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[somekindofsin]

Today's curse is peculiar.  I can't help but wonder if the curses, no matter how random they appear to be, might tell us something about the City itself.

Not incidentally, I've often thought of the City as something of a circus.  I'm not entirely sure who the attractions are, or who the ringmaster might be.  Are we the caged sideshow oddities, or

Comments

[discessum]

That's quite remarkable work, actually. Just how long have you been here?

[somekindofsin]

Thank you!

That... is a very good question. Five months, I believe. No, very nearly six. Admittedly, I don't have as much time to research as I might like, but I certainly hope to make some kind of contribution to our collective understanding of the City.

[discessum]

Seems to me that you've made quite the contribution. It would be a shame if that research wasn't included in the latest guide. Though the statistics are likely to change quite rapidly given how many people enter and exit on a weekly basis.

[somekindofsin]

Oh, I don't put much faith at all in statistics. While the averages tend to remain the same over time, each census would likely differ from the next.

...We've spoken before, haven't we?

[discessum]

Yes. About Marishka.

[somekindofsin]

Ah, yes! The hunter. You don't sound like a hunter, which I mean in an entirely complimentary manner. Most hunters I've known have been rather brusque, not to mention utterly disinterested in information.

[discessum]

My specialty lies with research. Demonology, prophecies, and the like. I'm hardly incapable in battle, but that's simply from the years in the field. Experience can do quite a bit to change a man.

I've never really thought of myself or my friends as 'hunters' per se. We help people. Protect them. And oftentimes hunting a bloodthirsty demon is involved.

[somekindofsin]

A researcher! No wonder! I'm a researcher--in part, anyway--myself, although I've never thought to dabble in prophecies. How much field experience have you had? I can use my own weapons well enough should the need arise, but I can't imagine becoming a proficient fighter. That's admirable.

That's a fine definition of hunters as we know them within the Order. I assume you're not affiliated with the Church or any larger organization?

[discessum]

Field experience? I'd say...six years, give or take?

No. I used to be affiliated with the Watcher's Council, but there's a good chance you've never heard of them.

[somekindofsin]

Oh, well... that would help, I suppose.

No, I haven't heard of them, but I doubt you've heard of the Order. Does this council do anything to limit the influence of the supernatural on human society, by any chance?

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[discessum]

More or less, yes.

The Watcher's Council was based out of England, and they did what they could to combat evil in their...own way. More specifically, when a new Slayer appeared, a Watcher was assigned to be her guide.

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[somekindofsin]

Did their own way involve morally questionable methods? If so, it sounds nearly identical to the Order.

Slayer? Only one?

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[discessum]

Oftentimes, yes.

"Into each generation a girl is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. She is the Slayer."

That's how the prophecy went. A girl imbued with the very essence of a demon. They tend to live very short lives due to their calling, and when one dies, another Slayer is called and assigned to a new Watcher.

Things don't really work that way anymore, though.

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[somekindofsin]

Ah. That's... unfortunate, really. Is it enough, having a single hunter at any given time? I would think the world would be overrun with demons.

No?

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[discessum]

Well there's normally only one Slayer, but of course there are other people who do their part. For instance, Angel ran an agency to help people in another city, which is where I ended up helping out.

Now it's a little more...efficient, I'd think. The Watcher's Council is no more, as most of them were killed. But with a spell, all the current potential Slayers were called at once, creating an army of Slayers.

They're now positioned all over the world, doing their part.

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[somekindofsin]

That makes considerably more sense, thank you. The Slayer isn't the only hunter, then. I must say, you come from a strange world; spells, demons placed inside young ladies...