stealth to mingle unobtrusively:

• 14:00, Today: Mistral rolled 1 success using 7d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 6,2,9,5,2,6,3.  Stealth.

Wits + Composure to try to see or hear anything of interest:

• 14:00, Today: Mistral rolled 1 success using 6d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 2,9,7,1,2,6.  Wits + Composure.

Wits + Investigation to try to deduce anything from what she hears/sees::

• 14:00, Today: Mistral rolled 1 success using 6d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 5,7,8,3,3,1.  Int + Investigation.

 The guards had moved in to prevent people from milling about too much as Moros were gathered to survey the crime scene. As they entered, those who had lived in New York for some time noticed that there were newer members among them.

 Interestingly, the investigators were paying great attention to the break room.

Argentus wasted no time and before the Head Magister had left the troom, he had called his spirits to himself.  "Polt, I'm sorry I've got nothing to enhance you with yet, but please go and find out what you can about the death.  Highest priorities are: who died, who killed him or her, and how."  He gave Harry and Niri a field promotion, increasing their influences by three points each.  "Each of you see what you can find out too.  You should find your natural affinities strengthened.  Jitters, you can likely give and take physical energy from mortals now - there's probably a massive repository in Grey's cup.  Niri, you can likely feel the electricity running through the walls if you couldn't before - use it to defend yourself if you have to."

As a near-after thought, he also called Harry out and enhanced his Finesse.  "Harry, keep watch for anything suspicious entering this room."

Lastly, Argentus stood and called in a loud, clear voice, "August Magisters and other fellow Masters, it is possible that what happened was a simple accident.  However, it may be that our frustrating the demon and Nephandi plans to ruin the Emperor's work in bringing on the Supernal Realm has provoked them to action against this body.  Everyone please do what you can to strengthen the defenses of those here against what may be coming, and if a few could trawl the threads of Fate and Time to see if there is more threat coming, or whether this was just a feint to provoke rash reaction, it would be appreciated."

Argentus himself then activated his Prime and Spirit sights to scan for signs of demonic taint or the work of Nephandi.


23:40, Today: Argentus rolled 1 success using 9d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 8,2,3,1,2,5,5,5,1.  Enhance Spirit, High Speech, 2 targets, rd 2.  enhance Jitters and Niri

23:40, Today: Argentus rolled 2 successes using 9d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 4,8,3,7,3,10(+7),6,7,7.  Enhance Spirit, High Speech, 2 targets, rd 1.

23:45, Today: Argentus rolled 3 successes using 10d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((8,1,6,9,4,9,3,5,2,1)).  Enhancing Harry.

 As the spirits got to work and the mages began weaving their spells, an explosion rocked the building. It was close by but the building itself didn't seem to be damaged.

 As the security team rushed out the doors, they were met by a group of armed thugs who immediately raised their weapons, but the guns didn't fire and the security team quickly subdued the enemy team.


 The mages began to usher everyone into the portal room before the police arrived.

Mistral didn’t get far because of the guards keeping order, but she heard the whispers rippling out from what was apparently a break room.  She heard someone say, “It was the coffee, they think...” and she recalled the powerful smell off coffee in the air.  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then calmly returned to the central table, where Argentus was declaiming to the gathering.

Mistral sat next to Grey the business fairy sipping happily on her giant cherry slushie, and just looked at her for a long moment before asking very quietly, “Grey?  Have you done anything to the coffee?  Enhanced it, perhaps...?”  If Jitters were near she would call him over and direct the question to them both.  She awaited the answer, then said gently, “I require you to change all of the coffee back to its usual formulation, at once, s’il vous plaît.  The human body cannot process such concentration de caféine as you, ma fille.  I will also ask that you make no other... improvements here, even if you believe that people will like them.  D'accord?”

(before the chaos)

 Grey looked up at Mistral innocently. "I didn't do it! I promise!"

also before chaos:

Mistral gave Grey a nod, then turned to Jitters and asked evenly, “Chevalier Jitters?  Did you enhance the coffee?”

(before chaos continued)

 Jitters, who was now rotund and the size of a small dog, likewise shook his head. "'Nay, Milady. 'Twas not of my doing either, though I detect the ambrosia of black water nearby, I cannot locate its source."

Sal continued to sit quietly, looking sleepy, and watched with some concern as the chaos unfolded.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:36, Wed 15 Jan 2020.

PM

Using his cyberware Prometheus sent a text to everyone in the Cabal, Be careful we don't see a Demon where their ain't one . Largest gathering in Mage history was set up in 3 days...no way that was kept quiet. Seers, Banishers, Hunters, rivals...this is a goldmine of distrust.

And with that in mind, for now he does nothing. He could try and review any security footage....but they are the accused, and it would be very easy for this crowd to blame them. No need to make themselves look more guilty unless asked.

And the newish members of the guard got Prom even more nervous. Not enough to doubt their intentions...but he wasn't going to trust them to say the least.

And then the attacked started...and was over before it began.

Probably the demons forces then. Bad equipment, idiotic tactics, and probably doesn't even have the basics of tech on them. Thank God for small Blessings.

OOC: Holding my herding to the Portal until everyone else has resolve pre-chaos stuff.

When the chaos started to erupt, Argentus shook his head.  He stood up and yelled aloud: "HOLD, PLEASE!"

He stood in his chair and raised his voice, though not quite so loud as the first shout.  "The forces opposed to the end of the Abyss and the return of the Supernal conspired to end the Emperor's project, and when that incidentally caused the largest grouping of mages in history - a true threat to their plans - they seek to disrupt it with one explosion somewhere else and a few thugs?  Let's relocate with the evidence, rather than concluding this.  Or will we let them think that something so small could deter the entire representation of mages on this planet?"

Noah did take note of Mistrals covert support like a secret to be treasured. The end of his tail tapped the leg of her chair as he looked about at everyone moving about.

Mistral gave Sir Jitters a serious look, as if speaking to a rotund spirit-squirrel-knight was perfectly normal, and said, “If Maître Argentus agrees, could you track that fragrance?  It came from the break—”  She was just gesturing toward the break room that was being investigated, but was interrupted by an explosion from somewhere outside.  Mistral leaped to her feet at once and went as near to the door as she could, trying to catch a glimpse of the gunmen and anything else of note on the scene of the attack.

After Argentus made his proclamation to the Concilium to reconvene elsewhere, Mistral looked to the leadership and stood ready to open a portal to any alternate location that might be declared.

---

Wits + Composure to look around the scene for any hint as to who the attackers were or any notable details:

• 09:36, Today: Mistral rolled 4 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 4,7,9,1,9,10(+8).  Wits + Composure.

Unveiling Resonance to see if they brought any bad magic along:

• 09:37, Today: Mistral rolled 2 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 8,3,1,5,4,8.  Int + Occult.

 The Merlin (the old man that has been heading the Council up until now) spoke up. "That's the plan, but it would be difficult to explain such an international gathering that never went through an airport, yes? The portal leads to a secure location where we can reconvene."

 The attackers with guns were all subdued and dragged through the portal for questioning while all the other magisters followed suit. The security force was the last to go through, waiting to see if you planned to follow or try to skip out (they did not look like the kind to let you do that without a fight though).

(Argentus waited for his spirits to report back to him on what they had started before the chaos.)

Noah started packing up his gear but he kept his eye on Mistral to make sure her blessing was given. He was not going to enter a portal without her all clear.

 Polt returned, reporting that the initial target had been poisoned somehow, but wasn't sure who he was. He looked like a mage servant.

 While the others were on guard, only Niri had anything useful to report. "There was a breach in the portal room we entered but nothing came through and then it closed."

Mistral's eyes narrowed as she looked out at the scene of the attack and the gunmen being carted away.  She quietly addressed one of the security team and pointed out to a truck parked outside, "That truck belonged to the attackers."

Without awaiting an answer, Mistral turned on her heel and went back to the others.  To Noah she reported, "It is the same vehicle that came for us after we met Prince Victor.  One wonders whether they managed to clean their sorcier's bloodstains from the upholstery."  Argentus's spirit called Niri reported a concerning detail about the portal room.  She turned that way, nodding for the others to follow.

Mistral arrived at the portal chamber and knelt, eyes fixated not upon the room itself but the space encompassing it, lips moving as she analyzed.  She was focused on the investigation and didn't bother to warn anybody that the portal might have been tampered with.

Sal stayed with the others, but activated Resilience, in case a trap had been set. He regretted bringing weapons, but he was a guest, and wasn't sure how it would be received. He had faith in his Cabal's abilities, anyway, and hoped they valued him enough not to let him die without a fight. He made sure to avoid the sun, though, if any was coming in.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:20, Wed 15 Jan 2020.

 Some of the others stopped and stared as Mistral began to work her magics. One of the security team stood nearby but did not interfere, yet.

 Fortunately for Sal, this portal room was an interior room and undamaged by the explosion.

Mistral’s eyelids fluttered and her gaze turned to places elsewhere.  Distractedly she said, “This Porte is safe.  Proceed as you will.”  Her eyes shifted, tracking something.

Noah quietly moved up behind Mistral. If he left before she was done working her magic it would mean they couldnt pivot if she came up with something more. And that was one thing they had over other Cabals, the ability to pivot given new information.

 When Mistral heads through the portal, she nearly bumped into the person in front of her, who had stopped in his tracks. It was the Magister from France... and the look of shock on his face was evident.

 The mages from the Grand Consortium, the most powerful gathering of mages in the world, were backing away from something against the far wall... and, as they thinned out somewhat, she could see what had evoked that reaction.

 It was Talion... but something was wrong with him. His body was gaunt and pale, he twitched and moved in odd patterns, and his head lolled off to one side. His eyes were sunk deep into his sockets and were wide, showing off all of the whites. They burned with a near luminous, almost feral, intensity.

 In one hand... claw? It was almost easy to imagine that his fingers were now monstrous claws rather than normal fingers, he clutched the throat of someone you did not recognize... but his sleeve had been torn off and the tattoo of the demon cult was plainly visible.

 His burning hatred was affixed entirely on the victim in his hands, who was scrabbling at his throat. There was evidence that spells had been thrown, judging from the fresh scars (that looked like paradox scars) on several mages' hands. Despite everything, the maelstrom of spirit was not present here.

 When Talion spoke, his voice was level, cold and deathly still, devoid of the warmth it had always carried when he'd spoken to any of you (even when he had been annoyed or flustered... or even when he'd taken on a monstrous form). Instead, it rang out like a clarion call across the barriers of space like a death knell, a final end to all things. "Did you think I wouldn't come for you? Did you think I wouldn't take it personally?"

 His victim began to glow from within with a blue light, highlighting his veins as if his skin had become translucent, burning away the demon's mark. "Your eternity ends now. There shall be nothing awaiting you after this. No mercy, no damnation. You will be unmade. I will show you Oblivion. I will show you despair...."
This message was last edited by the player at 09:07, Fri 17 Jan 2020.

Noah stepped through and pushed a little bit so there would at least be room to move. No one wants a portal enclosing on their tail after all. When he saw that it was Talion, as he was heads taller than everyone else, that tail thumped once. "Looks like Talion caught himself one of the demon mages." It was unlikely it was the one Mistral had been chasing, he wouldn't be at council.

Noah hopped up on the shoulders of the french magister and hopped over the crowd like a bird who didnt weigh a bit. "Talion, may I encourage you download his memories before you return to the true nothing? He may have a lead on the others who had been vanished." He walked up offering one of his slates as if it was a magical data storage device.

He was cautious about the man. But Noah would never be able to not help.

Coming through the portal and pushing his way forward, Argentus was shocked to find Talion, but was glad he had already caught the demoniac traitor.  "Gotta agree with Noah - we're still missing some of their accomplices and we don't know if Emily went with the True Fae of her own will or if her going was part of the demon cult's plan.  Beyond that, you could hold back on the judgment of a mage, as a show of goodwill to those who he just attacked, and give them a moment to catch up before you issue judgment."

To those assembled, he said: "Does anyone with authority want to recommend people stop attacking the man that just found the traitor who murdered one of us and is in league with an earthbound?  They have a space mage in the wind, and with this guy here and undealt with, they could have just tracked us and done something bigger."

Mistral strode through the portal and into the gathering of mages on the other side.  She recognized the Magister of France after nearly running into him in the crowd, and groaned inwardly.  She intentionally dealt as little as possible with the higher echelons of mage society, and so had not seen nor communicated with the Magister in some years.  She inclined her head and bowed slightly to him and said, “Bonjour, Magister.”  In French she goes on, “<I am somewhat less dead than reported, I am afraid.>”

The commotion at the far end of the chamber caught Mistral’s attention, for how could it be ignored?  She faded to the margins of the room as the dramatic spectacle unfolded.  Her breath left her as the voice of the end of all things rang out, and she took an involuntary step back.  She’d hoped for the cultist to be incinerated by Talion’s raw magic, but could see the sense in learning what he knew first.

This scene would not ingratiate Talion to the Consortium, Mistral reckoned, but it would certainly substantiate her cabal’s claims.  She elected to observe, for the time being.

 As Noah landed in front of Talion, the man drew his head up in an awkward angle to look at him, then his eyes moved to the device. There was a moment of thought but not of softening before he reached into the glowing mage's chest and tore his ghost from his body, letting it flop to the ground like a smoldering meat sack.

 He then reached into the ghost as if he'd reached into the body, ripping the soul from the ghost in the same motion, handing the empty ectoplasmic shell to Noah.

 The raw soul in his hands began to smolder and then burst into blue flame. Moments later, nothing remained of either body or soul (only the ectoplasmic husk).


 There was another pause as Argentus's words rang out and someone spoke. "S-Stand down! You... T-Talion, what of learning what he knew?"

 Talion took a staggering step forward, inhaling and then exhaling, emitting a sound like dry wind through an open crypt. "We will learn what he knew. Neither his body nor his soul are required for that. As for these..."

 His eyes affix to the men who are now tied up and helpless in the hands of the Concilium forces. "Give them to me..."

 His voice was quiet, but his countenance burned with murderous rage. The cultists stared at him in horror and then looked up at their captors, pleading at them silently.

 The man with an air of authority stepped forward. "I am Helios, the Adamant Sage. These men are in our custody and will receive a fair trial. Then they will be judged by the council."

 The man had kept his composure and the arrival of the group had emboldened him.

Sal watched in silence. Helios he thought. Ironic that I should stand in his presence. Mages certainly match kindred on audacity when it comes to names. Hardly a reason he should die. Hopefully, Talion doesn't destroy him for his temerity.

Noah was not about to tell a father to stand down from getting his vengeance for what was done to his children. Hell, Noah would likely have helped if not for the fact Talion only needed help with fine details rather than power. When Talion handed him the shell of the ghost Noah went right to work. He worked the ectoplasm until it was folded down. Once it was down to a sheet he framed it and then folded it once more before spiriting it away into his suit pocket. "Going to take a ritual and a bit of time to program it but we should have the man's whole life on record now."

Noah followed something up from Talion and was looking into the ceiling for a moment before he opened his little roll case and pulled out a bottle of water along with both a mana bar and a real protein bar, offering it to Talion. "Lunch will be at the Ark. I'll be making Calzones by hand. You are well invited Talion."

He then looked to Helios, "Sorry mate. You're standing in between a father and the men who did harm to his children. Normally I would encourage Talion to stand down as a means to provide good faith. But you are holding back his wrath from men who gave an infant to Nephandi."

"A thousand times over, I beg you to not stand between Talion and his enemy. They are already dead, it's just a matter of time. They gave an infant and a young lady to the Nephandi, one they killed and the other they carved into their soul. The arrow enjoy a fight but there is no honor in this, there is nothing to learn in this." Noah had seen just how deep Talion plans. Last time the goons showed up he infected them with a nanite heart-stopper before starting other means to bring them down. Talion could likely kill everyone in the room with the same nanite plague.

Talion already made a submission by letting their ghost shell remain for pulling data. It was time for the mage council to do the same as Talion could only be pushed so far. Noah made a silent call for Grey whom he picked up and held on one arm.

Noah was willing to throw down but he did not want to, at all, ever.

"Talion, if .... no, I can't even ask you a if or what if. I cannot stand between a father and his justice. I'd want the same in your shoes. Will you give them an hour at least until they die? A death sentence from you is a sure thing, no doubt they are already dead and just waiting for time to catch up."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:00, Sat 18 Jan 2020.

Sal finally decides to speak up, "Come now, you all want justice, correct? How many wizards need to die in an unnecessary conflict over who gets to punish these terrorists? The important thing is that they indeed get punished."

 Talion stopped, letting Noah's, and then Sal's words reach him. "Very well. 60 minutes and not a second longer. Do as you will until then, but then they belong to me."

 Helios bristled, but Sal's words tempered his rage. Despite that, he spoke. "You have no right to intrude upon our investigation."

 Talion simply closed his eyes, as though he'd fallen asleep standing up.

Talion reaches down and scoops up Talion as well. "Talion has disconnected. He wasn't really here to start, he was working through a Proxy, kind of like how I do it when running around as a human." He inclined his head to Helios. "Not to sound too much like a dick, but you've got a fifty-nine minutes to conduct your questioning. After that no force on earth shy of an archmage will be able to save them. Best bet, their hearts will just turn off, he's done that before."

His eyes focused in, "It's not easy talking down a hurricane, I've done it once already but Talion is a force of nature. I implore you to hurry."

He looked to the Merlin, "Mind showing me where we will speak again? He likely has a security setup on this body and I don't want anyone touching him and setting him off, or it getting to far from us and activating some kind of proximity trigger." He knew Talion was likely just chilling, but if they thought he was gone gone they would likely be a little more open to talking so he could hear.

As the confrontation carried on Mistral drifted through the gathering, slowly circling the chamber.  She arrived near to the prisoners as the hour of interrogation was negotiated, and there she placidly regarded them like an entomologist with a set of insects she's about to pin to a board for study.  Mistral stared discerningly at each prisoner in turn, taking in every detail.

---

Wits + Composure to examine the prisoners for any notable details about them.  Do any look familiar from previous thug encounters?  Any clues as to where they came from?  Any interesting items, clothing, physical features?:

• 19:50, Today: Mistral rolled 3 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 10(+4),10(+7),8,5,3,6.  Wits + Composure.

Then Int + Occult to ID the demon tattoos:

• 19:50, Today: Mistral rolled 3 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 10(+4),10(+7),8,5,3,6.  Wits + Composure.

 Talion was dead weight as Noah picked him up but was surprisingly light. The Concilium started finally recovering from their initial shock as the scene comes to a close.

 "What's going on here?"
 "What was that?"
 "Was that... the Emperor?"

 Helios glared at the form slumped over Noah's shoulder. "I don't care what he is, these are our prisoners and they deserve a trial."

 Regardless, he began to lead them into private, warded rooms for interrogation.


 As they're taken away, the Merlin began leading the mages to another location to re-convene. As they do, Noah can notice a Life Master being taken into the private rooms, just in case.

"What's going on here?" - Noah's tail pointed at the asker. "We just proved that Talion is calm and negotiable even when he is in the fit of a 'you hurt my children' rage. ARgentus, being the brilliant man he is, has encouraged that we work as envoy to Talion for you all. And we have just proven full, well, and able to do so."

"What was that?" - Noah's tail pointed at the asker. "You're gonna need to be more detailed in your question but I can assume you mean the event itself. Talion found a demon pact mage, one of the few whom stole his children from him. He gave me the memories of the person and did with him as any father would an aggressor."

"Was that... the Emperor?" - Noah's tail pointed at the asker. "Is that, is the operative phase. He is still here, but he spent three months without sleep, food, or water while he watched everything they did to the kids. I know, I went into the Manastorm to see him. So he is sleeping for another fifty-eight minute." Noah was answering their questions to cement in the herd the idea that they could indeed come to the group to answer questions. A means to make an iron-clad foundation that mages could come to the Cabal for help and questions.

It had to start somewhere and moments of wonder and fear are massively useful in manipulating the psychology of the herd.

He leaned down to Prom, "If their life mage is in contact with the bodies when the time is up they may be also afflicted with whatever means Talion has employed to kill the aggressors. It would be a black stain for us if they died also and you're the only life mage who could react to the nanite plague."

He bowed his head to Sal, "A tempered tongue, God bless you. No doubt Helios would have gone aggressive without you."

Noah tilted his head side to side. "Merlin, I am going to strongly encourage that no one but we touch the body of Talion here. No doubt he has more protective measures than the collected mages here. More so that its just Grey and I as we are effectively immune to the worst things that could happen." He smiled, "How is the Synth doing? They should have powered down during the storm bu they should have turned back on ok."

 The magisters finally calmed themselves and began to assemble in the new auditorium (which was not quite as structurally impressive).

 The Merlin nodded. "He woke up just fine. I don't see anything wrong with him... I still can't believe you turned yourself into a dragon."

Argentus scanned the "Talion" with Spirit and Forces to determine what he could.  "Spirits of his magnitude are capable of a lot."  Argentus commented.  He still was unsure of what the core nature of Talion was - Spirit or mage.  But to have the degree of Spirit mastery to assume the rank of an Emperor he'd have to be an Oracle.

Argentus's mind chewed on that for a moment, and things began to fall into place.  If Talion were an Oracle, he'd have to be one with strong affinity to Aether and to at least the Spirit element of the wilds.  And an Oracle had created a soul-forging that established just that kind of tradition... which Argentus followed.  Could he be...?  Did Argentus really introduce himself to the Oracle of his own tower by announcing that he was a follower of that same Oracle?  Did he really disguise his name just by adding two letters?

As he moved into the new auditorium, he pulled out his phone and texted Noah:  Do you know if tAlION is who I think he might be?

Noah smiled at the Merlin, "If I recall I had the dragon title long before you all saw my tail. I've always been a bit estranged from you all but have you ever known me not to plan things years in advance? To not have rather massive webs of calculations?"

"This is the best alternative to what is going to happen soon. We will need a dragon if we aim to control Atlantis. Its not far off."

He pulled out his slate and responded to Argy: I can confirm, from first-hand account, that Talion is not Aion. I know where he is from and will be giving Mistral the star charts once I have them printed out.

 The Merlin raised an eyebrow at Noah. "What makes you think you'll be finding Atlantis? It's been lost for thousands of years."

Noah smiled a big toothy smile, "Asks the mage of the dragon..." He clapped his hands. "It's how the current equation ends and the next starts. It's literally the only integer in the equation."

"A tower lies in shambles. You have three people who have been to the supernal realms physically in this building now. There is a world changing being there not five feet from you. And we have an earth bound demon who has the entire mage world dancing to strings."

"All this is just to tie you all up rather than let the mages handle things. With the supernal realms being dragged over and the abyss sealing up the entire weight of hell will try to swarm in to prevent it from happening."

"Given all that and a few thousand other minor integers, the conclusion is there. Then it branches back out. Like a wave form."

Sal's lips turn up in a small smile, and he replies to Noah, "My pleasure. I may not understand half of what you mages are saying, but I understand all too well when violence doesn't serve any of its participants. And I know better still, when even being in the vicinity of a fight would be hazardous to my health, or I wouldn't have survived this long."

Mistral continued to remain inconspicuous near the rear of this new audience chamber.  She didn’t speak, but she watched, listened and analyzed.  She kept an eye on the portal destination, keeping vigilant in case her nemesis came to interfere again.

---

Don’t have anything to contribute to this discussion at the moment, but still here :P

 After some time, the mage named Helios came out of the interrogation rooms, red with fury, stomping his way over to Talion. "You Fucker! You destroyed our only chance to learn more about our attackers!"

 Talion took a deep breath but didn't open his eyes His voice had returned to a more normal tone. "Those men knew nothing. They were mooks, cannon fodder, never meant to survive this encounter."

 Helios, incensed, grabbed Talion by the collar and lifted him up out of his chair. Talion didn't resist. "And what makes you so sure? There's no telling what they may have seen!"

 Talion raised a finger and touched his chest, causing him to vanish without a trace. Talion straitened his clothing. "He'll be fine. He'll return in an hour, just as angry as ever, without even realizing time has passed. In case you haven't figured it out, I can manipulate time. I scanned their minds when you first arrived in the eternity between instants. They knew nothing. I figured an hour with some of the most powerful mages in the world would have revealed that."

 He seemed annoyed and a bit disappointed. He took his place next to the group and pulled up his chair before turning to Argentus. When he spoke, he neither raised his voice nor lowered it. It seemed that what he had to say was meant for Argentus but he didn't care at all who heard him. "Argentus. Through your hard work, you have met all of the requirements needed to undertake the Ritual of Apotheosis. Once my name is cleared, Emily is returned, and the Adoni Institute is restored, you may begin your Archmastery."

Argentus sighed when Helios rushed out.  "Master Helios.  If you asked Mr. Talion (who did us a great service by showing up here and taking our abuse rather than just working remotely) for information on our common enemy I'm sure he would be willing to ..."  He trailed off as the mage grabbed Talion and subsequently disappeared.  "Well, that happened."

Argentus shook his head.  With all the resources Helios could have called on here, there's no way it should have needed more than an hour - just a Mastigos and Acanthus magister working in tandem should have been sufficient to resolve the issue.  The man had probably gotten no results, assumed there was more to gain and given up declaring the time-limit the problem.

Argentus looked to the chairman.  "Magister, in the... unforeseen... current absence of the head of security, would you be willing to name an honor guard for our guest?  A member of this body committed kidnapping and blackmail against Talion, and rather than taking it out on the whole body, he restricted his actions to those who had participated directly against him.  In so doing, he protected this conclave from further disruption by demonic forces.  Furthermore, he did not even retaliate against anyone who (perhaps understandably) attacked him when he removed the demonic mage, nor to Master Helios's physical assault - how many of us would have similar restraint?"  He glaringly did not mention Master Helios's indecorous appeal to the time-limit as the issue.  Nor did he point out the obvious fact that it was more The First Grand Conclave's honor that needed to be guarded, rather than the person of their guest.

When Talion spoke, Argentus turned to him in mild surprised.  He spoke at the same volume level - not in the public speaking voice that he addressed the Magisters with, but not the whispers he made to the cabal and his spirits.  "I look forward to it, but there are a few matters I want to be sure to clear up before taking that step.  My first priority is that the Adoni Institute's work should be slightly realigned, and I'm willing to make whatever payment is necessary to have you take that discussion seriously."  He tapped his chest, over the place where the stone was - to Talion it would be completely obvious that it was not a threat but a willingness to expend the owed favor if Argentus still had it after rescuing Emily.  "The other is concluding my visits to the planetary courts.  Though, perhaps, I could arrange for at least some of those by emissary or construct while our cabal goes to deal with the True Fae."

 Talion sat back down in his chair and yawned. "You may do as you wish. The ritual awaits at your leisure once I can move freely again."

 Those among the concilium who had heard that bit of conversation mumbled and the content of it rippled throughout the gathering in murmers. It took only a few minutes for the energy in the crowd to begin to swell. Some were excited, some were indignant, but all took notice.

 The Merlin banged a gavel to calm the gathering. "You are correct, Master Argentus. It seems our Helios's … zealousness has landed him in some trouble this time."

 He pointed at a man who seemed to be second in command. "Take over Helios's duties in his absence and assign a guard to our esteemed guest so that no others lay hands on him."

 The man bowed, left, and returned minutes later with a younger mage, now set to guard Talion's chair.


 The Merlin took a deep breath and sighed. "I suppose we should finally return to the Order of business we were on when we were interrupted. Noah is a skilled worker in a rare field of technology, only one of 12 people in the world able to do work on synthetics and the only one, other than their creator, that can rework the synthetic mind.

 That said, he has committed one of the gravest breaches of the Veil in known history. There are mitigating circumstances, to be sure, but the Concilium must vote on what must be done with him."

 And, despite everything, the votes went something along the lines of:

"Death!"
"Dissection!"
"Imprisonment!"
"Turn him back to normal!"

 To which, Talion spoke again, this time loud enough to address the assembly. "No. You will do no such thing. Noah's transformation will go a long way toward completing my own goals and, when I am done, the Lie will be weaker for it. Noah will be able to walk openly among sleepwalkers with no detriment whatsoever."

 There was muttering. The Merlin raised a hand and spoke. "And what plans are those?"

 "Someone dear to me was harmed by the Nephandi. I plan to announce Noah's transformation as a brain transplant into a synthetic body. With two such instances of success, I can use this to push the actual technology and cure a whole range of physical diseases."

Noah smiled at Argy and gave him a quiet clap. Someone had to cheer him on for his hard-won efforts. It was no small feat getting to the point that someone could become an archmage, so damnit, someone should have clapped.

He looked about at each person as they made their votes. He was memorizing their faces as they would all come across him again, and anyone who had worked with Noah knew he had a powerful memory. It was how he had gotten so far as he never had to rolladex the code he was working with.

He laced foreclaws over his stomach. "My power is defined by my opposition, a world-altering earthbound demon from a time predating Atlantis. and my power obeys the strategy of people wiser than I." The first liturgy of the Arrows. "I could go on, as to how I have ever called myself a dragon, I have purified my body and I continue the fight of mind body and soul."

He gestured to The Council of Dragons from the adamantine arrow, the tacticians who emulated the dragons of Atlantis. "Wiser minds go not as far but if able would do less?"

He pointed to the Guardians of the Veil. "Sins for a just end grant wisdom to the Awakened. There is an age of wisdom coming, and we need to be ready for it. Wisdom cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy."

The Mysterium, "Knowledge is power, knowledge must be protected, Knowledge must have a price. I have paid a great price..." He thought about Mistral, he would work around it at some point but there was a price well paid. "How many dragons are there? How many artifacts do you know of that require an inhuman operator? You have an envoy that could gain much from this. Your Archaeomancers' so much more so."

"I could go on and on. I have sought forgiveness but what I have done is the best outcome. There are people who are alive because I could only do as I did because of this. Every order has instances of this happening. Is this not true? Or will you call on The Orphans of Proteus next?"

He tapped on the table with a long claw. "I will fight to protect the people who are around me and that includes each and every single one of you. Even from paradox. I have always been unorthodox, such has been useful fighting an outsider, fighting the earthbound, surviving the realm of the dead, and more." Other things he couldn't talk about. "Forgive me but the benefit outweighs the cost. I cannot deny who I am, and that photograph would have been taken even if I was not a dragon as a base."

He was losing his temper. "There are mages in this room who would be dead if I did not expose myself and risk my life. And I would do it again a thousand times over. You are the light of the world. All of you. If your light is snuffed out we will be left in darkness that will not end."

"I will not abide that. Enough fighting."

After Noah had made his big speech, Mistral spoke up from the back of the hall into the silence that followed.  Her voice was not loud and her tone was placid as ever, but her words carried nonetheless.  “Noah has worked tirelessly and has even altered his very form to accomplish what was needed to save lives and battle the enemies of this Conclave, and of this world.  Those who would cast judgement, first consider whether you would have done as much in his place.  Consider whether such measures would even have been necessary if it had been more than a single cabal against every existential threat imaginable.”  She left it unspoken, but the implied question for the Concilium was clear: ‘What were you doing while we were saving the world?’

She concluded, “Consider that this Conclave’s time might be better spent organizing against its enemies, rather than prosecuting a hero.”
This message was last edited by the player at 07:10, Tue 21 Jan 2020.

 There was a long, uncomfortable pause by the Concilium before one of them spoke. "Even so, we cannot allow a walking breach of the veil to walk about freely. Even if he has somehow managed to avoid losing his form to Paradox, there is no way this is not widening the Abyss!"

 There were murmurs of agreement before Talion slammed his fist on the table. ENOUGH!

 Talion stood and the electric lights flickered. He had adopted the tone of Apocalypse... or perhaps Apocalypse was peeking through. "You speak of paradox. You keep saying things like 'no way' and 'impossible'. You sound like sleepers.

 This is why I went to the other supernatural communities first. At least THEY understand how their own powers work. Look at yourselves! how many Millenia has it been since your beloved Atlantis fell? What have you done since then? Fight over the scraps that remain and hoard what little you find such that even the most basic things need to be rediscovered! You are neophytes pretending to be gods.

 You speak of Paradox. What do YOU know of Paradox?"

 Despite their being no transformation, Talion seemed to tower over even the mage in the tallest seat. "Every single law of nature you believe to be immutable is simply a variable. It is the most fundamental concept of what your archmages refer to as Imperial Magic... and even Paradox is a variable. "

 As he spoke, he picked up a pencil and began drawing on a piece of paper. When he finished his speech and his drawing, he held it up before anyone else could speak. His voice had returned to normal. "If you doubt me, then put it to the test. I've inscribed variable operators onto this paper.

 If any of you believe I am wrong, then test me. Affect this paper with a spell."


 As Talion reverted away from his more intimidating form of speech, the members of the concilium relaxed once more.
 "And what is this supposed to prove?"

 "That Paradox is an imbalance caused by normal spellcasting... that not a single one of you knows what the safeguards are to casting a spell without shunting Paradox in between the realms, and that that is the reason that the Abyss has increased to the state it is currently in. If you want to talk to me about Paradox, then talk to me after you've affected this paper with magic."

Argentus took that moment to keep quiet.  He silently examined the paper under each of his mage sights, and tried to correlate the runes with anything he had ever seen before.

OOC: Prime, Death, Spirit, Forces sights

2 rounds scrutiny for the 5 successes to normally unveil an object's true nature.  2 successes per round (for 3 rounds) after that to try to figure anything out about the runes or what would happen if someone tried to cast on the paper.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:30, Wed 22 Jan 2020.

PM

"Well, that was fortunately gentle... Or is the response of the paper proportional to the magic used toward it?" He half-commented, half asked.


And mundane scrutiny of the runes?

Noah had opened his fat maw enough, Talion had the last word when it came to his fate and for that, he was happy to at least be moderately useful. The others had been Talions fingers when it came to it but Noah had no real commitment beyond how useful he was. He leaned over to take a photo of the rune with his oversized clear plane slate for later review. He then looked up at each of the people who called for his death, "Well? Earn your pound of my flesh."

He let his mind drift as one side of his mind pondered that rune and the other on just what Mistral stressed when she spoke up. It was her nature to be quiet so as calm tone as she had, to Noah, she was screaming.

 Talion nodded slightly. "Correct. Every action has an equal but opposite reaction."


 There was some hesitation but Noah's goading had a few mages take the bait. Force mages, trying to light the paper on fire, only to burn themselves. Their hands showed the burns of paradox.


 When no one else came forward, Talion continued. "All of you, each and every one, have been judging your magic based on the visible effect it produces... but every spell displaces an amount of energy equal to its effect, whether or not it produces Paradox.

 The reason the Abyss seeks out mages so fervently is because they are the source of the imbalance. Banishers come in through weak spirits, like a release valve on an over pressured pipeline. As it stands, until this imbalance is rectified, the Abyss will never fully disperse and Consensus of reality will always need to be accounted for.

 However, I can show you a way to ease the effects of Paradox from Vulgar spells. My people referred to it as 'Tenebremancy', or 'Shadow Magic'."

 He picked the piece of paper up and began to fold it. "While I wouldn't normally advocate its widespread use, in this instance, Tenebremancy would 'release the pressure' of Paradox back into the Tapestry of Reality and help close the Abyss naturally over time.

 Despite its name, it doesn't manipulate actual shadows, but rather the 'Shadow of Magic', so to speak. That's what Paradox is, in a nutshell anyway."

 When he opened his hands, there was an Oragami Crane. He lifted it into the air and it took flight. "So, yes, what I am offering to teach here would more accurately be referred to as Paradox Magic."

 The origami crane landed on the podium as the magisters gasp in shock and horror at the concept of intentionally invoking paradox. The muttering held a great deal of anger and resentment.

Noah's tail slapped the ground hard enough to be felt as mutterings and resentment started circulating. "The time for clutching pearls has passed. You're being offered a chance to give a blow to the enemy so vast that they will never recover from. A means to reclaim your power so well stolen you never felt its loss."

"You are all the most powerful body in this world. No other gathering can compair."

"Its time to wake up to your true selves."

He sent a private text to Argentus, "No time like the present to do your ladder thing. You could lock down exclusive envoy rights to Talion and ensure they have to send students through New York. The whole place is hungry as their minds are racing to gather info across the scope of their experience."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 05:47, Thu 23 Jan 2020.

Prometheus followed the others through the Portal but for the most part remained silent, judging Talion as he acted and spoke. What he saw didn't impress him.

Talion cared nothing for the laws of men, nothing for justice, nothing for anyone elses plans. He saw his own vision and own goals, and thats all that mattered.

As he watched, he slowly came to a conclusion...slowly figured out what Talion was. His face went pale as he thought, A non-human being that can call upon the power of the Supernal. One who is clearly only equaled by an Archmage. Who can train Archmages.... He is no spirit. He is one of the Gods that the Exarchs kicked from the Supernal realm when they climbed the Ladder.

And if he is awake....so are the others. God help us all, if any decide mankind is to blame.


Still, he did feel one thing needed to be addressed, "Talion, if you are speaking of the Magic of Paradox, would that not risk corrupting....well everyone? While I only know of Scelesti in general terms, I am sure some of the Mysterium and Guardians present can list off dozens of people and organizations that have fallen to darkness when interacting with such things....

And directly touching the Abyss to move it, shift it, spread it out.... would we not hear it as well? To call the Abyss alive is a stretch....but its certainly aware, and does talk. We have all heard what happens when Paradox goes to far and the Abyss Manifests."

Honestly Prometheus was actually fairly sure most people here had experienced at least one Minor manifestation in their life from casting to much Vulgar Magic. But it wasn't polite to admit that.

OOC:
05:04, Today: Promethius rolled 2 successes using 4d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 10(+2),2,5,8.  Occult knowledge (Int+ Occult).

Argentus shared Promethius's concern.  While Argentus hadn't really invoked much paradox before... ever... he had been directly by a manifestation of the Abyss and lost his eye to it.  That made him plenty leery.  Nevertheless,  he was willing to hear Talion out on it - in part because of Noah's support of the idea.  Still, he wouldn't be trying it without getting some solid instruction on the theory behind it, first.

He was mildly surprised when Noah suggested he now re-attempt his attempt to leverage their relation with Talion for political clout in the Consilium.  However, it was one thing to do that when the man was not around... it was quite another to do so with the man in the room.  Before standing to say anything he tipped his phone toward Talion, and cocked an eyebrow, asking for permission.

  "The imbalance of magical energy is not inherently evil... but, once that energy reaches the Abyss, it is infected with the madness seeping from hell's prison. The voices of the Abyss are tainted whispers of Hell. It's partly why I've waited so long to suggest this. I needed time. Time and resources, to purify the Paradox energy that seeps back into the world, lest the restoration of the Tapestry turn this world into a hellscape."

 "That's where synthetics come in. To date, I have sold over 5 billion units. Synthetics match humans nearly 1 for 1 at this point... and, in places where synthetics outnumber humans, Consensus of Reality shifts in favor of mages.

 … but the main reason I created Synthetics was to serve as filters for Abyssal corruption. Their presence ensures that paradox cannot accumulate and that corruption cannot occur. The downside of this is that paradox degrades their memory... a problem I had not found a solution for."

 He turned to Noah and took a deep breath. "But you did... so, if you'll accept it, I am naming you my Successor for Synthos Inc. I'm giving you my company as well as the rights to produce whatever synthetics you like and distribute them however you wish.

 I would also found the Order of the Jade Tower and place you at its head, to teach other mages to do what you do, so that the restoration of the Tapestry can proceed smoothly."

 Talion waited to hear Noah's answer before continuing. "Naturally, Tenebremancy will require retraining and so will only be allowed to be attempted in the presence of the Novice's Curse."

 He reached out a finger and the origami crane returned. "And with the paper as the only target to prevent accidents."

 Talion eyed the text on Argentus's phone and smiled slightly, inclining his head in affirmation.

His concerns answered, Argentus addressed the Merlin.  "Magister, I request that with our guest's endorsement, and in light of this cabal's relationship with him, that we be named as the official liaisons of the Grand Conclave to him and that the New York Consilium be named its commission for pre-screening applicants."

Argentus was incredibly scrupulous with his use of magic, but as before, when in a negotiating situation, he let his Obrimos roots show.  "Further, lest we insult our guest..."  he paused for a half moment, omitting 'yet again', "by having our liasons be mere Novices and Famulus, I move that my proximity to archmastery and having traveled to two supernal realms be accepted in place of being a dual-master for the title of Magister, and that the rest of our cabal - including Sal and the Garou Ralph if he survived the storm - be recognized by the Conclave as Famulus if they do not already hold a higher rank.  If the local Consilium so moves, I would not be averse to being ranked Great Magister instead and thus minimize disruptions to the local Consilium, especially in light of recent deaths and damages."

If Atlantis were restored and the Veil with it, Argentus hoped an honorary mage rank would shelter Sal's life for as long as the man wished to keep it.  He added the last as a peace-offering to the Merlin... and because Argentus had no desire to run the local Consilium.  As with honorary Admiralship when one sea captain visited another's ship, being named Great Magister would at the same time keep him from threatening the Merlin's position and from being bogged down by the same body's politics.

 The Grand Conclave, so overwhelmed by what they were being told (but unable to truly do anything about it) conceded to Argentus's request and finally held the meeting adjourned. As the mages began to file out, Talion sighed. "I'm glad that's over. These kinds of meetings are always so tedious. I'm certain you have many questions, but I'll answer them back on the boat. There are things you want to ask, I'm sure... and I have news regarding Emily, a promising lead."

Talion demonstrated a wholly new arcanum that flouted ancient tradition and fears while simultaneously offering the long-sought solution to Paradox, and Mistral took it in with a hungering fascination.  It made perfect sense, and to her it seemed a clear and necessary evolution of the Awakened mastery of reality.  Yet the traditionalists were scared and mistrustful of risky innovation, as they so often were.  It was no matter.  Now that it had been put before the gathered Concilium there would be no stopping mages from plumbing its secrets.

The surprises didn’t stop coming, as Talion again shocked the gathering by announcing Noah as the heir to Synthos as well as the leader of an entirely new Order.  She looked to the dragon with brows raised in expectant curiosity as to his response to the extraordinary offer, though she thought she knew his answer.  Then Argentus claimed for himself a Grand title and secured recognition for their entire cabal, including Sal the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

At last the meeting was adjourned, and Mistral portaled them away, passing first through two intermediate destinations somewhere on the globe before at last arriving back in the chilled cave beneath the French Alps.  One more brief jaunt from there and they were back on the ship in Mistral’s cabin on the S.S. Grey.  Luckily for Noah, Grey had provided a number of seating arrangements and a bed that were of sufficient size to catch a fainting dragon.

OOC: Normally I would keep Lola's inner monologue to the GM only, as Prometheus doesn't hear it, and it only influences his thoughts... I am breaking those rules here as it amuses me.

Prometheus had many MANY doubts....this was a dangerous path to tred and if he was right about Talion he was a warning sign of further dangers to come.

....I was right, I was right, she can be save and I should have lived, I was right I was right I was right, the corruption can be pealed away and they can be saved, they must be saved.....

Still, he couldn't help but be happy that he was going to live after all. Charlotte was safer now then she had been before, but she still wasn't SAFE, and his own projects weren't done. While risky, this was a good outcome.

... Yes, yes, yes, yes it was totally worth it, I saved someone, I saved them and I will save her again. Lilth, I will not let the darkness have you, and before I go to dust I will pull the darkness out of you again. And the Guardians....I will find those who killed me and danced on their graves, for I was right, I was right, I was right and they can all be saved. La, la, la, la, I could save them all, I can save them all, I will save them all.... for the darkness is not nothing and the nothing is not evil. It is a cell, and thus they are the wardens, corrupted by those they guard.... but they can be freed. They can be cured. And thus I was right, I was right Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.....

However, as he listened to Talion speak and the Concilium question him, Prometheus felt a SERIOUS headache coming on and was thankful when the meeting was adjourned and Mistral Portalled them away. Painkillers were definitely the call of the day.

....I was right, I was right, if I controlled this body I would dance right now. I was right, I was right, she will be saved and I was right....