Welcome to Gaia! ::

Dagoth laughed hard and shot the Butler a cheeky grin he hadn't used in a while, giving Jan a long nod the pirate grabbed his duffel up and checked everything for the last time.

"I understand Jan and thanks. Give my best to Cookie for me. See ya around."

He waved as he excited the mansion, stretching from his toes right up to his head in one long curve of his back. Dagoth dug out the PDA and flicked through to the location of the target, the grin spread across his face that area he knew very well. Dropping the PDA back into the bag he began his walk into Durem, the pirate didn't own any transport nor did he want to borrow one the walk would do him good.

As he walked he started muttering to himself, his voice was very sing-song despite the hushed tones. Dagoth felt the warmth of the sun rise against his skin, he even stopped for a moment to enjoy the sites before returning to his long walk into the city.

"Every morning there's a halo hanging from the corner of my girlfriend's 4-post bed. I know it's not mine but I'll see if I could use it for the weekend or a one night stand"

Naturally, Corbin would find Jan waiting in the hall as he arrived. For the one part, Roan had informed Jan he was headed home, and for the second, the security around the mansion was better than that at the hunter's arcade, and picked up his approach before he even hit the drive, despite his speed.

"Welcome back sir. Ah, I see the young guest is sleeping. May I perchance liberate her from you sir, and bid you speed to the Lady's suite? I believe she is keen to hear your full report, young master."

And, like always, Jan seemed to have a drink on hand, proferring a silver tray with a single goblet of vitae on it towards Corbin as he requested the witch be passed off to himself for safe keeping.

"Come."

Pushing back from her desk, she stood up as Corbin entered and went to the drinks cabinet.

"No new holes? Good. That means I only have to worry about you talking out your a** instead of any other new orifices."

Unlocking the walnut panelled doors at the base of the unit, she rooted through several ornate bottles before selecting one and bringing it to the fairly clear desk, nodding to Corbin to sit down in the chair opposite.
As she uncorked the bottle, the scent of elder vitae filled the room, especially as she commenced to pour two glasses and settled back.

"So. Report, please. Everything you saw, all that occurred. Even the little details will matter to me."




Meanwhile, Jan was installing Daegonna into one of the rooms on the second floor, ensuring that the room was secure, and lockable. Before he left however, he administered a salve to her burned wrists, and wet bandages. These would be changed every 2 - 4 hours as his time permitted, until she woke.

She watched in silence, steepling her fingers before her as the scene unravelled, having no issue having an illusion cast on herself to let her see in real time what had occurred.

Her expression remained neutral throughout, only the odd eye twitch showing her particular interest in certain points.
Only after he was fully done did she speak, her voice calm and even.

"Gabriel is a rank. So is Michael, though I believe Gabriel is the higher of the two. A high enough rank to worry me at any rate. Though I can understand your logic, it was very very unwise to describe me to them. The Von Helsons are noisy and stupid enough to keep hunters from my back, but back in the USA and Europe? There are those who suspect, or even believe I am not just an eccentric heiress.

More of them will come, once their Gabriel reports back. They will investigate Ice and Bailey and it will come to the attention of those higher up.
I doubt they will stay at the arcade now. For one thing, the corpse of the one you killed was downstairs, but you masqueraded as him upstairs. the story wont tie up, and they wont have killed the one you used as a decoy. They never kill unless they have to - final death tells them nothing. A subject to torment into telling all he knows is much more valuable. Even if only for living dissection. The only way to find out more about how we work, after all.

On the upside, I know what their starting response was, and how they will react. Plus, you brought home someone we can find out more from. All in all... a reasonable start."

She didn't yell at him. He was young and inexperienced and she'd expected things could and would go awry, even without him meaning it to. What was most important was he had come back whole, and hopefully learned from the experience, just as she had learned the one thing she had actually wanted to know - were these guys genuine SOL and taking it seriously? Answer? Yes. Truth was, even without Corbin giving away her presence in the area, they;d have been stepping up their operations anyway after watching the Von Helsons for even a short while. They were as unsubtle as an elephant in a tutu.

"You would have only let me down if you under performed my expectations. You did not. In fact, you exceeded them.

I expected you to be hot headed, impulsive, and end up going both active, and having to step in to save your a** in a worst case scenario.
Instead, you answered the query I wanted investigated, you walked out of the lion's den unmarked, and you did some learning too.

Where I come from, that's called a success. Believe me, had you failed me, you'd be hurting bad enough to know about it. For days to come."

Smiling, she selected one of her preferred smokes, leaning over to catch a light off him as he lit up. In doing so, she had to half stand once again, and perhaps now it mattered, Corbin would note she was in fact fully armed, as if expecting a fight. No doubt, a fight she had thought he may end up in.

"No one is ever perfect first time out, and even on the millionth run, mistake happen because real life doesn't follow a script or rules. What matters is how you deal with things.

So. What do you think we should do next, Corbin? We know they are in the area, and they will figure out where we are soon enough. They will get reinforcements, and they already have someone who could seriously mess one or both of us up. What measures would you take?"

Roan's rules #1. Everything is a test.

"While a good offence is often the best defence, in this case, it would be a pointless waste of resources. Even if we take them out, the reinforcements will still arrive, and the more deaths cause, the more people will continue to be sent here and while in time we COULD make it no longer worth their while to throw so many men on the pyre, it would mean a protracted campaign against a foe very likely to give us unacceptable losses in turn.

Thus, directing them elsewhere is wise, as is reinforcing our own position defensively to keep them out. We will enact a threefold plan therefore. Firstly, I will take on more grounds staff, and you will assist in training them in appropriate weapons drill for combat readiness. Secondly, we will cause enough chaos in Barton they will leave Durem alone to focus on the problem on their doorstep. And thirdly, we will tail them to find their new base."

Smoking slowly as she reeled off the plan, she nodded at the areas he had noted for himself. But she had a vision beyond that, beyond what he had considered so far.

"They will bring in leaders who know my history. These are the people we will have to eradicate. Otherwise, we will face an informed assault from a full scale force. But we have a few months before that I should think. And they will underestimate us at first, I guarentee it."

She did not answer his derailed question, glossing over it as if he hadn't spoken of it. While she did not have Ferago on her person, it was a part of her, summonable in an instant, and its prisoner as keen to avoid discussing Amatsu as Roan herself.

"I do not know how far along their research into Kindred has come. Perhaps another avenue of confusion could be sown by ensuring they find a myriad of lesser vampiric species to muddy the waters of understanding, and thus let them not realise how easy they could have dispelled your illusions.

For example, Sheik Najjar IS indeed a Vampyr of some renown in Arabia, not Prussia, whose single wayward spawn out of about 10 has created a goodly few idiots here in Gaia. His kind works very differently to our own, and throwing a few more of the youngblood fools to the wolves would not only serve us, but could give us some political clout with the Sheik in the future. He is less than proud of what Dimitri has done.

I will think on it. For now, feed and rest. Its been a busy evening and we will have your new friend to interrogate when she wakes. Hopefully to better and less painful effect than her erstwhile landlords."

Roan dismissed him with those words, leaving him to seek less palatable but more readily available vitae downstairs. Truthfully, what she had given him tonight was indeed weaker than her own bloodline, seeing as she had littler understanding of exactly how Magra worked for Corbin. And even less trust in it all.

She did have a few parting words though, as he exitted the doors....

"Corbin? Do not seek the sword. The more you know of it... the more it will seek you. Stay safe, childe."

Extract from 'Stars of the East: Gods of the Orient':


"...of creationist legend. Among these, Amatsu-Mikaboshi is prehaps one of the more enigmatic of characters, with little of the character's background through human society documented.

Amatsu-Mikaboshi is known by several names, including Ame-no-Kagaseo, meaning 'the brilliant male'. Indeed, a direct translation of his common name into Romanised understanding would call him the 'August Star of Heaven'. It has therefore been speculated by socio-historical psychologists that Amatsu-Mikaboshi likely has some similar background as the archangels of Christian mythos, possibly originating in common belief around the same time.

It is known that Amatsu-Mikaboshi is believed to be an evil entity, drawing on the power of the stars in which to persecute the innocent, and to wage an enternal war with the thunder deity, Take-Mikazuchi. As with many Japanese myths, the context of such conflicts are often lost upon the western audience..."


Extract from 'Living With Possession: A Medium's Guide to Exorcism':

"...among the many forms of possession one may encounter, prehaps the most insidious comes from those demons of the east, seeking mortal vessels with which to continue eons old feuds. Many have been the possessions I have witnessed in which the possessed has gained the ability to speak another language and a degree of violent tendancy previously unseen in them.

Most ferocious of these was a case witnessed in Nottingham, in which a young woman became insensible with rage towards a local soldier, attempting to decapitate him with a sword. The young woman was quoted as believing the man to be the embodiment of 'The Evil Star God', and my own observations only confirmed my suspicion that she had become to puppet of an Eastern nature deity. Sadly this was not a case I was able to resolve myself, but many cases of similar nature have been handled by my agency. Here are some tips from different cases I have handled..."


Extracts from unknown text, hand bound, multiple sources:

"In the beginning, the celestial and mortal planes were separate. Only intent flowed between the two...

As the war in the celestial vault escalated, so it was mimicked by the men of earth, anger suffusing a chaotic land...

The gods chose to create a haven, a heaven, a place of golconda for man, a place for which to strive. And to do this, the evil deeds in their hearts were to be purged...

Sun God Ho-Masubi lead the way. In his spilled blood, the fire Daemon leapt and sprang with life, and was banished to the earth below. The others followed...

Last came Izanagi and Izanami. The stars and sky wept with their blood, and the final Daemons leapt forth. Amatsu-Mikaboshi and Take-Mikazuchi, strongest of Daemons, eternal enemies, at war as they were banished...

Man would earn his right to the Celestial plane, through defeat of the evil set upon the world. Great weapons forged by Ho-Masubi were sent to the greatest warriors, to aid in this task of the gods. Order would be brough to chaos, to defeat the mighty gods.
Many were the battles, and varied the outcomes...

...great war spilled across the untamed lands and the Daemon force gained in number and prowess. Lesser demons were drawn into the great armies of the Daemon-Gods, through contests of might and guile.
And yet, it would be contests between the Daemon Lords that gave man his chance at victory. A great war between the thunder lord and the star born god raged back and forth, weakening the Daemon line...

...in time the Daemons lay defeated, and bound to the weapons of their defeat, warping all that was good in them to twisted visions of their evil and destruction. Order and law spread across the world, and the Celestial plane opened to the noble dead.
Wise Izanagi opened a third plane, of darkness and chaos, for those who resembled the mighty daemons, and condemned them to the suffering they had earned in life. Thus did the three planes bring balance...

"Ah, but there is so much mere written words cannot say...."