| The Mavericks | New Lilith |
~Shadows of Darkness~
| GM: Lord Wraith | Deputy GM: Roman |
― W.B. Yeats
New Lilith, a towering monument to progress, a city literally caught between moving forward and in the echoes of times gone by. Skyscrapers stand side by side with elegant buildings adorned with spires and other Gothic influences. Gargoyles hang over ledges, keeping a close watch over the city below as other intricate works of stone catch the eye and attention of those who walk the manicured streets. New Lilith boosts some of the best masons in all of North America and as such the city's fine craftsmanship is one of its primary draws. This attributes to New Lilith's booming tourism industry which brings people from all over to the city nearly all year round.
But fine masonry and stone working is not the only draw that New Lilith has on tourists, the city itself is home to vast and rich history spanning nearly a thousand years from when the area was first mysteriously settled to its role during the Salem Witch Trials right up to the birth of the city's revolutionary hydroelectric dam. New Lilith is always constantly moving, like the great tide that crashes against its Eastern coast every day, giving power to the city through the dam. Some say the tide is like a heartbeat, pounding as it pumps life into the city, and anyone native to New Lilith would swear the city was alive. The ground moans and groans, as though it's waking up after a long slumber, stirring as it awakens once more.
Perhaps it's because the world is changing, twenty years ago no one would have thought of putting on a mask and taking the law into their own hands and yet in a West Coast city that is exactly what has happened. People gifted with unique abilities have begun to emerge from within the crowds, people capable of changing the course of mankind. While it may have started in the West, the effects have rippled across North America and have no washed over New Lilith, drowning the city in the rising tide. Yet the question still remains, will they usher mankind into a new era of enlightenment or plunge it into the shadows of the dark ages.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
The overly cheerful chime of the alarm was possibly the most unwelcome noise that Addison Winter Caspian could imagine at this very moment as it disturbed her sleep, permeating every square inch of her skull. Dragging the covers over her as she buried her head beneath the over-sized pillow, Winter audibly groaned as she realized the darkness which she embraced to sleep had been violated by the constant flickering of daylight as it slithered between the mangled blinds on her window. After a struggle lasting a whole five minutes, Winter finally reluctantly surrender to the alarm as she rolled over and hit the button, the looming display almost seemed like some hellish abomination as the red numbers angrily stared back at her.
'9:45? Already? Seriously I feel like it was 3am half an hour ago. A groan escaped her lips as she flopped back over on the bed, spreading out to allow the bed to consume her as the young woman stared at the antique ceiling above her head.
'What day is it even? Do I have class? Please say it's Friday, oh I pray to whatever higher power there may be that it's Friday.' Her inner monologue went on, as she sat up and reached for her cellphone only to let out a cry of anguish upon reading the screen realizing that not only was it not Friday, but it was also Hallowe'en. That mean the 'Cauldron was going to be a gong show later.
"At least I'm not working." She grumbled to herself as she swung her legs over the edge of the King sized bed, feeling around with her feet for her slippers before standing up. Tugging at her tanktop, she looked down remembering she had been too tired for pajamas and had slept in her underwear, silently cursing as she remembered her blinds didn't really protect her privacy. Scrambling to her closet as the wooden floor beneath her creaked and moaned with age, Winter pulled out a robe and quickly threw it over her. Making her way to the bathroom she nearly did a double take as her reflection looked like it was already dressed for this evening. Winter had forgotten to remove her makeup from the day before and now it, combined with the mess of hair atop her head gave her a look that could probably turn a gorgon to stone.
'Ugh.'
Reaching over the claw foot bathtub, Winter turned the tap and began to run the hot water, ensuring her shower would be more than warm enough before she undressed. Pulling a fresh towel out of the nearby closet, Winter peeled off what few clothes she had on before stepping into the baptism of hot water as it rained down on her seemingly washing away all her stress of tiredness. Winter was a firm believing that a hot shower was better than any cup of coffee in the morning.
After the hot water tank had been drained and about an hour after that, Winter finally emerged from the bathroom, only her robe between her and any would be peepers across the street as she moved back into her bedroom. After quickly throwing on her usual attire of jeans and a tank top, Winter decided she had best check in on her emails ensuring that she hadn't missed anything from the class that took place while she had taken her shower. Her stomach growled as she sat down at the small desk and opened the laptop, the first reminder that she hadn't eaten yet this morning.
'12:30, fuck!' Or rather this afternoon as the case was currently. She shook her head at the time as she opened her inbox, noticing a rather large amount of emails from 'Facbook'.
"Don Macintosh has added you as a friend, Charles Glover... Fredrick Hattin... Who are these people? Fuckin' creepers." Winter muttered as she leaned back in her chair, selecting all the emails and hitting delete. Clicking open a new tab, she logged into her Facebook and quickly 'ignored' the same friend requests. "Preferred when it said rejected. Bunch of stupid boys." She noted most of them attended Hobbes, which meant they had seen her in class or something like that and figured she was cute so they could add her.
'The least they could have done was talk to me first.' Her stomach suddenly growled again prompting Winter to close the laptop and grab her leather jacket off the back of the door before locking up her apartment and heading downstairs. Coming out into the hallway, Winter nearly collided with a wall of orange and black balloons. Her body started to phase through the balloons but the sound of another person caused Winter to step back, remaining solid as she looked around the floating wall.
"Good afternoon Winter!" Came a male voice from behind the balloons as one of her coworkers poked her head out.
"Hey Scott," Winter responded with a small wave. She really wasn't in the mood for letting small talk to stop her from grabbing a bite to eat. But she knew Scott, and he'd want to talk. "Serena got you setting up for tonight already?" She asked, moving around the balloons and slowly moving towards the Stein and Cauldron's exit.
"Yeah buddy, Ravencroft's favourite holiday tonight. I thought you'd know that. You've been here over a year haven't you?"
"Eight months I think," Winter said turning towards the door only to let out a silent sigh of exasperation as Scott continued the conversation.
"Oh well, you fit in so well, it's like you've always been here." He smiled wide as he looked at Winter who hid her annoyance quickly.
Please tell me he is not flirting with me. "Hey Scott I was ju..."
"So are you working tonight?" His voice quickly spoke over Winter he nearly caused her lip to bleed as she bit down on it in frustration. Her angry stomach growling loudly under her jacket.
"No I'm not." She answered flatly turning to leave as Scott continued to talk.
"Well you should come out anyways! I mean, you won't get to sleep with the party happening below your bed."
"I think I'll stay at a friend's!" Winter called back trying to ignore the cynic in her head. Friends, what's that, someone else to let get close so they can stab you in the back.
"Uh well, maybe you and I could get a bite to eat sometime." Scott added as Winter exited the building.
And there's the date invitation. She shook her head as she walked around to the alley, and lifted up the door to the garage that Serena let her store her bike in while she rented the apartment above the pub. Pulling the powerful machine out, Winter closed the door, replacing the lock before climbing onto the hog and relishing the sound of the engine purring between her legs as it drowned out the recent memories of Scott's babbling. Sliding her helmet onto her head, Winter kicked off, gliding the bike into a perfect merge with the steady stream of traffic before revving the engine and ripping between lanes as she left the Bazaar behind.
The Western part of the city was also was such a stark contrast from the Central district. It was almost as though Winter had traveled through time as she rode her trusty Harley from beneath the shadows of Gothic architecture to that of the recognizable golden arches. Turning off the busy road, Winter pulled into a Fuddruckers, deciding to splurge a little for a much better burger. Being raised in a biker gang might have a lot of draw backs, but one definitely develops an appreciation for quality a meat. An appreciation that can not be met by McDonald's, but Fuddruckers did a pretty good at coming up to the bar. Winter bit down into the freshly prepared burger, savouring the flavour of the meat with the wonderful accents of the toppings that she had so generously piled on it. Taking a breather to nibble on a few fries and take a sip of her pineapple juice, Winter noticed an abandoned newspaper lying on the now empty table adjacent to hers. The headline emblazoned across it was rather eye catching as it read 'Superhumans Among Us?'. Looking around to ensure no one was watching, Winter held out her hand calling the paper to it as it flew off the table and firmly into her grip. Chewing slowly as she read, Winter found herself strangely relieved in knowing there were plenty more people out in the world just like her. While she'd never be brazen enough to dress in a costume and use her powers to stop crime, at least she wasn't a one of a kind freak anymore. The article reference several videos from YouTube which were filmed in Kilbride, some apparently large city that Winter had never heard of. Probably because it was on the other side of the country in Washington state. Either way, it appeared a group of superpowered individuals stopped a bank robbery, the article detailed that since that night nearly two and a half weeks ago, the 'vigilantes' had been seen more and more frequently. Flipping the page, Winter continued to read after see another interesting article. Apparently there's recent string of diamond robberies in New Lilith which the police can't seem to pin down any leads on. The only 'evidence' evidence that's been found consistently at all the crime scenes so far appears to be small puddles of water. Which while odd, didn't exactly provide any leads.
'Perhaps New Lilith could use some vigilante justice.' Winter rolled her eyes at the thought as she finished her meal and stood up, dumping her tray into the garbage before leaving the establishment.
