Prelude

Several weeks ago a new Pack of the Forsaken calling themselves the Rouges uncovered a hidden temple where servile Spirits were swarming around monsters the Forsaken know little about. The Rouges fought their way past the Spirits and entered the inner areas of the blasphemous temple where they encountered a gathering of Fire Touched Pure enacting dark Rites and recruiting the Spirits to their cause.

After a short confrontation the Pure retreated and the Rouges began investigating the temple revealing that the Pure were preparing to launch one of their insidious Crusades to retake the city and had already begun operating in a clandestine way in the city. Realizing the scale of the threat the Rouges began spreading the word to other more experienced Packs in the city.

As word spread the Storm Lords began calling the Packs of the Forsaken together for the Grey King Arthur Hatfield to organize the Packs for war. Now the most experienced Uratha scour the city for signs of the Pure.

Prologue Part 1: Mayhem and Massacres

The Grey King, Arthur Hatfield gathered together the Forsaken Packs of New York City in a hidden away part of the cities endless subway system. So great was the Grey Kings standing that those of his Tribe and the petty Spirits that serve them spread the word wide and far and only the most independent minded Ghost Wolf would ignore such a summons. Gathered together the King made his will known to the assembled Forsaken, the Pure have spread like an infection through the city, feeling for weakness in the Forsaken's claim on the territory. This violation of territory would not go unanswered, the Forsaken would rout the Pure and secure their territory from outward aggression. Two days were given for the Forsaken to make themselves ready for war.

His words were few but carried enough weight for their seriousness to be felt. As the crowd settled and thinned a young Bone Shadow named Victoria Vanholdt but preferring to go by the name Tori. Her family has a long history with the Forsaken with several of her relatives being full blooded Uratha themselves, she came because she knew she had to anything less would be an insult to her pedigree, despite her issues with what she was she carried her self with some poise.

Elsewhere in the crowd was one of the cities most junior Iron Masters Nathan Devereaux, a man of many ambitions and a desire to actually achieve them he was a soul town between worlds. The people he once associated with would simply never be able to keep up with him as he grew ever stronger. He began making friends with other creatures who were so talented as him forming a connection with Tori in the process while hiding the truth of what he was away from her. The night of the meeting compelled him to reveal what he was to her.

Naturally drawn to a familiar face Tori approached Nathen with a degree of relief as he confirmed the truth of what he was to her, both being relatively new to the world of the Forsaken and without a Pack of their own naturally drew up an agreement with one another to better their chances with the coming conflict.

Believing it best to arm themselves with something Nathen utilized his contacts in the police department to get himself and Tori into the police armory. After gathering together some supplies which also included a police concussion grenade Nathen looked through police reports that were come to areas where the Forsaken believe the Pure to be operating.

What drew their eye was activity the police assumed to be the work of a cult that has been operating throughout the city. Police reports indicated that the cult operated out of a mansion belonging to Gary Townsend, despite several request for permission to investigate the police were denied.

Knowing this was their best lead on the Pure, the pair set out to do some reconnaissance and upon their arrival discovered that the mansion was the site of a Locus and that several Spirits of Disease were acting in the area. Such Spirits being here was suspicious to say the least but the pair set out to examine the Locus more closely.

They broke into the Mansion which had seeming fallen into a state of revolting decay as they entered the house they were greeted with a nauseating smell and the sound of one million small mouths chewing away. They made their way through the house until eventually finding a man that seemed to be dressed as a park ranger with a shriveled body and skin that fell away like tainted paper. Tori was quick to identify the creature as one of the Zurdilu (Termite Host) seemed to be in residence. After a brief scuffle the pair was able to put the creature down although not before it burst into thousands of termites and the Shard of the host certainly made their escape.

A brief investigation revealed a written message by something referring to itself as the Red Minister which seemed to be in collusion with the Host. More so the body as alien as it was of the Zurdilu was not the expected occupant of the house Gary Townsend. Realizing there was substance to this story the pair departed the scene to seek advice from more senior Forsaken and returned to where their night began.

The pair made their way to Nathaniel Reed, an Iron Master and began a conversation with him pertaining about their experience at the Mansion but kept out information pertaining to the Red Minister as they did not know who to trust. After explaining what they saw to Nathaniel Reed they prepared to return to the mansion and finish off the Spirits lingering there.

While idealing on the train car they noticed the herd of humanity thinning and they they were being followed by Nathaniel Reed and his Pack. Under pressure they revealed the truth of the Red Minister who was in turn revealed to be a Beshilu (Rat Host) that has been a great source of aggravation for the proud Storm Lords. The Pack of Iron Masters agrees to help deal with the Spirits by running off any human who might ease drop on the area.

While most of the humans were run off, another person lingered on the train car, a Bone Shadow names Sierra Von Nacre who was likewise without a Pack. While she was accomplished in the field of music she knew as they also did they they would need to forge their own path. Yet the Forsaken are not lone hunters and when she heard mention of her preferred prey she could not resist the thrill of the Hunt earning her a place along with the others.

Returning to the Mansion it seemed as if something had warned the Spirits of their coming arrival as the Disease Spirits were turning on one another feeding on each other and becoming stronger in the process. By the time the three made it through the Locus there was but one Spirit left to face.

Sierra instantly charged at the creature with all the rage of the Uratha quickly shifting forms as her claws cleaved at the creatures flesh. Quickly followed by Nathen who attempted to move with similar grace although coming up short he was likewise able to join the grey against the creature. Tori more calmly made her way down the building.

Desperate for some room the the creature vanished and reappeared in a miasma of putrid mist. Sensing an opportunity finally Tori moved forward and finished the creature off with the point of her foil.

With the Host beaten back and the Spirits killed the group was able to more closely examine their situation recognizing the Zurdilu had burrowed a great tunnel for the Pure to use in their attack. Knowing the only way to close the tunnel was to destroy the Locus Nathen threw the grenade he had taken and destroyed the Locus.

After making their way through the Shadow to another Locus the group concluded that the grenade that was used needed to be replaced before the police could notice. Nathen again turned to his contacts to find someone who could do such a job. The group made their way to Little Odessa, a conclave of Russian and Eastern European immigrants. They made their way to a small restaurant and meet with Merkulov Jaroslav Vladislavovich who turned out to be a Ghost Wolf as well as one of the heads of Russian organized crime.

After some brokering back and forth the group came to an agreement, the newly forming Pack would shake down someone who had stolen something from Merkulov and in return for some money he would take care of the issue for Nathen. Quickly tracking down the apartment of the individual who stole from the gangster and luring that individual into a trap ultimately leaving his fate in the hands of the man he had wronged.

The following day Nathen and Tori would meet up to continue their preparations for the coming conflict, after much deliberation the duo of the Pack tracked down a hole in the wall store that dealt in old books and esoteric oddities. Within the shop they found what seemed to be an authentic case used by someone brave enough to hunt Werewolves.

The clerk at the shop explained that the case originally contained a knife made of pure silver but that someone had already come by a bought it. Other items included a case for Wolfsbane, a leather satchel which contained small crossbow bolts topped with silver, a mirror with a silver background and an assortment of other fine tools that might be useful but are otherwise useless to the exact task of killing a werewolf.

After securing the package at an exorbitant cost the pair returned to Tori’s apartment to further examine their findings. To their shock they found the mirror held a bound Lune one of Mother Lunas servants. The Spirit seemed to have been brutalized as its form was battered and mutilated and tainted essence leaked from its Corpus. After passing a cryptic message to Tori its condition quickly degenerated as a parasitic Spirit of Agony began to break its way through the Lunes form.

As soon as the Lune was gone the Agony Spirit quickly began to manifest in Tori’s apartment. The pair began for another fight and no sooner were they ready did it make its way into the world of Flesh. Its first coarse of action was to plant the thought of hate towards the Uratha in any weaker willed then itself.

The two Uratha fought with the ferocity of their kind and despite the power of the Spirit were gaining the upper hand thanks to the being using much of its Essence in manifesting and then touching the minds of those around it. In a desperate gambit to save itself the Spirit through its twisted will at Tori to feast upon her Essence. It attempted to knit itself together but the act seemed to offend Tori all the more as she lashed out with an attack that left the Spirit with but two option, death or sacrificing a part of itself to escape. The Spirit chose to flee to the Shadow to save itself.

As soon as the Spirit vanished the lights went out as an angry mob of residents began to gather at Tori’s door tainted by the Spirits intent. Hoping to frighten the mob Tori assumed the Garu killing form and despite expectations the mob was resolved now to beat the beast. The presumption of the mob prevoked a rage in Tori that she could not control as she moved to slaughter each and every human. There was no fairness in the fight as Tori tore limb from limb the carnage only stopping when she slipped so far to her rage that Nathen was able to pacify her.

With Tori in utter shock and Nathen knowing this needed a professional touch they reached out to Merkulov.

Prologue Part 2: War Against the Pure

A new day came, Tori was put up in a rundown hotel on the outskirts of Little Odessa by Merkulov’s men, emotionally distraught she changes her appearance in several dramatic fashions, cutting and recoloring her hair. Nathen while unsettled by what has happened he knew the Pack needed to come together to make a plan for what to do in the impending battle against the Pure. Sierra likewise hearing through the media of an incident that happened in Tori’s neighborhood went to investigate before being contacted by Nathen who called everyone together where Tori was staying.

Tori explained the circumstances of what transpired and what lead to her present set of circumstances to Sierra. Sierra seemed to stomach the bloody massacre even if she was disappointed by it she was offended at the idea of using silver as a weapon to use against the Pure and the subsequent violations of the Oath of the Moon.

Realizing her companions were not entirely up to the physical demands of what was to come Sierra wanted to help build them up or stir their resolve at the very least. She took them to the gym she worked out in and pushed them into an intense physical regimen after which the Pack began to make their way to Sierra’s apartment.

They found themselves being followed by a wolf which they confronted, it shifted to its human form revealing himself to be one of the Pure named Alec. He seemed to know more about what happened to Tori offering an opportunity at redemption through a back door in the Den of the Pure. The Pack seemed suspicious and talked of Alec before going to Sierras apartment to recover and center themselves for what was to come.

The time had come and the warriors of the Forsaken gathered in the depths of an abandoned wind of the subway in the presence of a potent Lune and the Storm King. The Lune conjured a moon bridge to the lair of the Pure and the Forsaken began their assault. Tori tried to explain the circumstances of what transpired to the Lune but it seemed to grow infuriated at what she said and Tori did not question more.

The Pack made their way through the portal and fought their way through the wilderness to the mouth of the Pure’s Den sealed by a ward powered by a Spirit. The Pack tracked down the source of the power and liberated a Spirit opening the way to the Pure’s Den. To their surprise they were meet with little in the way of resistance.

The Pack pushed deeper finding a potent Locus tainted by toxic Essence baring passing between the Shadow and the world of flesh, moving forward the horrors of the Pure revealed. The slave cells of the Predator Kings, the torture racks of the Fire Touched, and the chambers of the Ivory Claws. The Pack found a Spirit bound in a torture chamber, it promised them its strength in return for freedom and the Pack obliged freeing the Spirit.

Pushing to the depths the Pack encountered the leader of the Pure the Ivory Claw Sonia Porter. They battled her and her bodyguards and through rage and righteousness would eventually emerge victorious after being pushed to the limits of where anger could bring them.

They then encountered Alec again who revealed that the whole arrangement was part of a trap that the poison he infected the Gauntlet with was running its coarse and the other Pure simply hid away in the Shadow with their Spirit allies. As the Pure began pushing their way through the barrier the Pack reunited with the main host of the Forsaken as more of the Pure began to manifest.

While the Forsaken and Pure battled Nathen noticed one individual cast a small flame in his hand, attempting to stop him, Nathen threw a silver knife at him that while wounding him did not have the typical result silver would have on one of the Pure. In a matter of moments the fire exploded in a hungry fire that Pure’s Forsaken and Pure alike growing with every death forcing back the Forsaken.

Leading the fighting retreat it quickly became apparent that a direct retreat would be futile and the failure of the battle seemed to shake the Storm King. Nathen and Tori attempted to shake him from his withdrawal as Sierra battled on the front lines. Accepting his failure the Storm King pitched a desperate gambit to save the remaining Forsaken.

Enacting a ritual that seemed to resonate with Luna herself pulling some element of her attention to the battlefield flooding it with her power. Realizing the Forsaken were beginning to falter Sierra challenged the Pure and as a challenger appeared the blind king light of the moon returned what remained of the Forsaken to where they started.

Prelude: Awakening the Sleeping City

For years the Mages of the Pentacale have benefited from peace, the Seers of the Throne are a distant threat to most more commonly relegated to ideal gossip and conspiracy theory. Individual threats of coarse remain from reckless Mages, unknown mysteries, and the other supernatural creatures that make their home in the city.

One issue has emerged that has proven to be perplexing to some and concerning to others called the Sorcerer’s Blight, the blight seems to emerge in random areas altering fundamental rules of magic as the Awakened know them. Most frequently this appears as making the casting of magic more challenging while in other circumstances spells become more powerful while other more esoteric effects have also been reported. Often these blighted areas persist from a few hours to a few days.

Other circumstances though can bring Mages together and for the Mage named Kinsey the recent disappearance of his sister Tori in a disastrous apartment fire that was more then a little suspicious, he is convinced that his sister is alive even if the police have begun to suggest otherwise and has taken up the charge of locking for her.

While he has his own set of skills he knows the suspect nature of things means it might be best to look into matters with some help. A reasonably close acquaintance calling himself Thoth otherwise known as Thomas Reed was a natural person for him to turn to in this rather dire situation.

Thanks to his wondering lifestyle Thoth has likely experienced the Blight on more then one occasion probably earning a fair degree of suspicion on his part and having worked with Kinsey in the past each Mage has something more to gain from their continued understanding. Within the Mysterium is an intelligent up and coming Mage called Mercury but also known as Amy who has read more then one account about the Blight and its ability to defy commonly accepted magical principles.

All three of these Mages have worked together if not actively then in passing through their Order and while the loose familar exist broader society in the Pentacale accepts them as a Cabal.

Prologue Part 3: The Grieved and the Cursed

Kinsey was overcome with concern by what fate may have happened to his sister, he refused to believe the worse that she had passed away amidst the violence and the chaos of the scene. He went to investigate himself and found the ruin of what she once called home corded off by police. It would be a fools errand to try and get past all of them so he contacted other Mages in his cabal.

Thoth was the one to receive Kinsey’s summons while he was contemplating ways to investigate the Sorcerers Blight, having uncovered some insights in to the strange phenomenon he wanted to know more. Before making his way to Kinsey he spoke with a homeless women named Olga, she seemed to have a sight for the unnatural and while it made her mind questionable he was able to find his first solid lead of a Mage who seemed to have suffers an exceptional Backlash as a result of working magic in an area effected by the blight.

Feeling an obligation to his associate however he resolved to meet with Kinsey and gathered up Amy also known as Mercury on the way, she was a bright young lady with an eye for facts and felt sympathetic for Kinsey and his situation.

The Cabal gathered in a coffee house not to far from the scene of the incident and the group began something of a remote investigation. Mercury was the the first to find beyond the shadow of any doubt that some of the damage that occurred within the space of the apartment was more akin to tearing and smashing as opposed to just an out of control blaze. She also found the presence of elaborately placed accelerant.

Hitting something of a stonewall with the investigation Thoth thought there might be a long shot chance between the incident at the apartment and the mage who suffered the Backlash. He convinced the group to travel to the hospital where he was recovering, while Mercury convinced the receptionist to giver her the room number of the patient Thoth went about disgusting himself as a doctor.

When the group made their way to the room they found the unconscious Mage as well as Faust, the Hierarch of the Diamond Orders also in the room. He explained that as part of the Backlash the Mages soul was torn to pieces and that while he recovered the majority of the soul one piece remains unaccounted for. He proposed for the Cabal to travel to the Sanctum where the Mage suffered his fate and retrieve the last portion of his soul.

The Cabal agreed and set out to the address given to them by the Hierarch. Kinsey was the first to notice the spacial anomaly that existed here, there existed a hidden space with proportions that probably eclipsed the building that they were in. Thoth translated a rune that kept others out and explained that this was the entrance to some kind of prison. The Cabal then uncovered another hidden space that seemed to be a Sanctum as well as a Hollow, besides providing the Mana to sustain the spell the only other objects of note was book written in human flesh rested upon a pedestal and bound in chains.

Through their deduction the found that the Mages tapped into the power of the book to try to break his way through the spell only for his spell to backfire as a result of the Backlash and his soul to be scattered by a sentinel which watched over the book. By this time each Mage could sense that some darkness was prying at their minds and Mercury called for a quick withdrawal, she quickly grabbed the remaining fragment of the soul and the Cabal withdrew.

The Hierarch waited for them in the lobby of the building, they asked why he did not take the final fragment when he had the chance. While the Hierarch was remiss to be questioned he explained that he was looking for Mages of talent to help him uncover the mystery of the Blight and this presented an opportunity to do such. Satisfied with the answer the group went on their way to return for their search for Tori.

Through shear dumb luck Mercury cast a spell that lead the group to a Russian restaurant in Little Odessa, there after an aggravated dinner Kinsey identified a man with knowledge about where Tori was. Eventually they made their way to a rundown hotel where Kinsey and Thoth found the room Tori was living in but she was not there. Kinsey proceeded to write a letter to his sister and at Thoth’s recommendation took her violin.

Prologue Part 4: The Blight

A day or so following the Cabals locating of Kinsey’s wayward sister the Cabal resoled to look into matters pertaining to the Sorcerers Blight. It was Kinsey who had the idea for the group to travel to the library of the Mysterium to look for knowledge there, Mercury for her part was more resistant to the notion as she went into looking into a girl who attended the same school as her and Kinsey who seemed to stick out more then most.

Eventually Kinsey roped Thoth into joining him and together the pair descended to the library where Kinsey began to look into cryptic information given to him by his sister.

Mercury continued to try investigating the girl but could not work up the resolve to directly approach her. Realizing a calamity of destiny was about to befall her that would rob her of her very soul Mercury worked her magic to shield the girls soul at the very least, what was alarming to Mercury in the moment was the fact that the girl seemed to notice her subtle use of magic.

Realizing Kinsey had little in the aptitude for extensive book related research or at the very least seemed to be struggling the pair decided to rope Mercury into helping them. Sufficiently unnerved by the girl apparently being the hollow doomed thing that could see her magic Mercury quickly obliged and joined her allies.

With Mercury’s eye for research the Cabal began to make headway on the cryptic message Kinsey collected. Eventually to find their answers the Cabal has to petition the library’s Curator, the Counselor Drake, their request was granted and the group delved into the text which delved into the other monsters the Mysterium has encountered.

The Cabal learned of the Moon Shunned, so called to be Luna the Spirit of the Moons price for her power, they are akin to Werewolves except for the fact that the touch of the Moon never finds them and as such they do no suffer the weakness to silver and naturally can slip away from the gaze of the moon. More over they gain power by slaying Lunes, essentially Spirits in the service of Luna and are such beings Bane.

Armed with answers it was then that Mercury sensed the girls Doom in motion and the Cabal raced to observe. Tracking her down to a bar they were to late to directly observe the scene as emergency personnel were on the scene. It seemed the girl immolated herself with death only staved off because of Mercury’s spell.

Thoth and Kinsey worked in tandem using their combined Arcana to infiltrate and heal the girl. It was only then that they realized that they were in the epicenter of a Blight as their Magic seemed to work with more potency and some strange effects.

Notably one of Kinsey’s scrying portals was a window into the Shadow.

Prologue Part 5: “It All Began With Lunch”

The Cabal withdrew to recover some measure of its energy before returning to deal with the matter properly. Sometime the next day the Cabal returned to the point and while Mercury was away fetching rope Thoth noticed some strange webbing dangling from Kinsey. After being made aware of it Kinsey looked into the matter further unraveling the supernatural nature of the strange sticky silk like threads the world seemed to sunder around him, the earth itself grew unstable with some chunks seemingly floating in air and others gone as if dissolved, a strange sky hung over the environment with one giant alien eye open staring at the mage. Kinsey correctly deduced that this thread seemed to resonate with the power of the Abyss.

Despite the unsettling experience Kinsey attempted to explain to his friends what he had seen and the group resolved to push into the Shadow to see if they could find a correlation between the energy of the Abyss and the Sorcerers Blight. Making their way into the Shadow Kinsey could not help but notice small spited like creatures constructing vast web like structures that seemed to fray as time progresses, both the spiders and the web seemed to be operating in an area tied to the area tainted by the Blight.

After seeing a gout of fire spit through the sky the Cabal was suitably unnerved and withdrew from the Shadow, the portal which they crossed through was rapidly sealed with webs and while Kinsey saw the same eye manifest he attempted to lash out at it while his peers saw him fall to his knees in some kind of reverence. A chilling voice echoed in Kinsey’s mind saying “Many Truths, One Path”.

While Kinsey seemed to be in a state of reverence the two others noticed threads of the Abyss tainted silk worm its way into his flesh. Now suitably alarmed the group decided to turn to their betters for answers and set out for Consilium to speak with Hierarch Faust. Speaking in private the group learned that the Hierarch had been organizing for other Mages as well to look into the Blight. Faust seemed alarmed with the suggestion of what they saw and explained that his own inability to interact with the Shadow or Spirits prohibited him from fully grasping their theory.

He explained that other investigators had looked into a cult calling themselves the Followers of the Shining Ones that he believes to be connected to the Blight and that he had tasked the mage Xiphos to investigate the matter. The group went on to talk with the living legend named the Centurion who promised to get them in touch with Xiphos.

Certain that they would have some time before Xiphos would get in contact with them the Cabal returned to the strange Sanctum in search of answers and knowledge. Kinsey found himself pulled closer to the thrall of the Abyss as they spent more time in the space while Mercury and Thoth were able to resist the dark whispers. Alarmed Kinsey kept away from the bound book but his peers were undaunted as Thoth was determined to learn the places secrets.

Mercury worked her magic upon the Sentinel slowing it down in time giving Thoth plenty of time to pull the book from the pedestal and drew back several paces. While Mercury and Thoth worked to retrieve the book Kinsey found a book with a spell imbued to it that seemed to resonate with the cursed tomb called the Temple of Enoch. After Thoth opened the pages of the flesh clad tome blood started to drip from it and the same Abyss tainted spiders began emerging from around the room. Hoping to unmake whatever was done Thoth returned the book to its pedestal to no avail.

Prologue Part 6: Spiders

The Abyss lashed out against the ancient Sanctum dissolving the ley line which powered the ancient ward that sealed the prison from the Time Before. As the Abyssal Manifestation intensified a swarm of creatures that appeared like spiders made their way to the pool of blood beneath the cursed book.

The Cabal used their magic to try and prevent the swarm from achieving its aims but the numbers were to great, in a desperate gambit Thoth enveloped the coalescing power in the substance of the wooden floor but the effort was futile as the wood burst and a horrific spider like monster emerged.

Working in quick succession the Mages unleashed their most hostile talents against the creature and quickly overwhelmed the Abyssal Manifestation. The creatures corpse burst into a swarm of spiders. It was then a potent Time Spell was cast over the room and the swarm was slain except for one creature which was trapped by the Mage named Xiphos of the Adamantine Arrow.

He left them to finish their investigation where Kinsey would seal the prison in the same fashion he sealed the gate to the Shadow previously and the Cabal meet with Xiphos who agreed to bring them into his investigation on the Shining One.

Chapter 1: Shadow of Eblix

The Pack of Uratha had taken time to recover from the wounds and struggles. Sierra enjoyed some measure of respite before trauma came for her in the form of those envious of her success, they kidnapped her brother and extorted a great sum of money from her for his return. Nathan would encounter an old acquaintance he used to work with and meet out his sense of creative justice. Tori would briefly reunite with her brother easing his nervousness.

It was her brothers finding her that drew the attention of the Ghost Wolf Merkulov, who uses his powers over Russian organized crime to coverup when Tori lost control and set her up in her current safe house. Merkulov would approach Tori in an abrasive manner exerting his control over her but she defied and the two got into an intense verbal argument where the gangster threatened Tori, her friends, and her family before informing her that he would collect the financial end of his deal sooner rather then later.

Keeping her rage in check Nathan eventual reached out to her and the situation was explained to him and then later to Sierra as she joined her two companions. Agreeing that the situation needed to be addressed the Pack made their way to the Wound forming in the area of Tori’s apartment. There they encountered the Spirit named Eblix a creature in the service of the Maljin.

The group negotiated with the Spirit and his demands were quite clear, he desired a living host to make his vessel. Nathan proposed using Merkulov as a sacrifice but Sierra did not like the idea and Tori sidled with her. Negotiations then quickly fell apart leading to Tori telling Sierra to attack Eblix.

Eblix was a Spirit of a magnitude far removed from what they had encountered and he quickly bested Sierra and Tori in in short order. Forced into a corner Nathan suggested to give Eblix what it desired. It agreed only after planting the thought in Nathan’s head.

Some time later as Sierra and Tori came to Nathan explained the situation that unfolded and the Pack was approached by the Spirit they freed from the Den of the Pure calling itself Iron Eagle, it offered to be the Packs Totem in return for their compassion and the Pack agreed and Tori lead the rite that bound the Spirit to the Pack.

Chapter 2: Hunting a Tyrant

Having bound the Spirit Iron Eagle to be the Packs Totem the Pack chose to make the gangster Merkulov the subject of a hunt, they would sacrifice him to Eblix to fulfill the bargain that Nathan made with the wicked Spirit Eblix. The Pack began to bicker among themselves over what would be the best way to step forward Iron Eagle intervened stating one must lead the hunt and given that Tori had the greatest cause she was made Alpha for the Hunt.

Tori gave the Pack one week to prepare for the hunt, Tori was meet by the Gangster who said she had no real place in his criminal operation and that she needed something to start making her own way. He gave her a job as a server at the restaurant he ran his business out of and there she learned he usually received his money every other day when his Captains loyally delivered to him.

Sierra worked to rebuild her life, trying to make money where she could with the help of her friend Evan while also pushing herself physically out of embarrassment facing the Spirit. She felt discouraged after the fight and even some resentment for her Packmatats who in her view did not arm her with the knowledge she needed to face such a creature.

Nathan delved deep into the gangsters operation, learning he ran his organization with an iron fist and kept his subordinates in line through force yet none seemed to oppose him. Beyond this Nathan learned he showed up on police records and his prey seemed to have some contact in the Russian government.

When the pack put their efforts together they learned that the gangster was going to retrieve an arms shipment and that is where the pack would spring their trap. Tipping off the police to what happened they were sure the police would be there as well.

When the police moved a firefight broke out between them and the gangsters, Merkulov was able to install the police with great fear of him and used it as an opportunity to make his escape. That pack moved to intervene giving chase.

Sierra knew where he was heading thanks to her gifts while Nathan shut out the lights leaving them in darkness while Tori manipulated them natural elements to make the area slick. A brief battle broke out  where Merkulov was able to break off while forcing a great number of the police officers into his Pack temporarily, using them to cover his retreat. The Pack was split up with Tori and Nathan running one way and Sierra forced to go the other way.

Chapter 3: Shadow of the Maeljin

The hunt for the gangster Merkulov continued, Sierra stealthily eluded her pursuers and used her shapeshifting powers to their fullest shifting as she needed. Tori and Nathan found themselves quickly in need of moving, using their small stature to elude their foes and Nathan wanted to ensure the prey could not so easily escape compelling buildings and automobiles to bend to his will.

The Pack reunited on the far side of the parking lot in an office structure, thanks to Nathan even if they were followed their pursuers would be slowed down. The Pack then followed the trail knowing their prey had a strong lead on them. The trail eventually lead to a house in little Odessa where several gangsters were found dead, despite the gore Nathan kept the trail and lead them to a small butcher shop and then ultimately the restaurant where Merkulov ran his operation

It dawned on them that all the individuals that had been killed were Merkulov‘s henchmen, and within the restaurant they were confronted by a trio of humans seemingly smoldering from the inside out. The Spirit Eblix manifested before them offering his gratitude for the opportunity releasing the pack from their obligations to him. Realizing how deep down the rabbit hole they were and some strong words from Sierra Tori called off the hunt and the pack withdrew to reflect on their next move.

Chapter 4: Honor Your Territory In All Things

The Pack took several days reprieve to reflect upon what had transpired during the Hunt for Merkulov and the demonic being Eblix. Nathan kept himself busy setting up Tori with a weak but useable Alternative Identity, like wise Tori withdrew into herself contemplating the events that had played out. Sierra was transfixed with increasing her physical potential spending a lot of time at the gym with her personal trainer and otherwise with her brother.

Eventually the Pack reunited at Nathan’s apartment and decided it was time for the Pack to carve out a piece of territory for themselves and strategically  thinking the best place to set up Tori’s new life would be in a place between Sierras apartment and Nathan’s apartment making her would be home the center of the territory.

The Pack scouted our the upset East side for an apartment that Tori could use and would form the heart of their territory, stumbling upon the sobering fact that this area once held at least three packs of Uratha that seemed not to return from the War Against the Pure. The Spirits of the Shadow thus far had not acted out of line in the area but even so there was evidence of some beginning to test their boundaries.

The Pack uncovered a few Loci in the area as well as one Locus that seemed completely drained of Essence bizarrely. The greatest mystery the Pack came upon was in the form of the office clerk who was handling Toris application. Cleverly they decided to put the apartment in the name of Nathan’s alter ego Natalie. The Clerk seemed touched by the influence of the Agony Spirit.

The Pack knew this Spirt had to be dealt with before it ruined yet more lives and after settling Tori down in the apartment they preformed the rite of the Sacred Hunt. Sierra tracked the man down to his residince where she discovers the Spirit had Fettered itself to the building. With Nathan’s skills they made their way into the buildings security room.

Tori began the Rite the bind the Spirit to her sword as punishment for its transgressions. The Spirit instant felt the effects of the Rite and set out to end the Uratha. It did not expect Sierra to be present who shifted to Urshul form and began to wrestle with the Spirit. Nathan followed suit tearing at the Spirits arm allowing Sierra to take it to the ground. Tori preformed the Rite chanting in the First Tongue as she pulled the Spirits Essence into her weapon.

In a desperate gambit to escape the Spirit managed to throw Sierra off as Tori neared the completion of the Rite the Spirit managed the throw off Sierra and blast Tori within an inch of her life. Only threw a heroic effort by a Nathan and Sierra was the Spirit neatens back into control allowing Tori to finish the Rite.

The Hunt was successful, vengeance had been sated, and the Territory was secure.

Chapter 5: Gift of Unreality

The Cabal of Mages gathered together after each had an encounter with the Abyss in some form or another, Amy and Thoth each encountered Scelesti Cultist while Kinsey was assailed by some physical manifestation of the Abyss in the form of some kind of spider like monster. After exchanging stories the Cabal set out to the Hollow that Thoth had uncovered.

Making their way to the rooftop they found a circle of blood suffused with Abyssal Resonance and the limp body body of the Cultist who had confronted Thoths days earlier. They deduced that he was neither alive nor dead but rather operating in the confines of his own soul and through some dark power any damage done to his body seemed to instantly restore itself.

As if reacting to their presence the building began to grow weak beneath them only due to Thoths last minute use of Matter was he able to mend the building to the state where it would not collapse under its own weight. As the Cabal made their escape they were confronted by Hydra, Epopt of the Guardians of the Veil. He interrogated them ever so briefly before explaining that the Scelestus had opened his soul over completely to the Abyss rendering his body effectively immortal while a Qliphoth inhabited his soul.

After being sent off by Hydra the Cabal made their way to the Sanctum that increasingly seemed to be a source of their misgivings and retrieved the book the History of Enoch. Bringing the enchanted book to the library of the Mysterium to work through. As Kinsey delved into the pages the book began to worm its way into the mage its Pages bleeding into his flesh. When Amy saw Death magic at work she had enough and looked to Drake the Curator for aid. Utilizing powerful Prime Magic the Curator severed the link between Kinsey and the book. He explained that a Soul seemed to linger in the pages of the book and was attempting the make its way into Kinsey. The book was taken to the secure section of the library.

Thoth learned that the Followers of the Shining One would gather the next day and the Cabal would chase answers.

Chapter 6: The Followers of the Shining One

The Cabal set out to investigate the Followers of the Shining One who were carrying out a large scale effort to feed the disparate population of the city. The cultist put on quite the showing, attracting a large multitude of people, the cultist began to take names and contact information as they processed the crowd. Occasionally one of the lead cultist would pull some individuals setting them aside for some reason.

The Cabal learned that several cars were missing from the caravan of cultist who originally set out from the corporate headquarters of Ardus Enterprises. The Cabal found the three missing vans arrayed around a mausoleum, where some of the cultist seemed takes with carrying five body bags down into the crypts. Using Kinsey’s magic the group snuck into the crypt where they observed someone who must of been one of the leaders of the cultist, the women seemed to have skin like leather stitched and staples together and she seemed to be in commune with a Pyros Furnace, the strange supernatural item had degree of awareness, acting as a weight against the Gauntlet, and seemed to be operating as some sort of networked artifact.

Sensing mounting danger the Cabal retreated when the Pyros Furnace seemed to vaporize the bodies that were arrayed around it. After eluding pursuit by the cultist the group traveled to Ardus Enterprises which they found to be under the effects of a Blight, as well as having an exceptionally thick Gauntlet and housing a form of Locus.

Mercury looked into Ardus and found them to be a multinational corporation with their hands in many industries and closely working with the city on a massive renewal program.

Chapter 7: The Pyros Furnace

The Cabal took a night to recover its strength before setting out again to Cyprus Hills Cemetery to continue their investigation, unsurprisingly they found a man there who was a cultist but also a gravedigger standing vigil over the mausoleum. Through his understanding of the Mind Arcanum Kinsey put the man to sleep opening their path to the artifact.

Thoth deduced that there existed a rather large Thaumium Shell surrounding the Artifact within, likewise Kinsey deduced that the Artifact within held a special affiliation with the Mind Arcanum and deduced that this Artifact was indeed part of a larger network of such artifacts seemingly part of some kind of Arcane Machine.

Thoth and Mercury worked in tandem to take the artifact from its resting place and bring it to the Mysterium Library where the trio meet with the Curator Drake. He seemed less then pleased as he revealed the device to be fairly dangerous containing a chaotic energy he referred to as Pyros within it. After a degree of verbal sparing the Curator agreed to find a place where the device could be safely sheltered in the long term but in the short term he could not house it in the library.

The Cabal was charged by the Curator to bring the device to a contact of his who could safely house the device. After locking the device in the back of a small truck the group set out to drop off the artifact to the upper east side where Drake’s Contact resided. The group was locked in reasonable traffic that made movement tedious and slow.

At some point the Cabal was attacked by a werewolf who seemed intent on taking back the artifact back. He was a young man likely a few years older then Kinsey and Mercury, he bore long red hair and sharp green eyes and was surprisingly strong. Thoth used his magic to reinforce the hull where he and the artifact resided.

Realizing he could not simply steal away with the artifact he used his powers to begin damaging the truck itself while wrestling control with it from Kinsey. Kinsey in kind attempted to use fear to force his attacker away who in kind shifted into the killing form and the roof of the truck began to collapse down. The beast enacted a gift that caused it to exude great terror in the crowed. Only by carefully driving did Kinsey prevent any real damage.

Before the beast could swipe at them Kinsey ushered the creature into a deep sleep and with Thoth and Mercury’s aid the group was able to make it to the home of the Alchemist Rehan.

The older middle eastern man explains that the dangerous Pyros within the artifact could lead to what he referred to as a Firestorm, a storm of nascent chaotic energy. Taking the artifact into his holding Kinsey set out to invade their captives Mind despite Mercury’s protest.

Delving into his mind for answers Kinsey saw an array of these devices before him but as he delved deeper another pressance entered the mind of the werewolf. Best described as Fire given a voice the entity quickly cast Kinsey out attempting to steal his soul only stopped when Mercury took Kinsey’s soul into herself returning it to Kinsey only when the spell seemed to have passed.

A few questions went by the werewolf but no answers were taken as he simple seemed to vanish into thin air.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:10, Tue 28 Apr 2020.

Interlude: Werewolf

The Pack has set out claiming its territory while simultaneously rounding out its numbers with individuals both knowing and not knowing of their involvement with a band of Uratha. Iron Eagle routinely soars through the skies of his Packs new found Territory and yet the Spirit is torn between its dualistic nature for now the Pack has brought order to their Territory it also desires chaos and thus the Spirt searches it out.

Sierra has been busy likewise torn between her nature’s, she has her professional life that sustains her livelihood which doubtlessly take more time then she would like and then she is also the paramount warrior for the Pack. Her Resources and Staff are useful assets to the Pack while many of the people who work for her no nothing of her other nature they would be useful should the Pack need any menial task done. Her personal trainer Evan Kirch is a man of similar age to Sierra, his services would doubtlessly help the Pack develop their physical prowess perhaps refining their ability to fight as much as a human can for one of the Uratha, he also has something of a talent with mush and has a finger on the pulse of the cities nightlife.

Nathan has kept himself busy working in the Packs interest, first and foremost he has kept himself busy getting in touch with some of the members of his old crew, men of particular talents to say the least. First was Elijah Rigby, an ex cop run out by his peers, he has experience with special ordinance, namely explosives which he uses to get places that would normally be inaccessible. Second was the bruiser Harold Burn a mountain of a man with a genuine heart if perhaps not the brightest brain, he works as a bouncer for hire at local night clubs. Nathan has gone further to secure an office front in a large corporate building not far from where Tori now lived lived that could be used for his own business as well as a meeting place for the Pack given its relative size.

Tori spent time trying to knit her life back together and I set coming her guilt, after finishing setting up her new apartment as best she could given her financial situation she went to reconnect with her family, name her aunt and uncle, Kylie and Shane respectively. She was forgiven her transgressions by them, explaining away youthful rage and encouraged her to track down a Lune to attain proper redemption in the eyes of Luna. Reconnecting with her family grounded her chaotic heart to an extent and more importantly gave the Pack contact with more veteran Forsaken for the next time they need guidance. Likewise Tori encounters the strange girl known as Fiona, a southern girl junior to Tori with a knack for hard living and dexterous work having lived in the streets, of coarse this is no ordinary street girl, she is one of the Begotten, a Beast, who formed a close bond with Tori.

The Pack could sense the thunder of the drums of war far north of their territory, sure enough the Pure were now striking out against the Forsaken or perhaps there was something more to their movements, this trouble for now seemed far off for the Pack while they could feel something more was happening just beyond their territory.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:48, Tue 28 Apr 2020.

Chapter 8: The Red Minister

The Pack gathered at Nathan’s new found abode to discuss their future, dubbing their Pack the Red Shadows in the process. As their conversation went on the Pack’s Totem, the Iron Eagle Materialized before them. The Totem explained that it was approached by a Lune on behalf of a Uratha that had intruded upon their Territory. Iron Eagle charged the Uratha with maintaining the integrity of their Territory and find what threat has driven this Uratha into their Territory.

With their still vague knowledge of their Territory in mind the Pack made their way to a Locus which they knew of and that provided some measure of shelter, an ideal spot for a wary Uratha. Making their way to the Locus they were created by a strange man draped in David clothing. Tori was able to sense this man was one of the Ridden, long since possessed by a Spirit of Disease. When Tori attempted to negotiate with the Spirit it responded violently but was quickly laid low by Sierra and Nathan.

They were then greeted by the Storm Lord Julian Rose, he apologized for intruding on the Pack’s territory and that he had been harried by the allies of the Red Minister for a number of days. His Pack he said was charged with the protection of Lunes throughout the city but leading up to the War against the Pure and more so following the conflict, members of the Pack seemed to go missing and Lunes struck down.

Julian said he was all that was left of the Pack and that the Red Minister has forced them into such a vulnerable position but that the final act of his Pack they found the den of the Red Minister. After some conversation the Pack decided to look into the Red Minister themselves.

Making their way to East Harlem, a rundown abandoned apartment building was where the Red Minister made its rancid home. After investigating for some time and Tori inadvertently raising some measure of alarm the Pack departed from the house. With some plying on Julians part the Pack decided to hunt the Red Minister.

Deciding it was best to cull some of the Disease Spirits that we’re doubtlessly allies of the Red Minister, Julian lulled a number of these Spirits into the physical world compelling them to Materialize while Tori struck them with great fear. Killing a score of the Spirits the Pack made ready to ambush the Red Minister.

The battle was an intense one with the Red Minister coming with more escorts then was expected, Sierra eventually engaged in a protracted fight with the Red Minister itself while Nathan, Tori, and Julian dispatched the lesser Hosts and the reinforcements that came to aid the Red Minister.

As the battle turned against the Red Minister it desperately tried to escape but Sierra was relentless chasing down the Host and delivering the killing blow. As rats scurried away beneath their feet and claws, sure enough the Red Minister would return someday in the future but now the hunt was successful and vengeance for the fallen seemed to be had.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:54, Mon 04 May 2020.

Chapter 9: Jaws of the Devourer 

The Red Minister was vanquished but many questions remained to be answered as swarms of rats scurried away from the triumphant Pack in the dying darkness of the night. The Pack agreed to offer the Storm Lord Julian Rose a place in the Pack, he agreed that he would join them once he had observed the proper rituals for his fallen Pack. With the pleasantries set aside the Pack returned to the den of the Red Minister in search of answers.

The first floor seemed to be in an expectedly deplorable state but yielded little of any interest to the Pack and so the Pack made their way to the second floor. Here they found elements of interest to each of them, Tori found a circle that the Red Minister seemed to be using to lure more potent Spirits through the ruined Gauntlet but more ominously she felt that there was something of a rip in reality where that circle sat not different from those obscure places where the Shadow and the world of flesh overlap. Sierra found a collection of identities, which Julian was likewise looking for, records in this ledger date back to the 1880’s, showing the numerous victims of the Red Minister. Nathan found a book written by the Red Minister that holds matriculates records but they were encrypted.

The journal found by Nathan was written over a five year period, from shortly after the last time the Storm Lords vanquished the Red Minister and the time in which the Red Minister was known to have returned. Likely the clandestine affairs of the Red Minister must be inscribed in this book.

Having found all that they could the Pack traveled to the final floor where there was a blasphemous depiction of Plague King, at its heart was the despoiled Locus that the nest devoured. Seeing little cause to bring down the blasphemy the Pack returned to the basement where after some fumbling made their way into the locked room.

While the Pack was preoccupied with breaking into the room a Ghost Wolf Devourer snuck into the nest, using gasoline to lite a fire, and tore down the statue which broke the spiritual balance of the area. Recognizing the risk Sierra and Nathan moved to escape the influence of the Sheol while Tori succumbed to its pull. As the fire raged above Sierra realized the need was dire shifting to the killing form she grabbed the reluctant Tori and tore her pack free from the area.

Greeted by Julian who was outside trying to pry open the storm cellar himself the building was inflames as the Pack made their escape. It was at this time another Uratha approached them offering them answers if they followed him. Seeing little cause to stay the Uratha made a hasty escape.

Making their way to an abandoned church just beyond the northern expanse of their Territory they meet the Blood Talon, Mason Holden. He explained that he had been staking the Ghost Wolf who had set the fire and that this Ghost Wolf had become what is known as a Devourer, which is a Ghost Wolf who gains power through ritual canabalism.

The Devourers he said were based out of Chinatown and that he knew where this one would likely go to lay low. With little time to spare the Pack with Mason made their way to a closed Chinese Restaurant and sure enough encountered the Devourer there. Thanks to numbers they easily subdued the beast. It was then that the the names Yao and Zou were mentioned. Thanks to Tori’s constant provocation the Devourer called upon its talents taking the killing form in an effort to slay Tori.

Inflicting cataclysmic damage to her the Pack rose up in unison with each progressive blow finding its mark on the Devourer until it was laid low. Mason offered to clean up the scene and the Pack would gather after some rest to find out more of the Devourer’s.

Chapter 10: Chinatown Brawl l

Knowing the strain of the fight with the Red Minister would handicap them in the continued conflict with the Devourers the Pack unanimously decided it would be best to take sometime to recover. Leaving Mason to clean up after their first encounter with the Devourer they returned to their lives to recover.

Sierra stuck to her dedicated physical training, as well as working on an album to preserve both her lively hood and her status.

Nathan had a meaningful conversation with Harold, a human from his old crew, a tower of a man, he recruited Harold to work as an employee and tasked him with setting up some cameras.

Tori working under her borrowed alias worked on developing her own business expanding her branches of connections in the community.

Eventually the Pack gathered in Mason’s abandoned church where the Pack discussed the merit of hunting Zou Wuhan, the supposed first of the Devourers or Yao Wuying, an elderly but powerful leader in Chinese organized crime. Agreeing that Zou was the greater threat the Pack targeted the Devourer as they subject of their Hunt.

Making their way to Chinatown and infiltrating Yao’s fortress like home the Pack moved with stealth until reaching the small guest house where Zou resided.

Tori unfortunately failed in maintaining the Packs secrecy as they made their way past the doors of the house and were greeted with a shotgun leveled at them. Tori perhaps trying to make amends for the blunder charged Zou with sword in hand only to be greeted with a spray of lead ruining her sword wielding arm.

With little room left for dialogue battle ensued, Zou assumed a monstrous  Urshul form as Mason took up Tori’s weapon only to quickly be mangled by the colossal Devourer. Sierra quickly assumed Garrou form followed quickly by Tori while Nathan assumed Urshul form, an intense battle broke out as Zou demonstrated hyper regeneration and nearly laid low the Packs warriors but as Tori and Sierra allowed their Rage to take over them they defeated Zou his body mangled and torn.

The battle was loud enough to draw the attention of Yao’s guards, recognizing both Sierra and Tori lost to their Rage Nathan grabbed Mason and withdrew as carnage broke out behind him. Returning several minutes later to find Tori and Sierra surrounded by mangled bodies the Hunt seemed over until Nathan noticed a sickly yellow light coming from where he had left Zou. Making his way Their followed by his Packmates he saw the mangled body knit itself back together, splattered viscera pulling itself into form and mangled limbs returning to normal.

Zou saw the mayhem and almost seemed relieved, he explained that his adoptive uncle Yao forced him to become a Devourer to expand his own agenda. Having some measure of sympathy for Zou’s plight the Pack offered to hear him out. The Devourer desired to remade his curse but also offered to hunt down those who knew his arts as penance. The Pack accepted these terms gathered Mason and withdrew.

Chapter 11: Carnage

Early in the morning Mercury, Thoth, and Kinsey received a quick phone call from Xiphos telling them there had been a development in the investigation in the Followers of the Shining One and gave them an address to meet him at. The Cabal gathered and made their way to the address but not before discussing what they were up to during their time apart.

Mercy decided to remove herself from the Mysterium and joined the Guardians of the Veil under the tutelage of the enigmatic Moros names Enoch who was recently promoted to the position of Counselor following a move by the Hierarch to reorganize the Council to create one more seat. This obviously delivered the Guardians of the Veil considerable influnce in theory as three of the seats on the Council are occupied by members of that Order.

Thoth reflected inwardly somewhat, letting his mind wrestle with the situation that seemed to be developing around the city and the storm that seemed to be coming. He engaged in lengthy conversation with Drake the Curator of the Mysterium’s main library as well as the Obrimos Counselor. Discussing the wayward Artifacts, the Followers of the Shining One, and ultimately the Scelesti Drake agreed to tutor Thoth in the art of Prime magic and perhaps other things as well.

Kinsey found himself thrown to the wolves in almost a literal sense, after his close encounter with the Abyss the Thyrsus mage Vala chose you take him under her wing as it were, both to help and to watch him for reasons that should come as no surprise to any. For Kinsey she supposedly offered a way for him to reconnect with his family in a genuine way but that remains to be seen.

Making their way to Chinatown the Cabal found the address that was given to them to be something of an eastern villa seemingly ransacked by some monstrous thing which Kinsey would eventually correctly seduce to be one of the Uratha. They were greeted by a scene of brutal carnage and the mage named Abaddon Combing through the ruined bodies.

Xiphos explained the man who owned this house was Yao Wuying, a high ranking man in Chinese organized crime that he suspected of having ties to the Followers of the Shining One.

With that Kinsey went forth to aid Abaddon in sorting through their bodies and after concluding that the a Uratha was indeed the cause of these men’s doom they learned that only 11 of 12 bodies were present. Notably Yao was missing and there was no sign of him on the property.

Mercury and Thoth would go on to explore the gruesome temple where human butchery seemed to take place as well as the main house where they uncover the Tristy of the Shining One, apparently a holy text for the cult that made versions allusions to the Awakened, the Supernal, and the transference of consciousness as a means of Ascension and immortality. More over they found a scroll called the Red Scroll of Black Blood that was transcribed in the First Tongue and outlined the mythology of the Devourers and the Rite one must undergo to attain their power.

After reconvening the group came under attack by a small band of Skinthieves lead by one of the Scelesti and after the brief skirmish that saw most of their adversaries escape one Skinthieef remained.

It was only beginning...

Chapter 11: The One Day War

In pursuit of answers the Cabal of Mages consisting of Mercury, Thoth, and Kinsey made their way to the apartment of Tori, Kinsey’s sister and a werewolf with answers to the questions of what happened in Chinatown. Tori explained that her Pack had a violent confrontation with the Devourers. It was revealed by the Mages that the man behind the Devourers Yao was unaccounted for and had a connection to the cult like Followers of the Shining One.

Before long Tori was approached by the Totem Iron Eagle, who explained a nearby Locus was under attack. Jumping to the defense of her territory Tori and the Cabal set out for the Locus where they encounters a cultist preforming some dark rite to befoul the sacred place. The group quickly dispatched the cultist. The phone on the cultist began to ring and it was Yao on the other end of the line vowing to slay not only the Mages but the Uratha as well. In that moment the dead body of the cultist came to life quickly mutating into another form of abyssal spider hybrid and after a more trying struggle bout the creature down.

It was then that Iron Eagle again materialized, informing Tori that the Packs territory was being assailed from three different angles, to the north by the leader of the so called Pure Blood Tide, in the south by a Scelesti and to the East by a warband of Skinthieves.  With little options open to her Tori was quick to mobilize the rest of her Pack and her new found allies to battle these various threats.

Nathan, Mercury, and Fiona Tori’s odd roommate set out to battle the Skinthieves. Their first lead came from Nathan’s contacts in the criminal element leading them to a drug dealer who seemed to have crossed the Skinthieves in some way. Picking up the trail from the gruesome scene the group inadvertently walked into a trap that after a desperate battle and a degree of dumb luck they were able to triumph over the warband. Their leader Juan explained that his people felt betrayed by the Forsaken for some generations old quarrel and that the matriarch of the Skinthieves would soon achieve their vengeance. The taste for blood having left them Juan and the surviving Skinthieves were sent to the hospital certainly taken out of the fight.

Tori, Thoth, and Julian set out to battle the Scelesti in the south who was attempting to open a verge to the Abyss. While his powers were formidable the raw power of the Uratha and the eccentric cunning of Thoth proved to be more then a match for the Scelesti. He made an attempt to corrupt Toth but the mage resisted the promise of power. The Scelesti seemingly meet his end when the Verge he was trying to open collapsed upon him.

Sierra, Kinsey, and Mason set out to confront the champion of the Blood Tide who was trafficking Spirits of Blood into seemingly deceased bodies of homeless people and vagrants. Kinsey in an attempt make quick work of the situation enacted a spell that meet with catastrophic result leading to the manifestation of an abyssal creature of rot. A brief skirmish broke out that saw the creature banished but the trail ran cold leading the group to take some time to find a new lead. While Sierra and Mason set to track their foe Kinsey enacted magic to ease their hunt yet as he did he found himself with little qualms pushing the spells for more power infusing himself and his allies suffused with the desirous power of his Nimbus. Thanks to the outrageous power Kinsey was able to attain at the cost of drawing so much of the Abyss into himself the battle was a quick one with the Blood Tide champion forced to retreat.

With the battles won the victors gathered and discussed what they knew, it seemed the Followers of the Shining One was the glue between all of these groups but only Yao could offer them any clear answers. Mason set out to track down where Yao might be holding out, while the others prepared.

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