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sparkindarknessI was going to post this. It isn't a whim. I didn't let my muses win again. Honest.
This is based on an actual RPG game we played for months, any years. And this is them back at the very beginng... awwww... aren't they cute. I almost feel sorry for them considering what they're going to go through. Don't worry, it'll make them stronger.
Anyway, it's based on White Wolf's Mage the Ascension (note copywrites and don't sue me). But should be largely jargon free, if not please scream at me so I can do an edit, I'm too immersed in these games not to realise when I'm using it's own lexicon. Yes, I'm that geeky. I admit it, but don't worry, my therapist says it helps with the axe murdering thing.
I poured out the coffee into the obscenely large mug, sprinkled a few penny sweets around the saucer, and passed it over to the caffeine starved student opposite. She took it as if I’d just given her the holy ambrosia and staggered terribly carefully to a squashy armchair with the rest of her friends around a low dark wood table in one corner of the shop. I watched her until she took the first sip - the effect was like magic. The dark circles that had gathered under her eyes smoothed out instantly. Her skin lost the deathly paleness, she sat up straight, bright and alert and joined in the conversation full of bright enthusiasm and boundless energy. Nothing wakes you up like one of my coffees, nowhere else in the city an come close to competing, and all the students know it. Alright, none of the other coffee shops in the city put magic potions in their coffee, but you show me a trading standards law that bans it.
I know a lot of people would be surprised at finding a Verbena mage serving in a coffee shop. The leaders of the Tradition are hardly happy, and they had so many great expectations of Emrys Fae-touched as well (by the way, anyone calling me fae touched better do it at a run, sounds like I should be in a mnetal institution to me). I should be dancing naked on a moor somewhere, right? Mixing herbs and muttering curses or all calling upon the Allmother or some other new age crap. Well, witch or not, we still got to eat, right? And besides, these days you’re that blatant with your magic and the Technocracy comes down on you. And when Ol’ Irontooth comes to call, you're not usually in much of a state to be doing any dancing. And they crush the standing stones into asphalt and pave the moor while they’re there as well.
Besides, I do good things here, a good deal more than half the spacey new agers who seem to make up half of our tradition now. They sing and dance in the street, what happens? They get sectioned under the mental health act, or people cross the road muttering ‘freak’ under their breath. Oh great, that’s productive. Whereas here I get one massive customer base going, heh, we’ve got three storeys of coffee shop here and it’s still standing room only, at 2:00am. And they’re all seeing the posters around the walls, with their tales of woe from round the world. Famine here, war there, the destruction we cause because we can't be bothered to do anything about. And they see the artwork that glorifies nature far better than any dancing hippy ever could. They see, and learn. There are literally thousands of books in this shop, free for all to read, and believe me, many do. Some of them talk about the environment, some about politics, some about justice. Some detail other cultures and peoples, show people ours is not the only way, not the best way everyone thinks it is. And we have dozens on the occult, all sensible books as well, nothing too flaky. Just a chance that people will realise there’s something more out there. Something better. Something greater.
It’s working. Half the activist groups in the city, and believe me, thanks to us, there are more activist groups in this city than you can shake a stick at. Oh sorry, than you can shake a treble goddess blessed wand at. They all work together, they recruit at an astonishing rate, and they’re making a difference, a real, powerful difference. You find one person within two miles of here who doesn’t recycle, who hasn’t started cycling and walking more, who isn't ready to march in a demonstration or write angry letters, and they’re dead. Even better, from a mage point of view, half the people in the same area are willing to believe there is more to life than we see. They’re willing to accept magic, the spirits, the gods, or God. take your pick, it doesn't matter. They’re willing to believe. For us that is the greatest victory.
Of course, I can’t claim all the credit for our success - success that is getting larger and wider every month I might add. I set up the magical coffee, and work some charms on the potted plants around the shop to make them virtually pulse with life. Makes them easier to tend to, but also lets me put some really exotic plants out. Anything to make people think right?
Nik’s a Cult of Ecstasy, but I don’t hold that against him. Much, anyway. He breaks from the stereotype too - in that it is possible to catch him when he isn't stoned, or drunk or shagging something... well, so he tells me anyway, he's yet to prove this statement though. Still, the guy does have one of the best singing voices I ever heard, and I’ve yet to find an instrument he can't play like a dream. We have a small wooden stage we prop him up on (when it’s possible to get him vertical anyway) on the ground floor. He can get everyone hanging on his every word, just leaning and watching him. Course, that doesn’t sell much coffee, and stops people reading and talking, so we got him to tone it down just a bit. He doesn’t like that much, but he can still pour his magic into his music. Something about still managing to achieve ecstasy through sound, I don’t claim to know how the Cult works. Still, anyone hearing him play has their minds opened just a little; just enough for them to be ready to accept new knowledge, willing to believe a little more and just a little more inclined to act. I sometimes think he only hangs around for the coffee - and occasional healing. Alright unfair, he does more for social justice and equality than I do, he’s really into this ‘universal happiness and mutual ecstasy’ thing. Nah, I don’t know what it means either. Sounds like a very kinky orgy to me.
But it’s his night off tonight. No, correction, tonight he never bothered to show up. Not that it’s a massive surprise or anything, he is pretty flaky. Just file it under the ‘don’t know, don’t want to know’ category and move on.
So the third member of our little coven (and won't the more old fashioned Verbena get pissed at me calling non-Verbena a coven!) is handling the entertainment tonight. Janos doesn’t have anything close to Nik’s musical talent, but he can write, I mean write really well. He’s published books on native cultures, their benefits and how and why aspects of them should be adapted to our daily lives. Was real popular for a while there’s a big movement based around it or something. And he writes mean poetry, can make you cry, laugh, anything. He can make you so angry you want to scream and break something, or so sad you just collapse in your chair sobbing, and that’s without a lick of magic, not bad, right?
Anyway, he also plays the drums, the flute, the pipes and some strange wooden rattle, sometimes along with his poetry (well, not the flute or pipes, obviously). He can talk to the spirits - in fact he can do all sorts with the spirits. Coupled with his specialised knowledge it makes him really cryptic, and hard to work with, but he spreads the word and the spirits are nearly as good as Nik at opening people’s minds. or so he tells me anyway, and I’ve never known him to lie, talk gibberish, yes, but not lie.
So, us few... us happy few against the world. Well not the world. But we hunt the daemon worshipping Nephandi wherever we can, and kill them. No ifs, buts or maybes, some things are beyond debate. We fight against the Technocracy... well we fight them if they force us, and work against them subtly when we can. Anyone picking an open fight with Irontooth is going start hurting on a whole new level. We struggle for good, yeah, I know, a bit over the top, but we push good causes, because believe me, there’s an awful lot out there pushing back. But most of all there’s the sheer apathy of the masses. We’ve got to fight against that, or tomorrow there may not be any magic. No more awakened Avatars, no more wonder, no more choice. Just sterile rigidity and the iron pin striped suits of the Technocracy.
Nah, it’s not us against the world, but it’s close. It certainly feels like it at times.
I drink a mug of my own coffee, drawing upon its energy and turn to the next customer. He has a question about the rainforests.
Small steps, but meaningful ones, right?
This is based on an actual RPG game we played for months, any years. And this is them back at the very beginng... awwww... aren't they cute. I almost feel sorry for them considering what they're going to go through. Don't worry, it'll make them stronger.
Anyway, it's based on White Wolf's Mage the Ascension (note copywrites and don't sue me). But should be largely jargon free, if not please scream at me so I can do an edit, I'm too immersed in these games not to realise when I'm using it's own lexicon. Yes, I'm that geeky. I admit it, but don't worry, my therapist says it helps with the axe murdering thing.
I poured out the coffee into the obscenely large mug, sprinkled a few penny sweets around the saucer, and passed it over to the caffeine starved student opposite. She took it as if I’d just given her the holy ambrosia and staggered terribly carefully to a squashy armchair with the rest of her friends around a low dark wood table in one corner of the shop. I watched her until she took the first sip - the effect was like magic. The dark circles that had gathered under her eyes smoothed out instantly. Her skin lost the deathly paleness, she sat up straight, bright and alert and joined in the conversation full of bright enthusiasm and boundless energy. Nothing wakes you up like one of my coffees, nowhere else in the city an come close to competing, and all the students know it. Alright, none of the other coffee shops in the city put magic potions in their coffee, but you show me a trading standards law that bans it.
I know a lot of people would be surprised at finding a Verbena mage serving in a coffee shop. The leaders of the Tradition are hardly happy, and they had so many great expectations of Emrys Fae-touched as well (by the way, anyone calling me fae touched better do it at a run, sounds like I should be in a mnetal institution to me). I should be dancing naked on a moor somewhere, right? Mixing herbs and muttering curses or all calling upon the Allmother or some other new age crap. Well, witch or not, we still got to eat, right? And besides, these days you’re that blatant with your magic and the Technocracy comes down on you. And when Ol’ Irontooth comes to call, you're not usually in much of a state to be doing any dancing. And they crush the standing stones into asphalt and pave the moor while they’re there as well.
Besides, I do good things here, a good deal more than half the spacey new agers who seem to make up half of our tradition now. They sing and dance in the street, what happens? They get sectioned under the mental health act, or people cross the road muttering ‘freak’ under their breath. Oh great, that’s productive. Whereas here I get one massive customer base going, heh, we’ve got three storeys of coffee shop here and it’s still standing room only, at 2:00am. And they’re all seeing the posters around the walls, with their tales of woe from round the world. Famine here, war there, the destruction we cause because we can't be bothered to do anything about. And they see the artwork that glorifies nature far better than any dancing hippy ever could. They see, and learn. There are literally thousands of books in this shop, free for all to read, and believe me, many do. Some of them talk about the environment, some about politics, some about justice. Some detail other cultures and peoples, show people ours is not the only way, not the best way everyone thinks it is. And we have dozens on the occult, all sensible books as well, nothing too flaky. Just a chance that people will realise there’s something more out there. Something better. Something greater.
It’s working. Half the activist groups in the city, and believe me, thanks to us, there are more activist groups in this city than you can shake a stick at. Oh sorry, than you can shake a treble goddess blessed wand at. They all work together, they recruit at an astonishing rate, and they’re making a difference, a real, powerful difference. You find one person within two miles of here who doesn’t recycle, who hasn’t started cycling and walking more, who isn't ready to march in a demonstration or write angry letters, and they’re dead. Even better, from a mage point of view, half the people in the same area are willing to believe there is more to life than we see. They’re willing to accept magic, the spirits, the gods, or God. take your pick, it doesn't matter. They’re willing to believe. For us that is the greatest victory.
Of course, I can’t claim all the credit for our success - success that is getting larger and wider every month I might add. I set up the magical coffee, and work some charms on the potted plants around the shop to make them virtually pulse with life. Makes them easier to tend to, but also lets me put some really exotic plants out. Anything to make people think right?
Nik’s a Cult of Ecstasy, but I don’t hold that against him. Much, anyway. He breaks from the stereotype too - in that it is possible to catch him when he isn't stoned, or drunk or shagging something... well, so he tells me anyway, he's yet to prove this statement though. Still, the guy does have one of the best singing voices I ever heard, and I’ve yet to find an instrument he can't play like a dream. We have a small wooden stage we prop him up on (when it’s possible to get him vertical anyway) on the ground floor. He can get everyone hanging on his every word, just leaning and watching him. Course, that doesn’t sell much coffee, and stops people reading and talking, so we got him to tone it down just a bit. He doesn’t like that much, but he can still pour his magic into his music. Something about still managing to achieve ecstasy through sound, I don’t claim to know how the Cult works. Still, anyone hearing him play has their minds opened just a little; just enough for them to be ready to accept new knowledge, willing to believe a little more and just a little more inclined to act. I sometimes think he only hangs around for the coffee - and occasional healing. Alright unfair, he does more for social justice and equality than I do, he’s really into this ‘universal happiness and mutual ecstasy’ thing. Nah, I don’t know what it means either. Sounds like a very kinky orgy to me.
But it’s his night off tonight. No, correction, tonight he never bothered to show up. Not that it’s a massive surprise or anything, he is pretty flaky. Just file it under the ‘don’t know, don’t want to know’ category and move on.
So the third member of our little coven (and won't the more old fashioned Verbena get pissed at me calling non-Verbena a coven!) is handling the entertainment tonight. Janos doesn’t have anything close to Nik’s musical talent, but he can write, I mean write really well. He’s published books on native cultures, their benefits and how and why aspects of them should be adapted to our daily lives. Was real popular for a while there’s a big movement based around it or something. And he writes mean poetry, can make you cry, laugh, anything. He can make you so angry you want to scream and break something, or so sad you just collapse in your chair sobbing, and that’s without a lick of magic, not bad, right?
Anyway, he also plays the drums, the flute, the pipes and some strange wooden rattle, sometimes along with his poetry (well, not the flute or pipes, obviously). He can talk to the spirits - in fact he can do all sorts with the spirits. Coupled with his specialised knowledge it makes him really cryptic, and hard to work with, but he spreads the word and the spirits are nearly as good as Nik at opening people’s minds. or so he tells me anyway, and I’ve never known him to lie, talk gibberish, yes, but not lie.
So, us few... us happy few against the world. Well not the world. But we hunt the daemon worshipping Nephandi wherever we can, and kill them. No ifs, buts or maybes, some things are beyond debate. We fight against the Technocracy... well we fight them if they force us, and work against them subtly when we can. Anyone picking an open fight with Irontooth is going start hurting on a whole new level. We struggle for good, yeah, I know, a bit over the top, but we push good causes, because believe me, there’s an awful lot out there pushing back. But most of all there’s the sheer apathy of the masses. We’ve got to fight against that, or tomorrow there may not be any magic. No more awakened Avatars, no more wonder, no more choice. Just sterile rigidity and the iron pin striped suits of the Technocracy.
Nah, it’s not us against the world, but it’s close. It certainly feels like it at times.
I drink a mug of my own coffee, drawing upon its energy and turn to the next customer. He has a question about the rainforests.
Small steps, but meaningful ones, right?