For anyone who ISN'T on the Garou lists...the plotbombs
[Note that there's a lot of repetition between the Kinfolk & Garou versions]
Garou version
From: Caroline Pearson
Date: Mon Sep 6, 2004 11:51 am
Subject: Phoenix's Call to Arms
[To: UK Garou; London, Runnymede, Hatfield, Berks, Edinburgh lists. DSTs should be forwarding to the remainder]
Plotkit for all Shifters going live in 5....4....3....2...1...NOW!
Dear all,
We're now reaching some very Interesting Times TM in the chronicle. Hold on tight, because the ride's about to get rough.
To those of you who thought you had plenty of time to buy up that brawl and melee before the big fights began...it's time to make use of what you've got.
As the DJ says - time for the Badman.
Caroline Pearson
UK ANST Garou
***
[IC, ALL _SHIFTERS_ - Kin have their own version, email me for a copy if you're not on UK-Kinfolk]
Lunchtime.
Monday afternoon.
11.50am.
A September day, a working week.
Blue skies. Smoke drifting gently.
The hairs on the back of your neck prickle, and time itself seems to slow. This is the nexus point, destiny lines snarled into an indecipherable knot.
[Please read appropriate bit, depends on where your character would be - at a caern, alone in the umbra, or alone in the realm, before continuing reading downn from the point marked 'ALL']
[Caerns]
The realms are close here - you and the other garou at the caern find
yourselves slipped sideways into the umbra. The sky of the middle Umbra goes dark - and stays dark - and the face of Luna turns as blood - only the light of the two Red Stars shines out. A wave of heat washes over you and the entire sky is filled by a long, harsh, utterly frightening howl. Soon afterwards, you hear a beating of wings, and a crackle of fiery heat. From the skies, like a meteor, comes a creature of flame, landing before you - a bird of flame.
[Loner in the umbra]
The skies of the umbra around you go dark, stay dark, and Luna's face
turns blood red, only the light of the Red Stars shines out. A wave of heat washes over you, and the entire sky is filled by a long, harsh, utterly frightening howl, making you long for the safety of caern and pack. Soon afterwards, you hear a beating of wings, and a crackle of fiery heat. From the skies, like a meteor, comes a creature of flame, landing before you - a bird of flame.
[Those in the realm & not at caerns]
You feel a sudden dread in your heart, a sudden fear. The mortal world drifts away from you, like an reverse-run animation of iron filings being drawn to a magnet. None seem to be moving unnaturally or with undue haste...there is simply an expanding aura of emptyness around you. A separation, a stillness.
As all witnesses depart, you hear a beating of wings, and a crackle of fiery heat.
You are drawn through the umbra - and there is no time to look around you, for in front of you, drawing your gaze, filling you with fear and awe, is a massive bird of flame.
[ALL]
The Phoenix. She looks upon you for a long moment, youth and eternity in her alien eyes, igniting such emotion that you do not know whether to laugh or cry, and simply remain still - waiting, listening:
"Hear me, all in Gaia's service, and note my words! All is now revealed to you, who have waited so patiently and so long. I am reborn, and with my rebirth my prophecy is complete!"
"You saw my first sign: the decimation of your kin. Hunted beyond hunting, death beyond death, to the last one. There are no more children, or grandchildren, or fathers, or mothers. This has come to pass, for there are no more spirit souls being born!"
"You saw my second sign: the Children of the Weaver birthing. A great tide of Humans, rising, more and more until Gaia groans at having to carry them all. Their houses overrun all, their rakes rape the soil, their hands claw at the parched earth trying to feet from Her. This has come to pass, as disease and starvation run more rampant than ever before, and billions of the humans walk Gaia's land."
"You saw my third sign: The many children of the humans fall against each other, one to one, and the Wyrm brings forth corruption and gives each a measure. The strange Fire out of control rises in a plume above the wilderness, spreading death to any who stand too close to its light in the dark cold land. The sea keens in agony as a black death spreads out upon her, loosed by a drunken fool. This has also come to pass, the wars humans wage upon each other, the use of chemicals and diseases upon each other, the nuclear fires and the many corruptions of oil spills and other damage left upon Gaia's face."
"You saw my fourth sign: The Wyrm grows powerful, its wings fanning the breezes of decay to spread horrible diseases, diseases of the head and the blood. Children are born twisted and animals fall sick with none to cure them. Even the changing breeds cannot escape this! Many children are born with physical defects or the things they are subjected to bring mental defects. Animals die of madness and death. A great disease of the blood scours the peoples of the world and leaves millions of children without mothers and fathers. All this has come to pass!"
"You saw my fifth sign: plumes rising like death-spears into the beautiful sky, piercing it and letting Helios burn and parch Gaia. The air grows hot and even the winters are becoming warmer. Plants wither in places where they once thrived! The forests die in pain! These plumes are not nuclear fire, though, but columns of hot waste and acid rain, burning holes in the protective shield of the sky and warming the earth too fast, all too fast! This has come to pass!"
"You saw my sixth sign, as Gaia shakes in rage, and fire boils up from beneath her, ash covering the sky. The Wyrm comes forth from the shadows made by these and prepares to strike. The old ones are gone and the Guardians of the Pathways and Crossroads are finished. You form packs with quests and sacred journeys. All these have come to pass as you have seen the upheavals in the Umbra, the true soul of Gaia, and the disappearance of the oldest and most revered of the Fera. The Nuwisha no longer perform their sacred task, hunted down by the Wyrm. This has come to pass!"
"TODAY IS THE DAY OF THE SEVENTH SIGN. LISTEN, SERVANTS OF GAIA, FOR THE APOCALYPSE HAS BEGUN!"
"The cry that you heard is the manifestation of the Wyrm in full in the Near Umbra, right up against Gaia's breast! He is here, but he is not ready to strike. You still have a little time left to prepare. Take word back to all Garou and tell them to prepare. Some of you will be called to the Apocalypse plain in Battleground when the time comes, while others will stay home to defend their Caerns and Kin. But know you this: when the battle is fully joined, there will be only one place, the plain of Apocalypse. All Caerns will become as one with them, and all those with spirit halves will be drawn into the Umbra. There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. You must stand and fight! This is what Gaia made you for!"
"THOUGH THESE PROPHECIES I KNEW AGES AGO HAVE COME TO PASS, AND THESE ARE THE LAST DAYS, THIS IS NOT AS IT SHOULD BE. THERE IS STILL TIME TO CHANGE WHAT COULD BE."
"Gaia's sons and daughters, your mother depends upon you now. Great
victories have already been won. Eshtarra, Summer and Pangaea sit together and plan their strategies, all saved by you. Most of the Great Klaives and many other fetishes have been recovered. Many spirits have been rescued, such as Meros. The Siege of Temple Canyon showed you that you can all persevere. You have kept safe the pieces of Green Dragon hidden among you. You kept the Wyrm from developing great weapons in Scar, and you recovered hidden knowledge from the Abyss. There have also been defeats. The fall of many of the planetary Incarnae, some of whom joined the enemy, as well as
the loss of the Legendary Realm. The loss of Cockroach and Griffin, though their tribes continue on under new totems."
"Gaia's sons and daughters, the Wyrm would not be fighting so hard if it thought it had already won! When it struggles, know that it does so because it fears you! The harder it fights, the more it shows its fear!"
"Take heart in this, but do not become overconfident. We must do all we can. Today that means you must scout this place, this battlefield, for it will be the heart of the conflict, the place where the Wyrm tried to kill the world but was banished by one tribe with a sacred duty. Find the places where you can defend, find the places where you can attack, seek out allies as you are able. This is the ground where the fate of the world will be decided. Learn it! I go now to spread the warning everywhere."
"KEEP YOUR FAITH IN EACH OTHER AND IN GAIA, AND DO YOUR DUTY TO HER AND ALL IN HER WORLD THAT LIVES, BREATHES AND HOPES!"
"ARISE, GAROU NATION! YOUR HOUR AS WARRIORS IS AT HAND!"
With this, Phoenix rockets up into the sky on columns of flame, and your eyes adjust to the darkness of the umbra.
When you next step sideways into the realm, you will become aware of the extent of the change - both realm & umbra are visible to you, permanently overlaid. The Umbra does not become light again, and as such, it is like walking around in a permanent twilight, even when the sun of the realm is still shining brightly.
Any other effects are likely to become obvious all too soon.
Kinfolk version
Lunchtime.
Monday afternoon.
11.50am.
A September day, a working week.
The beginning of the academic year.
Blue skies. Smoke drifting gently.
The clock ticks, there's a smell of new paint.
Remember this moment.
Your life is about to change forever.
The hairs on the back of your neck prickle, and time itself seems to
slow. This is the nexus point, destiny lines snarled into an indecipherable knot. People drift away from you, like an reverse-run animation of iron filings being drawn to a magnet. For a moment, you wonder at the ominous simplicity of it - none seem to be moving unnaturally or with undue haste...there is simply an expanding aura of emptyness around you. A separation, a stillness.
As all witnesses depart, as whatever you are doing ceases to become
important, you hear a beating of wings, and a crackle of fiery heat.
The world around you blurs - a moment of whirling storm, chattering
blizzard-voices, scraping of fingernails across some cosmic
blackboard, of feeling as though you are pushing through treacle - a long moment, that lasts for eternity, lasts for a heartbeat, then you are through.
There is no time to look around you, for in front of you, drawing your gaze, filling you with fear and awe, is a massive bird of flame. The Phoenix. She looks upon you for a long moment, youth and eternity in her alien eyes, igniting such emotion that you do not know whether to laugh or cry, and simply remain still - waiting, listening, ignoring all else.
"Hear me, all in Gaia's service, and note my words! All is now
revealed to you, who have waited so patiently and so long. I am reborn, and with my rebirth my prophecy is complete!"
"You saw my first sign: the decimation of your kin. Hunted beyond
hunting, death beyond death, to the last one. There are no more children, or grandchildren, or fathers, or mothers. This has come to pass, for there are no more spirit souls being born!"
"You saw my second sign: the Children of the Weaver birthing. A great
tide of Humans, rising, more and more until Gaia groans at having to carry them all. Their houses overrun all, their rakes rape the soil, their hands claw at the parched earth trying to feet from Her. This has come to pass, as disease and starvation run more rampant than ever before, and billions of the humans walk Gaia's land."
"You saw my third sign: The many children of the humans fall against
each other, one to one, and the Wyrm brings forth corruption and gives each a measure. The strange Fire out of control rises in a plume above the wilderness, spreading death to any who stand too close to its light in the dark cold land. The sea keens in agony as a black death spreads out upon her, loosed by a drunken fool. This has also come to pass, the wars humans wage upon each other, the use of chemicals and diseases upon each other, the nuclear fires and the many corruptions of oil spills and other damage left upon Gaia's face."
"You saw my fourth sign: The Wyrm grows powerful, its wings fanning
the breezes of decay to spread horrible diseases, diseases of the head and the blood. Children are born twisted and animals fall sick with none to cure them. Even the changing breeds cannot escape this! Many children are born with physical defects or the things they are subjected to bring mental defects. Animals die of madness and death. A great disease of the blood scours the peoples of the world and leaves millions of children without mothers and fathers. All this has come to pass!"
"You saw my fifth sign: plumes rising like death-spears into the
beautiful sky, piercing it and letting Helios burn and parch Gaia. The air grows hot and even the winters are becoming warmer. Plants wither in places where they once thrived! The forests die in pain! These plumes are not nuclear fire, though, but columns of hot waste and acid rain, burning holes in the protective shield of the sky and warming the earth too fast, all too fast! This has come to pass!"
"You saw my sixth sign, as Gaia shakes in rage, and fire boils up from beneath her, ash covering the sky. The Wyrm comes forth from the
shadows made by these and prepares to strike. The old ones are gone and the Guardians of the Pathways and Crossroads are finished. You form packs with quests and sacred journeys. All these have come to pass as you have seen the upheavals in the Umbra, the true soul of Gaia, and the disappearance of the oldest and most revered of the Fera. The Nuwisha no longer perform their sacred task, hunted down by the Wyrm. This has come to pass!"
"TODAY IS THE DAY OF THE SEVENTH SIGN. LISTEN, SERVANTS OF GAIA, FOR
THE APOCALYPSE HAS BEGUN!"
"The cry that you heard is the manifestation of the Wyrm in full in
the Near Umbra, right up against Gaia's breast! He is here, but he is not ready to strike. You still have a little time left to prepare. Take word back to all Garou and tell them to prepare. Some of you will be called to the Apocalypse plain in Battleground when the time comes, while others will stay home to defend their Caerns and Kin. But know you this: when the battle is fully joined, there will be only one place, the plain of Apocalypse. All Caerns will become as one with them, and all those with spirit halves will be drawn into the Umbra. There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. You must stand and fight! This is what Gaia made you for!"
For a moment, you wonder whether the message is truly meant for you.
Whether you missed the cry She speaks of because you were not in the
umbra, or whether it was only for Garou ears...
"THOUGH THESE PROPHECIES I KNEW AGES AGO HAVE COME TO PASS, AND THESE
ARE THE LAST DAYS, THIS IS NOT AS IT SHOULD BE. THERE IS STILL TIME TO CHANGE WHAT COULD BE."
"Gaia's sons and daughters, your mother depends upon you now. Great
victories have already been won. Eshtarra, Summer and Pangaea sit
together and plan their strategies, all saved by you. Most of the Great Klaives and many other fetishes have been recovered. Many spirits have been rescued, such as Meros. The Siege of Temple Canyon showed you that you can all persevere. You have kept safe the pieces of Green Dragon hidden among you. You kept the Wyrm from developing great weapons in Scar, and you recovered hidden knowledge from the Abyss. There have also been defeats. The fall of many of the planetary Incarnae, some of whom joined the enemy, as well as
the loss of the Legendary Realm. The loss of Cockroach and Griffin,
though their tribes continue on under new totems."
"Gaia's sons and daughters, the Wyrm would not be fighting so hard if
it thought it had already won! When it struggles, know that it does so because it fears you! The harder it fights, the more it shows its
fear!"
"Take heart in this, but do not become overconfident. We must do all
we can. Today that means you must scout this place, this battlefield,
for it will be the heart of the conflict, the place where the Wyrm tried to kill the world but was banished by one tribe with a sacred duty. Find the places where you can defend, find the places where you can attack, seek out allies as you are able. This is the ground where the fate of the world will be decided. Learn it! I go now to spread the warning everywhere."
"KEEP YOUR FAITH IN EACH OTHER AND IN GAIA, AND DO YOUR DUTY TO HER
AND ALL IN HER WORLD THAT LIVES, BREATHES AND HOPES!"
"ARISE, GAROU NATION! YOUR HOUR AS WARRIORS IS AT HAND!"
With this, Phoenix rockets up into the sky on columns of flame, and as your eyes adjust the world around you without Her light, you realise that a change is occurring.
Shadows have fallen, and an eclipse, red and dark and horrifying is
creeping across the face of the moon. Cold winds begin to rise with
terrifying speed as penumbra twists around you, and once again, you
are drawn back into the realm.
Into a strange new world.
Realm and umbra are married together. Cockroach-spirits and commuters
walk together, bloody banes and bovver-boys, world intermeshed, overlaid.
Welcome to the beginning of the end.
***
OOC Notes
A long time ago you made a decision, something you chose to be kin of
the Garou, Gaia's warriors.
You have just wandered into a huge piece of international metaplot,
the clarion call has been heard and the final battle approaches. Welcome to the oncoming apocalypse. Gaia has just given you your call-up papers - you got drafted.
From now on, although [by habit] as Kinfolk you still walk in the Realm rather than the umbra, both are visible to you, overlaid. The Umbra does not become light again, and as such, it is like walking around in a permanent twilight, even when the sun of the realm is still shining brightly.
Any other effects are likely to become obvious all too soon.
OOC notes
From: Caroline Pearson
Date: Mon Sep 6, 2004 11:52 am
Subject: OOC: Phoenix's Call to Arms/Through a Glass Darkly - effects
OOC: Please read through the following information on after effects of the plotbomb that's just gone out - this has revelance to both Garou and Shifters:
* The Umbra, the Realm, and the Gauntlet:
All Shapeshifters and their Kinfolk exist in the Middle Umbra at all
times. In effect, the Gauntlet has partially dropped for such creatures. While they may still cross the Gauntlet to appear in the real world, they also remain in the Umbra at the same time. Thus a Werewolf walking along a road would be able to see the Umbra-side only Bane coming at him, but the human walking next to the Werewolf would see no Bane at all.
The umbra is permanently dark. Since, in the realm, you perceive both
realms, it will be like walking round with dark glasses - you can tell the sun *is* bright, but it's muted by the overlay of night from the umbra.
* All Cub characters:
Please check in with your DST immediately, they have stuff to run with you.
There may well be other effects, but these are for your DSTs to announce to you.
Caroline
ANST Garou
Garou version
From: Caroline Pearson
Date: Mon Sep 6, 2004 11:51 am
Subject: Phoenix's Call to Arms
[To: UK Garou; London, Runnymede, Hatfield, Berks, Edinburgh lists. DSTs should be forwarding to the remainder]
Plotkit for all Shifters going live in 5....4....3....2...1...NOW!
Dear all,
We're now reaching some very Interesting Times TM in the chronicle. Hold on tight, because the ride's about to get rough.
To those of you who thought you had plenty of time to buy up that brawl and melee before the big fights began...it's time to make use of what you've got.
As the DJ says - time for the Badman.
Caroline Pearson
UK ANST Garou
***
[IC, ALL _SHIFTERS_ - Kin have their own version, email me for a copy if you're not on UK-Kinfolk]
Lunchtime.
Monday afternoon.
11.50am.
A September day, a working week.
Blue skies. Smoke drifting gently.
The hairs on the back of your neck prickle, and time itself seems to slow. This is the nexus point, destiny lines snarled into an indecipherable knot.
[Please read appropriate bit, depends on where your character would be - at a caern, alone in the umbra, or alone in the realm, before continuing reading downn from the point marked 'ALL']
[Caerns]
The realms are close here - you and the other garou at the caern find
yourselves slipped sideways into the umbra. The sky of the middle Umbra goes dark - and stays dark - and the face of Luna turns as blood - only the light of the two Red Stars shines out. A wave of heat washes over you and the entire sky is filled by a long, harsh, utterly frightening howl. Soon afterwards, you hear a beating of wings, and a crackle of fiery heat. From the skies, like a meteor, comes a creature of flame, landing before you - a bird of flame.
[Loner in the umbra]
The skies of the umbra around you go dark, stay dark, and Luna's face
turns blood red, only the light of the Red Stars shines out. A wave of heat washes over you, and the entire sky is filled by a long, harsh, utterly frightening howl, making you long for the safety of caern and pack. Soon afterwards, you hear a beating of wings, and a crackle of fiery heat. From the skies, like a meteor, comes a creature of flame, landing before you - a bird of flame.
[Those in the realm & not at caerns]
You feel a sudden dread in your heart, a sudden fear. The mortal world drifts away from you, like an reverse-run animation of iron filings being drawn to a magnet. None seem to be moving unnaturally or with undue haste...there is simply an expanding aura of emptyness around you. A separation, a stillness.
As all witnesses depart, you hear a beating of wings, and a crackle of fiery heat.
You are drawn through the umbra - and there is no time to look around you, for in front of you, drawing your gaze, filling you with fear and awe, is a massive bird of flame.
[ALL]
The Phoenix. She looks upon you for a long moment, youth and eternity in her alien eyes, igniting such emotion that you do not know whether to laugh or cry, and simply remain still - waiting, listening:
"Hear me, all in Gaia's service, and note my words! All is now revealed to you, who have waited so patiently and so long. I am reborn, and with my rebirth my prophecy is complete!"
"You saw my first sign: the decimation of your kin. Hunted beyond hunting, death beyond death, to the last one. There are no more children, or grandchildren, or fathers, or mothers. This has come to pass, for there are no more spirit souls being born!"
"You saw my second sign: the Children of the Weaver birthing. A great tide of Humans, rising, more and more until Gaia groans at having to carry them all. Their houses overrun all, their rakes rape the soil, their hands claw at the parched earth trying to feet from Her. This has come to pass, as disease and starvation run more rampant than ever before, and billions of the humans walk Gaia's land."
"You saw my third sign: The many children of the humans fall against each other, one to one, and the Wyrm brings forth corruption and gives each a measure. The strange Fire out of control rises in a plume above the wilderness, spreading death to any who stand too close to its light in the dark cold land. The sea keens in agony as a black death spreads out upon her, loosed by a drunken fool. This has also come to pass, the wars humans wage upon each other, the use of chemicals and diseases upon each other, the nuclear fires and the many corruptions of oil spills and other damage left upon Gaia's face."
"You saw my fourth sign: The Wyrm grows powerful, its wings fanning the breezes of decay to spread horrible diseases, diseases of the head and the blood. Children are born twisted and animals fall sick with none to cure them. Even the changing breeds cannot escape this! Many children are born with physical defects or the things they are subjected to bring mental defects. Animals die of madness and death. A great disease of the blood scours the peoples of the world and leaves millions of children without mothers and fathers. All this has come to pass!"
"You saw my fifth sign: plumes rising like death-spears into the beautiful sky, piercing it and letting Helios burn and parch Gaia. The air grows hot and even the winters are becoming warmer. Plants wither in places where they once thrived! The forests die in pain! These plumes are not nuclear fire, though, but columns of hot waste and acid rain, burning holes in the protective shield of the sky and warming the earth too fast, all too fast! This has come to pass!"
"You saw my sixth sign, as Gaia shakes in rage, and fire boils up from beneath her, ash covering the sky. The Wyrm comes forth from the shadows made by these and prepares to strike. The old ones are gone and the Guardians of the Pathways and Crossroads are finished. You form packs with quests and sacred journeys. All these have come to pass as you have seen the upheavals in the Umbra, the true soul of Gaia, and the disappearance of the oldest and most revered of the Fera. The Nuwisha no longer perform their sacred task, hunted down by the Wyrm. This has come to pass!"
"TODAY IS THE DAY OF THE SEVENTH SIGN. LISTEN, SERVANTS OF GAIA, FOR THE APOCALYPSE HAS BEGUN!"
"The cry that you heard is the manifestation of the Wyrm in full in the Near Umbra, right up against Gaia's breast! He is here, but he is not ready to strike. You still have a little time left to prepare. Take word back to all Garou and tell them to prepare. Some of you will be called to the Apocalypse plain in Battleground when the time comes, while others will stay home to defend their Caerns and Kin. But know you this: when the battle is fully joined, there will be only one place, the plain of Apocalypse. All Caerns will become as one with them, and all those with spirit halves will be drawn into the Umbra. There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. You must stand and fight! This is what Gaia made you for!"
"THOUGH THESE PROPHECIES I KNEW AGES AGO HAVE COME TO PASS, AND THESE ARE THE LAST DAYS, THIS IS NOT AS IT SHOULD BE. THERE IS STILL TIME TO CHANGE WHAT COULD BE."
"Gaia's sons and daughters, your mother depends upon you now. Great
victories have already been won. Eshtarra, Summer and Pangaea sit together and plan their strategies, all saved by you. Most of the Great Klaives and many other fetishes have been recovered. Many spirits have been rescued, such as Meros. The Siege of Temple Canyon showed you that you can all persevere. You have kept safe the pieces of Green Dragon hidden among you. You kept the Wyrm from developing great weapons in Scar, and you recovered hidden knowledge from the Abyss. There have also been defeats. The fall of many of the planetary Incarnae, some of whom joined the enemy, as well as
the loss of the Legendary Realm. The loss of Cockroach and Griffin, though their tribes continue on under new totems."
"Gaia's sons and daughters, the Wyrm would not be fighting so hard if it thought it had already won! When it struggles, know that it does so because it fears you! The harder it fights, the more it shows its fear!"
"Take heart in this, but do not become overconfident. We must do all we can. Today that means you must scout this place, this battlefield, for it will be the heart of the conflict, the place where the Wyrm tried to kill the world but was banished by one tribe with a sacred duty. Find the places where you can defend, find the places where you can attack, seek out allies as you are able. This is the ground where the fate of the world will be decided. Learn it! I go now to spread the warning everywhere."
"KEEP YOUR FAITH IN EACH OTHER AND IN GAIA, AND DO YOUR DUTY TO HER AND ALL IN HER WORLD THAT LIVES, BREATHES AND HOPES!"
"ARISE, GAROU NATION! YOUR HOUR AS WARRIORS IS AT HAND!"
With this, Phoenix rockets up into the sky on columns of flame, and your eyes adjust to the darkness of the umbra.
When you next step sideways into the realm, you will become aware of the extent of the change - both realm & umbra are visible to you, permanently overlaid. The Umbra does not become light again, and as such, it is like walking around in a permanent twilight, even when the sun of the realm is still shining brightly.
Any other effects are likely to become obvious all too soon.
Kinfolk version
Lunchtime.
Monday afternoon.
11.50am.
A September day, a working week.
The beginning of the academic year.
Blue skies. Smoke drifting gently.
The clock ticks, there's a smell of new paint.
Remember this moment.
Your life is about to change forever.
The hairs on the back of your neck prickle, and time itself seems to
slow. This is the nexus point, destiny lines snarled into an indecipherable knot. People drift away from you, like an reverse-run animation of iron filings being drawn to a magnet. For a moment, you wonder at the ominous simplicity of it - none seem to be moving unnaturally or with undue haste...there is simply an expanding aura of emptyness around you. A separation, a stillness.
As all witnesses depart, as whatever you are doing ceases to become
important, you hear a beating of wings, and a crackle of fiery heat.
The world around you blurs - a moment of whirling storm, chattering
blizzard-voices, scraping of fingernails across some cosmic
blackboard, of feeling as though you are pushing through treacle - a long moment, that lasts for eternity, lasts for a heartbeat, then you are through.
There is no time to look around you, for in front of you, drawing your gaze, filling you with fear and awe, is a massive bird of flame. The Phoenix. She looks upon you for a long moment, youth and eternity in her alien eyes, igniting such emotion that you do not know whether to laugh or cry, and simply remain still - waiting, listening, ignoring all else.
"Hear me, all in Gaia's service, and note my words! All is now
revealed to you, who have waited so patiently and so long. I am reborn, and with my rebirth my prophecy is complete!"
"You saw my first sign: the decimation of your kin. Hunted beyond
hunting, death beyond death, to the last one. There are no more children, or grandchildren, or fathers, or mothers. This has come to pass, for there are no more spirit souls being born!"
"You saw my second sign: the Children of the Weaver birthing. A great
tide of Humans, rising, more and more until Gaia groans at having to carry them all. Their houses overrun all, their rakes rape the soil, their hands claw at the parched earth trying to feet from Her. This has come to pass, as disease and starvation run more rampant than ever before, and billions of the humans walk Gaia's land."
"You saw my third sign: The many children of the humans fall against
each other, one to one, and the Wyrm brings forth corruption and gives each a measure. The strange Fire out of control rises in a plume above the wilderness, spreading death to any who stand too close to its light in the dark cold land. The sea keens in agony as a black death spreads out upon her, loosed by a drunken fool. This has also come to pass, the wars humans wage upon each other, the use of chemicals and diseases upon each other, the nuclear fires and the many corruptions of oil spills and other damage left upon Gaia's face."
"You saw my fourth sign: The Wyrm grows powerful, its wings fanning
the breezes of decay to spread horrible diseases, diseases of the head and the blood. Children are born twisted and animals fall sick with none to cure them. Even the changing breeds cannot escape this! Many children are born with physical defects or the things they are subjected to bring mental defects. Animals die of madness and death. A great disease of the blood scours the peoples of the world and leaves millions of children without mothers and fathers. All this has come to pass!"
"You saw my fifth sign: plumes rising like death-spears into the
beautiful sky, piercing it and letting Helios burn and parch Gaia. The air grows hot and even the winters are becoming warmer. Plants wither in places where they once thrived! The forests die in pain! These plumes are not nuclear fire, though, but columns of hot waste and acid rain, burning holes in the protective shield of the sky and warming the earth too fast, all too fast! This has come to pass!"
"You saw my sixth sign, as Gaia shakes in rage, and fire boils up from beneath her, ash covering the sky. The Wyrm comes forth from the
shadows made by these and prepares to strike. The old ones are gone and the Guardians of the Pathways and Crossroads are finished. You form packs with quests and sacred journeys. All these have come to pass as you have seen the upheavals in the Umbra, the true soul of Gaia, and the disappearance of the oldest and most revered of the Fera. The Nuwisha no longer perform their sacred task, hunted down by the Wyrm. This has come to pass!"
"TODAY IS THE DAY OF THE SEVENTH SIGN. LISTEN, SERVANTS OF GAIA, FOR
THE APOCALYPSE HAS BEGUN!"
"The cry that you heard is the manifestation of the Wyrm in full in
the Near Umbra, right up against Gaia's breast! He is here, but he is not ready to strike. You still have a little time left to prepare. Take word back to all Garou and tell them to prepare. Some of you will be called to the Apocalypse plain in Battleground when the time comes, while others will stay home to defend their Caerns and Kin. But know you this: when the battle is fully joined, there will be only one place, the plain of Apocalypse. All Caerns will become as one with them, and all those with spirit halves will be drawn into the Umbra. There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. You must stand and fight! This is what Gaia made you for!"
For a moment, you wonder whether the message is truly meant for you.
Whether you missed the cry She speaks of because you were not in the
umbra, or whether it was only for Garou ears...
"THOUGH THESE PROPHECIES I KNEW AGES AGO HAVE COME TO PASS, AND THESE
ARE THE LAST DAYS, THIS IS NOT AS IT SHOULD BE. THERE IS STILL TIME TO CHANGE WHAT COULD BE."
"Gaia's sons and daughters, your mother depends upon you now. Great
victories have already been won. Eshtarra, Summer and Pangaea sit
together and plan their strategies, all saved by you. Most of the Great Klaives and many other fetishes have been recovered. Many spirits have been rescued, such as Meros. The Siege of Temple Canyon showed you that you can all persevere. You have kept safe the pieces of Green Dragon hidden among you. You kept the Wyrm from developing great weapons in Scar, and you recovered hidden knowledge from the Abyss. There have also been defeats. The fall of many of the planetary Incarnae, some of whom joined the enemy, as well as
the loss of the Legendary Realm. The loss of Cockroach and Griffin,
though their tribes continue on under new totems."
"Gaia's sons and daughters, the Wyrm would not be fighting so hard if
it thought it had already won! When it struggles, know that it does so because it fears you! The harder it fights, the more it shows its
fear!"
"Take heart in this, but do not become overconfident. We must do all
we can. Today that means you must scout this place, this battlefield,
for it will be the heart of the conflict, the place where the Wyrm tried to kill the world but was banished by one tribe with a sacred duty. Find the places where you can defend, find the places where you can attack, seek out allies as you are able. This is the ground where the fate of the world will be decided. Learn it! I go now to spread the warning everywhere."
"KEEP YOUR FAITH IN EACH OTHER AND IN GAIA, AND DO YOUR DUTY TO HER
AND ALL IN HER WORLD THAT LIVES, BREATHES AND HOPES!"
"ARISE, GAROU NATION! YOUR HOUR AS WARRIORS IS AT HAND!"
With this, Phoenix rockets up into the sky on columns of flame, and as your eyes adjust the world around you without Her light, you realise that a change is occurring.
Shadows have fallen, and an eclipse, red and dark and horrifying is
creeping across the face of the moon. Cold winds begin to rise with
terrifying speed as penumbra twists around you, and once again, you
are drawn back into the realm.
Into a strange new world.
Realm and umbra are married together. Cockroach-spirits and commuters
walk together, bloody banes and bovver-boys, world intermeshed, overlaid.
Welcome to the beginning of the end.
***
OOC Notes
A long time ago you made a decision, something you chose to be kin of
the Garou, Gaia's warriors.
You have just wandered into a huge piece of international metaplot,
the clarion call has been heard and the final battle approaches. Welcome to the oncoming apocalypse. Gaia has just given you your call-up papers - you got drafted.
From now on, although [by habit] as Kinfolk you still walk in the Realm rather than the umbra, both are visible to you, overlaid. The Umbra does not become light again, and as such, it is like walking around in a permanent twilight, even when the sun of the realm is still shining brightly.
Any other effects are likely to become obvious all too soon.
OOC notes
From: Caroline Pearson
Date: Mon Sep 6, 2004 11:52 am
Subject: OOC: Phoenix's Call to Arms/Through a Glass Darkly - effects
OOC: Please read through the following information on after effects of the plotbomb that's just gone out - this has revelance to both Garou and Shifters:
* The Umbra, the Realm, and the Gauntlet:
All Shapeshifters and their Kinfolk exist in the Middle Umbra at all
times. In effect, the Gauntlet has partially dropped for such creatures. While they may still cross the Gauntlet to appear in the real world, they also remain in the Umbra at the same time. Thus a Werewolf walking along a road would be able to see the Umbra-side only Bane coming at him, but the human walking next to the Werewolf would see no Bane at all.
The umbra is permanently dark. Since, in the realm, you perceive both
realms, it will be like walking round with dark glasses - you can tell the sun *is* bright, but it's muted by the overlay of night from the umbra.
* All Cub characters:
Please check in with your DST immediately, they have stuff to run with you.
There may well be other effects, but these are for your DSTs to announce to you.
Caroline
ANST Garou