God is Spanish IC: The Machinery of Heaven

[Thanqol]

If you are going to sin, sin against God, not the bureaucracy. God will forgive you but the bureaucracy won't.
- Hyman G. Rickover

God is Spanish
A game of Mage: The Awakening

In Spain, there is a town called Salamanca.

In Salamanca, there is a graveyard. Small and crumbling, old stonework crosses and dry weeds waiting to catch fire.

In the graveyard is a crypt. There is no name on the door, just a number and a date: #40328-111111 1/1/1902-27/1/2017.

In the crypt is a man. He wears a suit, is covered in dust and is surrounded by moth-balls and cigarette butts. The man is humming a tune. The tune is not important. Neither are the cigarette butts. These unimportant things have been logged.

In front of the man is an alarm clock. It is big and expensive and clockwork and manufactured in 1898. Next to the alarm clock is a small bottle of lubrication oil and a small clockwork repair kit. There is also a digital watch, which is also unimportant.

In the alarm clock are gears. They are ticking down through their final cycle now. Ten. Nine. Eight. Eight point zero zero zero four - the eight gear is imprecisely calibrated. 7.0004. 6.0004. 5.0004. 4.0004. 3.0004. 2.0004. 1.0004. 0.0004.

The man in the crypt in Salamanca swears.

The alarm clock rings.

The man picks up a shovel. He digs up a coffin. This takes him an hour but time is no longer important. The man uses a key to open all four of the padlocks on the coffin. All four locks use the same key, although one jams a little and requires jiggering. It takes him eighteen minutes to open all the locks. The man opens the coffin. Inside the coffin are forty five cranes, slender and black-feathered, crammed in like sardines. The man produces a plastic bag filled with hair and empties it over the cranes. Then the cranes exit through the open door of the crypt. This takes two minutes and eighteen seconds.

In Salamanca, there is another man. This man works in security for an international firm. He has three dogs and is considering getting a fourth. This is not important. Today the man is being attacked by cranes. It takes them eight minutes forty five seconds to kill him. In the international firm a letter has just arrived on his desk to ask him to conduct a background check on a new hire. As the man has been murdered by cranes he is not positioned to perform this background check. Due to the recent performance based management system that has been implemented in the company the regional manager will not wait for security before engaging the new staff member. This is not important.

What is important is that the security man's spouse has a history of and genetic predisposition towards violent mental illness. Upon learning of the actions of the cranes he fractures, and accordingly, becomes suggestible. He receives a red envelope in the mail addressed from the Inquisition. Inside is a cassette manufactured in 1941 and a typed note promising answers. On the cassette are instructions. The spouse follows these instructions. The operation concludes successfully.

Followup operations will begin shortly.

~

Awakenings are like birthday parties. Some of them are private, intimate experiences, either held in solitary self reflection or close connection with a small group of friends. The Wise hate these ones because it makes new Mages really hard to find. The more popular Awakenings are like more popular birthday parties, with invitations sent out in advance, alcohol purchased by the barrel, and sprawling out across the whole neighbourhood so that by 1am everyone is either at the party or burying their heads under the pillow hating everyone who is.

We are looking at option two.

A new Mage is happening and it's an Event. Magic is spilling out everywhere. It's an Obrimos Awakening, the raw incredible force of the Aether manifesting in freak and wild weather and awesome magical phenomena. Any symbol or icon that contains power visibly glows. Things are bright or black, like the contrast slider is being turned up. The merest caress of a car's accelerator adds 40km/ph to your speed instantly. Things, in a word, are wack.

And you, ladies and gentlemen of the University, have been sent out to make first contact and see if you can get this sh*t under control. Your drive to the suburbs is getting terrifying fast. There's a great dane made out of celestial fire chasing your car and barking furiously. What do you do?

[Matthias]

"On the contrary," says Luis, as his uncannily alive 2003 Renault careens over a curb, then rapidly turns to blast entirely through a fence, "I am perfectly dressed to serve as a representative of the Salmantin magical community." The next fence is a set of Heavenly pearly gates burning with invisible fire; they politely open. "Not only would putting on something more 'presentable' waste precious time, but it would be dishonest! I am dressed as an entirely accurate and typical member of the One Nation that is the Wise, that is, as someone with far better things to interact with over the next week than sunlight or other human beings!" The car full of wizards whips around a tabernacle-mailbox glowing with draconic runes.

Luis' aforementioned diplomatic uniform consists of a pair of boxer briefs in the Republican tricolor, a tee with the face of Louis Althusser that says "DERRIDA," cannabis ashes scattered liberally over both, and a pair of sneakers. The sneakers are not paired with socks and are furiously employed in experimenting with and recallibrating the Renault's newfound ability to do more than sputter. Some of the cannabis ashes are spontaneously relighting and singing his skin.

"You all, by contrast, look deceptively well-adjusted! Okay if we were plowing through a jungle right now, but I am told that the Obrimos can see through lies!"

[Silent_Interim]

Irene growled as she tried to lower the window of the back seat door.

"Luis, this is why nobody takes you seriously. I'm not asking you to dress up- I'm just asking you to wear pants," she grunted as she worked at the window, "For the sake of my sanity. There are things no woman or man alive should be exposed to, and I count you in boxers among them." She swore as the window jammed. "Do you want to die while not wearing pants, Luis? Oh, what the hell am I asking, of course you do. Remind me to punch you later."

Giving up, Irene opened the door of the car, letting it swing out dangerously. She leaned out into the wind, hair whipping randomly, and began to focus. Breathing exercises, rapid but controlled, pulled her pulse to a manageable level and her mind to the task at hand.

Hoping she'd be heard, she shouted back into the car. "I'm going to slow down the dog! You guys try and get the car under control!"
She pulled her car antenna from her pocket, extending it with a swift flick of the wrist.
"Bad dog! STAY BACK. STOP MOVING."

[Using the sample spell Ground-Eater in reverse to slow the dog down. Dice pool of Gnosis 2+Space 3=5. Practice: Compelling, Primary Factor: Potency, Withstand: Stamina. Space of 3, one-dot Practice, 3 free reach. Spending one reach to decrease casting time to instant, one to increase Range to Sensory, and one to increase Duration to Advanced. Potency increased by Space-1, so Potency is now at 3. Using the path tool of the antenna for an iron rod for a +1 Yantra. No Mana spending. No Paradox incurred. Dice pool is at 6, Potency is at 3 Standard, Range is Sensory, Duration is one scene.]

[aetherialDawn]

Adan mixes several moments of intense fear - Luis' particular style of driving is somehow made all the more terrifyingly exciting when the car involved is trailing fire, and frankly the pursuing canine shape is nearly calming in comparison - with a few moments of admiration for the sheer spectacle; beams of sunlight pour forth from between the roiling stormclouds, illuminating and then purifying stains on the world as simple as a bit of cracked paint. "The Cabal will surely thank you for setting easily-met expectations," he says, "and watch the stoplight, I think it's unlucky." Said traffic signal shines brightly from every light, concerned more with illumination than with guiding cars.

Adan's own 'diplomatic gear' is his best black shirt and slacks, paired with an actual tie and sunglasses - the entire outfit a contrast in every way to Luis and born of a whim that morning, now tinged with regret for not examining it more closely. He's riding shotgun, hands twitching with every impulse to reach over and take the wheel from his friend. Surely it couldn't be any worse - it's only a matter of time until Luis finds an excuse to ramp off something.

After a couple more cycles of aborted reaching for the wheel, he clasps his hands for a moment and reaches out for strands of probability instead, muttering, "You just like getting me to bless your driving skills, don't you?" Maybe if he can stop worrying about crashing and burning (mostly burning,) he'll have a chance to just admire the scenery. This is the Supernal come down to Earth, after all - chances like this don't come along every day.

[Using Adan's Rote for Exceptional Luck (Ruling of Fate) to attract good luck, because we're going to need it. Gnosis 1, Fate 3, and Occult 3 as a rote Yantra. The primary factor is Potency, and Reaching for Instant Casting (1), Sensory Range (1), Advanced Duration (1), and Advanced Scale (1). Not spending dice to increase any spell factors, so assuming all goes as planned it's a Potency 3 Boon, lasting a scene, affecting Adan, Luis, Irene, and Camille. It grants Charmed, Steadfast for driving, and 9-again for three mundane rolls each. No base Mana cost, no base Paradox, dicepool is probably around 7 dice.
Charmed and Steadfast are both in Mage core.]

[The_Snark]

"Do not expect me to feel sorry for you if you are smote," Camille informs Luis frostily from the other back seat. "It will be no-one's fault but your own."

As much as she normally enjoys sniping at Luis, her heart isn't really in it right now. If today is a party, then Camille is the irate student next door who has an exam early tomorrow. This is her first true glimpse of the Aether, that high and holy realm which mankind can only touch in dreams and visions. She's always imagined it like the ringing words in her grandmother's church, when she was young and still believed; or like the ardor in the voice of a really good Ladder orator, the kind who can make you feel what they feel even if you hate them.

Now, seeing with it her own eyes, she can't help but think that it's... garish. All light and color and sound, raucous and noisome, like standing amidst a fireworks show. Patterns leap out and impress themselves forcefully upon the senses. Beautiful, maybe, but in a clumsy sort of way; tasteless; almost hostile. It assails the soul and demands awe. She doesn't like it.

She almost wants to close her eyes, ignore the chaos and wonder until the others find who they're looking for. Almost. But while Camille's capacity for petty spite is considerable, it can't quite beat out her curiosity. Besides, maybe this will be less dizzying through Stygian eyes.

[Mage Sight!]

[Matthias]

"Xena, if you really want me to wear pants, I think we're the same size!'

Luis spins the car the wrong way through a roundabout surrounding a glowing plinth. Decades ago, it had been defaced with graffiti no one (in this neighborhood) disagreed with enough to remove. Years ago, the bronze equine statue of some Nationalist general had been removed from it. Hours ago, some many-eyed things had taken up shop and started singing. The angels are singing hymns of prosecution or defense. The general is rampant on his horse, encouraging the assembled host to stand with God, Spain, and himself. The runic graffiti swirls around him as a prison, hammers and penises and sickles and profane invocations of Higher Law. The 2003 Renault narrowly avoids a headlong collision into an Opel Corsa.

"I am not in fact Jacques Derrida, as the text on this shirt would imply," says Louis Althusser. "I am Louis Althusser, an uxoricide, a crime calling out for vengeance by the laws of gods and..."

"¿SO DO WE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS WIZARD BABY?" asks the other Luis over the supernal Truths being offered by his shirt.

"Irony is lying without taking responsibility for the lying, and men such as myself are not to be glorified," continues the tee. "If Luis were honest about separating my theoretical insights from my person he would not have emblazoned..."

"LIKE DID DIEGO SEND AN INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING OR WHATEVER."

[aetherialDawn]

"Nothing I was told of! If anyone was tracking them, they're probably as surprised as we are!" Adan half-shouts, volume a little more moderate (and harder to hear for it, but audible above the chorus at least,) grateful for the sunglasses that let him feel like he has some control over this overflowing of light, sound, and truth. Very little can drive home that there is the Supernal and then there is the Supernal like and Obrimos, but he discards that thought for leading to unpleasant memories.
The sunglasses don't help, of course. But the intent behind them is a nice thing to have.

Finishing his spell, Adan ends up peering at the graffiti to try and ignore the oncoming traffic. It's odd to see it being woven - no, not woven, this is a different world. The graffiti being hammered into shapes of Truth is oddly mesmerizing, but as the car pulls away along a road that warps and grindingly shifts towards parallel with a ley line one of the apprentices was ranting about last week - and won't that throw someone's charts to disarray - Adan manages to add as an afterthought, "Maybe not quite as surprised as we are. Hey, I'm going to take a closer Look, if you want to do the same driver has to warn us first this time."

He expects to end up half-blind and probably all-deaf for trying to look deeper into the Aether in flood - it's coming through strong enough as it is, but when will he get another chance like this? Not until next year? Never?

[Going from Peripheral to Active Mage Sight, spending a mana to add Prime in addition to Fate/Time. 9/10 Mana, probably.]

[Silent_Interim]

The wind whistled by, carrying away most of what Luis said before Irene could hear it. Not all of it, though.

Irene slammed the door shut as she pulled herself back in. "You wish you could wear my size of pants," she muttered. She stopped dead as the realization hit her.

"Are you really trying to hit on me at a time like this? I'd be disgusted if it were anyone else. As it is, I think I'm just annoyed."

She looked out the window. A thought struck her. What were the Shadow and the Gauntlet doing right now? This was a unique opportunity. Spirits must be going wild.

"I'm going to get us a look at the spirits. Brace yourselves."

[Reflexive action to move to Active Mage Sight, Space and Mind only. Then, using Irene's Rote of Exorcist's Eye to look at the spirits around (Practice: Unveiling, Primary Factor: Duration) Gnosis 2, Spirit 1, Yantra of Occult 1 for a dice pool of 4. Reaching for Instant Casting (1), Advanced Duration (2), Advanced Scale (3), Sensory Range (4) and the included spell Reach effect of being able to see across the Gauntlet into the Shadow (5). Adding Mind 1 to apply the effect to any Goetia. Not spending any dice to increase spell factors. All going well, Irene, Adan, Camille and Luis will be able to see any spirits or Goetia in the area, including (If the Gauntlet is weak enough, Potency of 1 Withstood by the Strength of the Gauntlet) any in the Shadow, for the next scene. No Mana costs are incurred, no Paradox is risked, dice pool of 4.]

[Thanqol]

Irene growled as she tried to lower the window of the back seat door.

"Luis, this is why nobody takes you seriously. I'm not asking you to dress up- I'm just asking you to wear pants," she grunted as she worked at the window, "For the sake of my sanity. There are things no woman or man alive should be exposed to, and I count you in boxers among them." She swore as the window jammed. "Do you want to die while not wearing pants, Luis? Oh, what the hell am I asking, of course you do. Remind me to punch you later."

Giving up, Irene opened the door of the car, letting it swing out dangerously. She leaned out into the wind, hair whipping randomly, and began to focus. Breathing exercises, rapid but controlled, pulled her pulse to a manageable level and her mind to the task at hand.

Hoping she'd be heard, she shouted back into the car. "I'm going to slow down the dog! You guys try and get the car under control!"
She pulled her car antenna from her pocket, extending it with a swift flick of the wrist.
"Bad dog! STAY BACK. STOP MOVING."

[Using the sample spell Ground-Eater in reverse to slow the dog down. Dice pool of Gnosis 2+Space 3=5. Practice: Compelling, Primary Factor: Potency, Withstand: Stamina. Space of 3, one-dot Practice, 3 free reach. Spending one reach to decrease casting time to instant, one to increase Range to Sensory, and one to increase Duration to Advanced. Potency increased by Space-1, so Potency is now at 3. Using the path tool of the antenna for an iron rod for a +1 Yantra. No Mana spending. No Paradox incurred. Dice pool is at 6, Potency is at 3 Standard, Range is Sensory, Duration is one scene.]

[Resistance attribute is 2, potency reduced to 1, speed reduced by 1]

The spell takes effect - but it's so subtle you hardly notice it. For a creature of fire and lightning distance is something to be consumed and putting just a little bit more in its mouth isn't going to choke it. It's still catching up and you've only purchased a couple more seconds.

Therein lies a strange truth about magic: The hardest thing to do is assault another pattern directly. Brute force magical attacks like this are frequently the least effective techniques possible. True power comes from complex control of the environment and the surrounding world - fraying someone's pattern with Death is far less effective than using that same spell to bring down a roof on their head.

After a couple more cycles of aborted reaching for the wheel, he clasps his hands for a moment and reaches out for strands of probability instead, muttering, "You just like getting me to bless your driving skills, don't you?" Maybe if he can stop worrying about crashing and burning (mostly burning,) he'll have a chance to just admire the scenery. This is the Supernal come down to Earth, after all - chances like this don't come along every day.

[Using Adan's Rote for Exceptional Luck (Ruling of Fate) to attract good luck, because we're going to need it. Gnosis 1, Fate 3, and Occult 3 as a rote Yantra. The primary factor is Potency, and Reaching for Instant Casting (1), Sensory Range (1), Advanced Duration (1), and Advanced Scale (1). Not spending dice to increase any spell factors, so assuming all goes as planned it's a Potency 3 Boon, lasting a scene, affecting Adan, Luis, Irene, and Camille. It grants Charmed, Steadfast for driving, and 9-again for three mundane rolls each. No base Mana cost, no base Paradox, dicepool is probably around 7 dice.
Charmed and Steadfast are both in Mage core.]

So, you just cast a spell for good luck - I'm curious as to what, exactly, Athanasius thinks that is? How does he conceptualize good luck? What are desirable endgoals that luck can grant you? Is it something as undefined as 'success' or is there a particular idea of what counts as a positive outcome? Getting there first? Health and safety? What are the biases that go into saying you want to be lucky?

Now, seeing with it her own eyes, she can't help but think that it's... garish. All light and color and sound, raucous and noisome, like standing amidst a fireworks show. Patterns leap out and impress themselves forcefully upon the senses. Beautiful, maybe, but in a clumsy sort of way; tasteless; almost hostile. It assails the soul and demands awe. She doesn't like it.

She almost wants to close her eyes, ignore the chaos and wonder until the others find who they're looking for. Almost. But while Camille's capacity for petty spite is considerable, it can't quite beat out her curiosity. Besides, maybe this will be less dizzying through Stygian eyes.

[Mage Sight!]

Death Sight gives you absolutely nothing. This is a realm where Death does not exist at all - when one form or pattern is pierced or shattered it erupts instantly into a beautiful new form. A hawk swoops down to grasp a rabbit and the rabbit shatters and becomes a constellation around the moon. When the brake is hit the car's speed doesn't die, it sloughs off the car in waves and colases into a man who sprints onwards. Energy without entropy.

Matter Sight remains dull, predictable and useful. That is a car made of steel and plastic with a current market value of $18,000. That is a house made out of Columbian timber with an improper water seal leading to buildup of moisture inside the wall cavity. That celestial firebird is wearing a cargo shirt worth $1.55 of fabric. Just the facts.

Finishing his spell, Adan ends up peering at the graffiti to try and ignore the oncoming traffic. It's odd to see it being woven - no, not woven, this is a different world. The graffiti being hammered into shapes of Truth is oddly mesmerizing, but as the car pulls away along a road that warps and grindingly shifts towards parallel with a ley line one of the apprentices was ranting about last week - and won't that throw someone's charts to disarray - Adan manages to add as an afterthought, "Maybe not quite as surprised as we are. Hey, I'm going to take a closer Look, if you want to do the same driver has to warn us first this time."

He expects to end up half-blind and probably all-deaf for trying to look deeper into the Aether in flood - it's coming through strong enough as it is, but when will he get another chance like this? Not until next year? Never?

[Going from Peripheral to Active Mage Sight, spending a mana to add Prime in addition to Fate/Time. 9/10 Mana, probably.]

Fate is a big one here. There is Destiny involved; big and heavy and deliberate. This doesn't have the narrative beats of a conclusion or even a beginning - it seems like this entire Event is setup for larger actions. As with all Destinies, there is a Ban and you can see this clearly: When you run out of enemies, you will create new ones.

Time, like Matter, is a Gross Arcana. It's strangely unconcerned with matters of the Supernal, it just pays attention to the flow of time. Mostly time is fairly predictable and dull but after a few moments concentration here you come to the conclusion that time is off 0.0004 seconds. All the timing of everything happening everywhere is off by the most subtle of margins. There's a flaw in the perfect machinery of heaven.

Prime, however, is clearly the most useful of Arcanum in this situation; it's the Magic of Magic and this is magic itself. The only problem is that the amount of information is dizzyingly huge; ask more specific questions.

The wind whistled by, carrying away most of what Luis said before Irene could hear it. Not all of it, though.

Irene slammed the door shut as she pulled herself back in. "You wish you could wear my size of pants," she muttered. She stopped dead as the realization hit her.

"Are you really trying to hit on me at a time like this? I'd be disgusted if it were anyone else. As it is, I think I'm just annoyed."

She looked out the window. A thought struck her. What were the Shadow and the Gauntlet doing right now? This was a unique opportunity. Spirits must be going wild.

"I'm going to get us a look at the spirits. Brace yourselves."

[Reflexive action to move to Active Mage Sight, Space and Mind only. Then, using Irene's Rote of Exorcist's Eye to look at the spirits around (Practice: Unveiling, Primary Factor: Duration) Gnosis 2, Spirit 1, Yantra of Occult 1 for a dice pool of 4. Reaching for Instant Casting (1), Advanced Duration (2), Advanced Scale (3), Sensory Range (4) and the included spell Reach effect of being able to see across the Gauntlet into the Shadow (5). Adding Mind 1 to apply the effect to any Goetia. Not spending any dice to increase spell factors. All going well, Irene, Adan, Camille and Luis will be able to see any spirits or Goetia in the area, including (If the Gauntlet is weak enough, Potency of 1 Withstood by the Strength of the Gauntlet) any in the Shadow, for the next scene. No Mana costs are incurred, no Paradox is risked, dice pool of 4.]

So, here's a quick note about the Gauntlet. The Gauntlet is stronger in urban areas and weaker in rural ones, this is a well known fact. This is not, however, because the Spirit world is weaker in urban areas - if anything the opposite is true.

See, Spirits feed on powerful emotions and resonances, and these manifest as Essence which flows 'downhill' from the Material to the Shadow. In a quiet countryside there's hardly any Essence flow so walking up that hill is a simple experience. In a chaotic, vibrant urban environment there's so much Essence flowing that it's like walking into a fire hose. Interestingly, the side effect is that spirits in the countryside tend to be far weaker and less numerous than the monsters that stalk the inner cities.

So in general the Gauntlet strength is going to depend on the intensity of emotions at work in the Sleeper population, which is often strongly influenced by architecture and the strength of local communities. This suburb is relatively spiritually dead, no one really talks to each other or knows their neighbours, the population is mostly old - as a result the Gauntlet Strength is 2.

[Matthias]

"Be sure to send me the highlights, Monty!"

Luis mentally dogspots their pursuer through the rearview mirror, waits for a moment where the street is a little straighter than before, and tries to stare right into its adorable little ignited canine soul, sending in hooks from his eye cones to its. Imagines being a dog careening down a street on fire. Thinks about how much his butt in the car seat, little flakes of marajuana bursting alive and singing skin that oughtn't be exposed, and tries to transfer it.

Running after this car is so boring, isn't it? I should lick my butt. My butt is practically on fire. Shouldn't I attend to that? Ow, ow, ow, chafing! Just need to insert a little tongue in there and it will be all better.

[Ruling Mind, Gnosis 2 + Mind 3 = dice pool of 5. 2-dot Practice, 3 dots in mind, so 2 free reach; one reach to decrease casting time to instant, one to increase Range to Sensory. Primary Factor: Potency, Resisted with Resolve.]

So, you just cast a spell for good luck - I'm curious as to what, exactly, Athanasius thinks that is? How does he conceptualize good luck? What are desirable endgoals that luck can grant you? Is it something as undefined as 'success' or is there a particular idea of what counts as a positive outcome? Getting there first? Health and safety? What are the biases that go into saying you want to be lucky?

No humans get seriously hurt? That would be lucky. Get there before the Seers, if any are on their way? That would also be lucky. Massive property damage? Under the circumstances, that's just good clean fun.

[aetherialDawn]

Fate is a big one here. There is Destiny involved; big and heavy and deliberate. This doesn't have the narrative beats of a conclusion or even a beginning - it seems like this entire Event is setup for larger actions. As with all Destinies, there is a Ban and you can see this clearly: When you run out of enemies, you will create new ones.

Time, like Matter, is a Gross Arcana. It's strangely unconcerned with matters of the Supernal, it just pays attention to the flow of time. Mostly time is fairly predictable and dull but after a few moments concentration here you come to the conclusion that time is off 0.0004 seconds. All the timing of everything happening everywhere is off by the most subtle of margins. There's a flaw in the perfect machinery of heaven.

Prime, however, is clearly the most useful of Arcanum in this situation; it's the Magic of Magic and this is magic itself. The only problem is that the amount of information is dizzyingly huge; ask more specific questions.

Montesquieu gazes out into the Aether - it's not what he expected, not exactly, and it's better than he expected. He hasn't been smote by the wrath of raging, clashing power, there is just so much going on. Even if the content is ominous, there is a grand destiny written across the sky, across the earth, curling letters of fire spelling out a pattern already in motion just beneath the surface of everything. But 'everything' is just out of synchronicity with itself - time moves along, but something, flaw or action or natural confluence, has unmoored it only enough to be irritating and strange, a grain of sand plucked from the universe's hourglass and into his sock, a terribly mundane intrusion of something so broad that he can't conceive of what it really means yet for there to be this disjoint.

As much as that comes naturally, none of that is what he wants right now; these are things which can wait a few minutes (if only because he has no idea what to do about them yet.)
Adan looks at the hound of heavenly fire behind them, leaning and twisting over his seat to get a better view. He looks at himself, he looks at Luis and Irene and Camille - at Athanasius and Zeno and Lyell - he looks at his mirror, he tries to get a look at the Sun and the stormclouds and at how his friends' spells streak through the Aether instead of through more mundane air. There are surely dozens of things he could be doing, some more practical than others - but Luis is driving, he's already been given the best Boon Adan could think of on the spot, everyone else is handling the holy flame-dog-angel, and there is so much to see. He's just diving deeper into the experience.

But, they are his friends, so he manages to keep some of his attention on them and share what he's seeing. After all, he wouldn't be so comfortable doing this if they weren't handling so many other things. "Time is disjointed from itself... This entire everything is part of a massive Destiny - not starting or ending, but placing pieces - and... there's so much magic. Everything is pouring forth."
... Of course, the wind steals most of his words, because he's not remembering that the wind/music he hears is the mundane, physical kind too.

[The_Snark]

While the cacophony of the Aether is undimmed, Camille nonetheless finds the view through her third eye somewhat soothing. The air may be afire with cosmic truths and the music of the spheres, but the substrata of the Fallen World is unmoved. Asphalt, steel and concrete simply don't care, and their stubborn banality affords her a chance to ground herself.

It's eerie to see a world without endings, though. She can't help but wonder: what would happen if someone died in the middle of all this? Would they pass on as usual, or would their soul ripple out through the air, transmuting into something else but never ceasing to be? Would it be borne away on the winds of the Aether? Something else she can't even guess at? What of their self, even less tangible than the soul? She can't quite bring herself to hope it happens, that's a bit much, but... she keeps an eye out.

"I'm going to get us a look at the spirits. Brace yourselves."

Camille directs a punch at Irene's shoulder, perhaps a second too late. "Leave Luis out of it, he is driving."

[Thanqol]

"Be sure to send me the highlights, Monty!"

Luis mentally dogspots their pursuer through the rearview mirror, waits for a moment where the street is a little straighter than before, and tries to stare right into its adorable little ignited canine soul, sending in hooks from his eye cones to its. Imagines being a dog careening down a street on fire. Thinks about how much his butt in the car seat, little flakes of marajuana bursting alive and singing skin that oughtn't be exposed, and tries to transfer it.

Running after this car is so boring, isn't it? I should lick my butt. My butt is practically on fire. Shouldn't I attend to that? Ow, ow, ow, chafing! Just need to insert a little tongue in there and it will be all better.

[Ruling Mind, Gnosis 2 + Mind 3 = dice pool of 5. 2-dot Practice, 3 dots in mind, so 2 free reach; one reach to decrease casting time to instant, one to increase Range to Sensory. Primary Factor: Potency, Resisted with Resolve.]

So in mechanics terms, casting a spell is an Instant action - which translates to 3-5 seconds of dedicated focus. You're also driving a car through a thunderstorm. Your attention is split, it is time for some dice rolls!

The hound is an ephemeral entity with a Resistance stat of 2. Take a +1 bonus from using a sufficiently symbolic yantra in the casting. On the other hand, I would like a composure+drive roll at -3 to keep on the straight and narrow while you do this (though you do get the Exceptional Luck dice on this one).

As much as that comes naturally, none of that is what he wants right now; these are things which can wait a few minutes (if only because he has no idea what to do about them yet.)
Adan looks at the hound of heavenly fire behind them, leaning and twisting over his seat to get a better view. He looks at himself, he looks at Luis and Irene and Camille - at Athanasius and Zeno and Lyell - he looks at his mirror, he tries to get a look at the Sun and the stormclouds and at how his friends' spells streak through the Aether instead of through more mundane air. There are surely dozens of things he could be doing, some more practical than others - but Luis is driving, he's already been given the best Boon Adan could think of on the spot, everyone else is handling the holy flame-dog-angel, and there is so much to see. He's just diving deeper into the experience.

But, they are his friends, so he manages to keep some of his attention on them and share what he's seeing. After all, he wouldn't be so comfortable doing this if they weren't handling so many other things. "Time is disjointed from itself... This entire everything is part of a massive Destiny - not starting or ending, but placing pieces - and... there's so much magic. Everything is pouring forth."
... Of course, the wind steals most of his words, because he's not remembering that the wind/music he hears is the mundane, physical kind too.

Simply absorbing the experience is a valid tack to take. Not every day you get to see something like this. Of course, you know what makes something like this better? Experimentation. Dragging out the experience. Giving up on this political bullsh*t with making contact, parking the car, and just messing around in this new realm. Driving through this place on the way to do something isn't going to give you anything more than powerful imagery; if you really want to get an enlightening encounter out of this you're going to need to sacrifice.

While the cacophony of the Aether is undimmed, Camille nonetheless finds the view through her third eye somewhat soothing. The air may be afire with cosmic truths and the music of the spheres, but the substrata of the Fallen World is unmoved. Asphalt, steel and concrete simply don't care, and their stubborn banality affords her a chance to ground herself.

It's eerie to see a world without endings, though. She can't help but wonder: what would happen if someone died in the middle of all this? Would they pass on as usual, or would their soul ripple out through the air, transmuting into something else but never ceasing to be? Would it be borne away on the winds of the Aether? Something else she can't even guess at? What of their self, even less tangible than the soul? She can't quite bring herself to hope it happens, that's a bit much, but... she keeps an eye out.

This, specifically, seems like a definite avenue of experimentation. The truth is out there, waiting for you to find it. You might never get this opportunity again and you're not going to see it if you're going past at a hundred kilometers an hour.

[Silent_Interim]

[Resistance attribute is 2, potency reduced to 1, speed reduced by 1]

The spell takes effect - but it's so subtle you hardly notice it. For a creature of fire and lightning distance is something to be consumed and putting just a little bit more in its mouth isn't going to choke it. It's still catching up and you've only purchased a couple more seconds.

Therein lies a strange truth about magic: The hardest thing to do is assault another pattern directly. Brute force magical attacks like this are frequently the least effective techniques possible. True power comes from complex control of the environment and the surrounding world - fraying someone's pattern with Death is far less effective than using that same spell to bring down a roof on their head.

Irene clucks her tongue, considering a better approach.

So, here's a quick note about the Gauntlet. The Gauntlet is stronger in urban areas and weaker in rural ones, this is a well known fact. This is not, however, because the Spirit world is weaker in urban areas - if anything the opposite is true.

See, Spirits feed on powerful emotions and resonances, and these manifest as Essence which flows 'downhill' from the Material to the Shadow. In a quiet countryside there's hardly any Essence flow so walking up that hill is a simple experience. In a chaotic, vibrant urban environment there's so much Essence flowing that it's like walking into a fire hose. Interestingly, the side effect is that spirits in the countryside tend to be far weaker and less numerous than the monsters that stalk the inner cities.

So in general the Gauntlet strength is going to depend on the intensity of emotions at work in the Sleeper population, which is often strongly influenced by architecture and the strength of local communities. This suburb is relatively spiritually dead, no one really talks to each other or knows their neighbours, the population is mostly old - as a result the Gauntlet Strength is 2.

[Success, then, albeit slightly limited- the potency is not enough to allow vision across the Gauntlet.]

Camille directs a punch at Irene's shoulder, perhaps a second too late. "Leave Luis out of it, he is driving."

Irene suddenly goes stiff.
"That is a very good idea. I wish you had said something similar several seconds earlier."
Irene reached for her seatbelt.

[Matthias]

Luis completes the spell, but hasn't the time to check whether it did any good, because - ¡Joder! - the poor Renault finds itself headed straight towards the walls of an apartment building ready to come toppling like the Walls of Jericho. He Luckily swerves just in time, destroying, instead of the car and its passengers, the assembled idols of an out-of-season nativity display, blasting through them in an orgy of vehicular iconoclasm like a mad Leo III. Bright eyes hiss in retribution from the clouds. The bowling pins topple towards the nearest Meaningful position; Baby Jesus lands in Mary's arms to form a Pietà and the Wise Men fall face down around Him as if in worship.

If Luis hears any other three Wise screaming, he assumes it's to cheer him on.

[Gnosis 2 + Mind 3 + Yantra 1 - increase of Potency by [Mind -1 = 2] = dice pool of 4 with Potency 3, one success by chopping off the last two dice of my original roll.

No successes on the Drive roll, resolve the Steadfast condition to turn it into a success.]

[Silent_Interim]

Irene resists a strong and sudden urge to clip Luis around the ears.

"...I know that that was probably my fault as much as anyone's for suddenly layering that onto your vision, but you are an ass, Athan."

[Thanqol]

[Success, then, albeit slightly limited- the potency is not enough to allow vision across the Gauntlet.]

The spirit world is flashing by in a whirlwind of colours and images - just like with Prime sight there's too much too fast to get anything really interesting. However you do find yourself sitting next to the spirit of the car you're in.

He's a fourteen year old boy with heavily lidded eyes, ugly stubble and pimples, a dorky shirt and a CD Walkman. He's currently holding himself rocking back and forth while listening to Evanescence up loud. He's currently holding the handbrake in the locked position with a grip so tight his knuckles are white.

He's probably cutting a quarter off the car's speed and acceleration - and you know, maybe that's what you want him to be doing, but he could also do more useful stuff like help steer so you're not relying on this:

Luis completes the spell, but hasn't the time to check whether it did any good, because - ¡Joder! - the poor Renault finds itself headed straight towards the walls of an apartment building ready to come toppling like the Walls of Jericho. He Luckily swerves just in time, destroying, instead of the car and its passengers, the assembled idols of an out-of-season nativity display, blasting through them in an orgy of vehicular iconoclasm like a mad Leo III. Bright eyes hiss in retribution from the clouds. The bowling pins topple towards the nearest Meaningful position; Baby Jesus lands in Mary's arms to form a Pietà and the Wise Men fall face down around Him as if in worship.

If Luis hears any other three Wise screaming, he assumes it's to cheer him on.

[Gnosis 2 + Mind 3 + Yantra 1 - increase of Potency by [Mind -1 = 2] = dice pool of 4 with Potency 3, one success by chopping off the last two dice of my original roll.

No successes on the Drive roll, resolve the Steadfast condition to turn it into a success.]

The celestial hound vanishes into the distance as your death-defying stunt takes you down half a kilometer of sidewalk.

The main question remains, though: Keep booking it to the center point or pause to take in the sights? The further towards the centre you go the more regimented and controlled this raw surge of magic is going to become.

[The_Snark]

"Am I the only one who would like to slow down?" Camille asks, mostly rhetorically but not quite entirely, because for all that Irene likes chewing out Luis she has a bit of a crazy streak herself, and Adan is often willing to get swept along in their enthusiasm. "I would like to slow down. You are going to run over some poor person if you keep going like that, and while I would love to see what happens if something tries to die in the middle of this, I do not think I want it that badly. What is the hurry? You are all enjoying the show. A few more minutes to contemplate his revelation alone will not do our new brother any harm."

Maybe a pigeon? Nobody's going to miss one of those, and there's usually a few around. She can probably manage to kill one from a moving car. Just have to wait for the right opportunity. If she can't get a good look at it while it's happening, there's no point...

[Matthias]

"Well, uh, frankly so would I," admits Luis, (trying for the frat-boy tone of mock confession that one can't help but be such a rascal, but his voicing wavering enough for it to be clear it's the truth,) "but I'm actually going as slow as I can," he says, as the car surpasses the summit of a small hill and goes flying. "Foot's as lightly on the peddle as I can stably put it - I could periodically tap it, but there'd be whiplash like hell, even worse than when I try to use the break, and I'd be hard pressed to calculate how fast we'll crash into things."

Aloft, the car casts a shadow on the ground much like the chariot of Apollo.

"That said, I'm hoping to take a more or less direct route to the eye of this hurricane so we beat the Seer hit squad or whoever else is crashing this wedding. Unless there are any objections?"

The car smashes down into the ground - impossible to say what, of its ailing internal organs, survive; but it continues speeding along regardless.

[aetherialDawn]

The jolt of the car landing shakes up through Adan, dispersing back to the car and out into the world rather than fading away as it moves from medium to medium.
It also shakes Adan out of his attempts to gaze at the sun - likely better for his eyes, which are seeing afterimages of symbolism wherever he looks - the star where overlapping graffiti meets doesn't want to fade even from his view, the lance of lightning between the stormclouds lingering until he can see the delicate traceries of the grid they are illustrating, marking out a map of the streets below spread out over Time (and displaced, slightly, here and there - is that a Truth he doesn't understand, a more perfect version of what the map is meant to be, or is this the city of 0.0004 seconds difference?)
And everywhere there is the grand destiny that he can see, and read, and still not know the fullness of what it is.

He swallows, and stops letting his jaw hang open, and reluctantly slips out of his deeper Mage Sight for now. The storm is a storm again, the fire is fire again, the thunder is no longer proclaiming court opinions as well as roaring sound.
Starting a sentence a few times without completing a word, he eventually settles on, "Let's keep going. We said we'd get to the center of this and give a hand to whoever our newly magical friend is..." he sounds somewhat pained about missing the chance to just stop and start trying to analyze this missing moment or watch the ripples into the grander Fate here if he just... steps where it says he shouldn't stand. That urges him to add, "And next time, we make sure it's not our job to do that." There might not be a next time, but at least he'll be able to see what happens when he looks back on this out-of-place Time later.

[Silent_Interim]

"I, too, agree. This is... unsettling. We can work out how we're going to slow down while en route. And, uh. Anybody have any ideas about this fellow?" At that, Irene gestures to the spirit sitting to her right.

[The_Snark]

Camille gives a put-upon sigh. "Fine. If we wreck the car it will be on you three."

Reluctantly, she turns away from the window to look at... whatever it is that has Irene worried. Huh. Of course the spirit of Luis's car would look like that. "What of him? I do not see a problem. Except perhaps his choice of music."

[Matthias]

"Hey, it's hard being a single father - we can't all raise them on the right musical values! And what thirteen-year-old has that down anyway?" Luis flashes a thumbs-up at his ghost-car-baby. "Hey, Tomás, you want to put on your mixtape? Maybe these fine folks can give you the education and criticism-self-criticism I was not able to, since I was hard at work in the dissertation mines."

The radio has been off so far on the suspicion that all the Aetheric interference might cause something crazy, like the Word Of God coming through the receiver and frying everyone's brains to hell. But whatever the literal garage band made up of the tutelary spirits of Luis' barely functional car, vacuum, and hot plate sounds like, it probably isn't the Word of God - so what could go wrong?

"And if you want to take the wheel for your old man, he certainly wouldn't mind - we're all tripping balls but this is your natural environment, eh? Or close enough?"

[aetherialDawn]

Visions of what, exactly, a car-spirit influenced by Luis might do with the wheel rush briefly through Adan's head. After a glance at the normally-invisible spirit, he decides that probably it's more likely that they'll just end up driven out of this storm instead (which will make no-one happy.)

"Whatever we do, I'd like to get to the eye of the storm while there's still enough car left to fix once we can calm all of this down." Or stop somewhere in the edges where they can experiment, but he's already made his decision on that, so he forces the unhelpful regret down for now - if they're very lucky, then they'll get to witness the tail-end of the Awakening itself and that would be well worth it indeed.

[Thanqol]

"Hey, it's hard being a single father - we can't all raise them on the right musical values! And what thirteen-year-old has that down anyway?" Luis flashes a thumbs-up at his ghost-car-baby. "Hey, Tomás, you want to put on your mixtape? Maybe these fine folks can give you the education and criticism-self-criticism I was not able to, since I was hard at work in the dissertation mines."

The radio has been off so far on the suspicion that all the Aetheric interference might cause something crazy, like the Word Of God coming through the receiver and frying everyone's brains to hell. But whatever the literal garage band made up of the tutelary spirits of Luis' barely functional car, vacuum, and hot plate sounds like, it probably isn't the Word of God - so what could go wrong?

"And if you want to take the wheel for your old man, he certainly wouldn't mind - we're all tripping balls but this is your natural environment, eh? Or close enough?"

"P-promise to take me in for a service after this and it's a deal," said Tomas, shakily putting his hands on the wheel and turning up the radio. WAKE ME UP INSI-IDE! blares through the speakers as somewhat redundant advice. The ride becomes smoother and more directed as the car begins to work with you rather than against you.

The spirit's direct help (assuming you agree to its price, which'll be a resources 2 expense - you can welsh but you'll make an enemy) gives a +3 modifier to your wits+drive roll which offsets the -3 penalty for driving through crazytown. Since no one's interested in getting out and taking in the scenery the main challenge facing you here is speed: can you arrive at the epicenter fast enough to see anything interesting before this all settles down? There's another Wits+Drive roll here which can be further influenced by magic if anyone's got it).

[Matthias]

CAN'T WAKE UP

"Of course," vows Luis, placing his free hand over his heart and flashing a bit of Prime to convey a general attitude of truthiness; "uncle Adan will spot me if need be, won't he? SAVE ME FROM THE NOOOOOTHING mybankaccount's BECOME."

[aetherialDawn]

"Luis, if you and your car get us to the center in time to mess about and observe the sights some I will get your car complete service and a new paint job if y- if he wants."
Of course, he's short on money to just pay for that out of pocket, so it will involve more magic - but besides all the Fate he can do, maybe some fellow Councilors will want to take a look at what happens to a car taken on an unexpected Aetherial journey. God knows he wants to a little bit now that he's thought of it, even if it just ends up being a perfectly normal car - still not as good as hanging around, but... oh well.
The fact that he might have the chance to provide some different music options is an extra benefit.

[Silent_Interim]

"I, personally, would love to help you pay for some of that. But, ah. I can barely afford rent money."

Irene glanced out the back of the car.

"I can speed us up some, if you want. It might make steering a bit harder. Up to you. I could also try to slow us down, if you feel like you're not up to steering. Any preference, from either of you?"

[Matthias]

"Make your best judgment and send your best luck; I forfeit all decisions," says Luis, his hands more guided by the wheel than visa-versa, "I'm just a vehicle for Tomás."

[Wits + Drive, 9-again, 9=>3, 2, 4, 10=>7, ordinary success unless any shenanigans arise.]

[Silent_Interim]

"...Luis, that's literally the opposite of- never mind. I... no, I'm holding off for the moment."