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Ianus Congreatio: The Secrets of Prague
Dracula, Frankenstein, Edgar Allen Poe. Nothing is so great as the classics, and this story is about a traditional Gothic horror. Dark thrilling mystery, the macabre, a secret society, Nobility, the demimonde, psychic talents, and common place skills. It will all come to play in this story.
Our story begins in the 1800's in the old and complex city of Prague. The dual monarchy is established but the war has yet to begin. The christian church is establishing a strong foothold in the area, and consigning the old pagan ways to secrecy and fading them from the public eye. Yet despite all this push for Christianity, paranormal abilities are all the rage. You can find a séance any day of the week, a hypnotist on every street, and half-a-dozen mediums in any particular crowd of people. Society adores these paranormal practitioners; a party isn't a party if it doesn't have a séance or a display of mind reading. Mediums and Mind-Readers are all frauds, tricksters. As are the bulk of the mesmerists, crystal workers, and spiritualists. Con artists using a paranormal front as a con. But occasionally there are a few that have a genuine psychic talent using their skills in such a manner to con and deceive as well. Or blackmail. Or worse.
Science is also on the rise, but it is not truly trendy, or understood yet. Chemists, astronomers, and anatomists are rare but growing in popularity. Most are considered eccentric, a polite word for weird, but this is a time of change and science is beginning to come into its own.
The city is old, and full of history as well as progress. By the river dwell the lower classes, and the rogues of the thriving underworld of the city. As one moves from the river, up the hill, the classes change, shifting to the tradesmen, and finally the nobility. Vivid and lively the city has all the richness and vices of any great city along side the parties, the society, and the growth of a rapidly approaching the industrial age. Electricity has just come to the city, unreliable but fashionable. More industrial inventions will not be far behind. The class structure defines almost everything. Nobility generally care only about their own; others are beneath their notice. Even tradesmen are considered low, despite the fact the nobility rely on their trade. Only the most exclusive businesses, those that are considered fashionable and “in” are considered of any import to the high nobility. But those of lower social standing often cross paths with one another in course of day to day life.
In the thickest forests on the edge of the city dwells House Ianus. A vast manor that is the secret home for the Ianus Congreatio. In the Ware family for many generations most folk assume it is nothing more than a huge manor belonging to old nobility but in fact it it is much more. Ancestral home for the Master of the Society he has turned the manor into a welcome abode for all of the society's members.
Consisting of two parts, the above ground and the massive underground areas, few guess that the building is as massive as it truly is. Above ground are the usual rooms, servants quarters, kitchens, libraries, etc. Small (10 x 10) personal quarters are provided for every member to allow them privacy to store their studies, work, a place to live, etc as long as they remain a member in good standing. A large, well trained and very discrete staff tend to the needs of anyone currently in residence at the manor. Even light meals are provided. Though electricity and plumbing are both relatively new, and unreliable discoveries, the manor is outfitted for both. All in all the society provides its members with discrete privacy, the supplies books, and work spaces needed to conduct their research should they wish, and a basic but comfortable home if they need it. In return members work to assist with the society's true purpose and the secrets that lie underground.
The underground is where the true treasure of the manor lies. Laced with complex corridors and rooms there are vault after vault of strange artifacts, libraries. Laboratories, and work spaces. It is here the society works to study, record, and catalog all things psychic. They debunk that which is fraudulent and study and analyze the genuine. In fact fraudulent claims of psychic practitioners is the one thing the Society despises above all; as do many of the individual members.
Ianus Congreatio: The Secrets of Prague
Dracula, Frankenstein, Edgar Allen Poe. Nothing is so great as the classics, and this story is about a traditional Gothic horror. Dark thrilling mystery, the macabre, a secret society, Nobility, the demimonde, psychic talents, and common place skills. It will all come to play in this story.
Our story begins in the 1800's in the old and complex city of Prague. The dual monarchy is established but the war has yet to begin. The christian church is establishing a strong foothold in the area, and consigning the old pagan ways to secrecy and fading them from the public eye. Yet despite all this push for Christianity, paranormal abilities are all the rage. You can find a séance any day of the week, a hypnotist on every street, and half-a-dozen mediums in any particular crowd of people. Society adores these paranormal practitioners; a party isn't a party if it doesn't have a séance or a display of mind reading. Mediums and Mind-Readers are all frauds, tricksters. As are the bulk of the mesmerists, crystal workers, and spiritualists. Con artists using a paranormal front as a con. But occasionally there are a few that have a genuine psychic talent using their skills in such a manner to con and deceive as well. Or blackmail. Or worse.
Science is also on the rise, but it is not truly trendy, or understood yet. Chemists, astronomers, and anatomists are rare but growing in popularity. Most are considered eccentric, a polite word for weird, but this is a time of change and science is beginning to come into its own.
The city is old, and full of history as well as progress. By the river dwell the lower classes, and the rogues of the thriving underworld of the city. As one moves from the river, up the hill, the classes change, shifting to the tradesmen, and finally the nobility. Vivid and lively the city has all the richness and vices of any great city along side the parties, the society, and the growth of a rapidly approaching the industrial age. Electricity has just come to the city, unreliable but fashionable. More industrial inventions will not be far behind. The class structure defines almost everything. Nobility generally care only about their own; others are beneath their notice. Even tradesmen are considered low, despite the fact the nobility rely on their trade. Only the most exclusive businesses, those that are considered fashionable and “in” are considered of any import to the high nobility. But those of lower social standing often cross paths with one another in course of day to day life.
In the thickest forests on the edge of the city dwells House Ianus. A vast manor that is the secret home for the Ianus Congreatio. In the Ware family for many generations most folk assume it is nothing more than a huge manor belonging to old nobility but in fact it it is much more. Ancestral home for the Master of the Society he has turned the manor into a welcome abode for all of the society's members.
Consisting of two parts, the above ground and the massive underground areas, few guess that the building is as massive as it truly is. Above ground are the usual rooms, servants quarters, kitchens, libraries, etc. Small (10 x 10) personal quarters are provided for every member to allow them privacy to store their studies, work, a place to live, etc as long as they remain a member in good standing. A large, well trained and very discrete staff tend to the needs of anyone currently in residence at the manor. Even light meals are provided. Though electricity and plumbing are both relatively new, and unreliable discoveries, the manor is outfitted for both. All in all the society provides its members with discrete privacy, the supplies books, and work spaces needed to conduct their research should they wish, and a basic but comfortable home if they need it. In return members work to assist with the society's true purpose and the secrets that lie underground.
The underground is where the true treasure of the manor lies. Laced with complex corridors and rooms there are vault after vault of strange artifacts, libraries. Laboratories, and work spaces. It is here the society works to study, record, and catalog all things psychic. They debunk that which is fraudulent and study and analyze the genuine. In fact fraudulent claims of psychic practitioners is the one thing the Society despises above all; as do many of the individual members.
