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 1890 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. The history is unimportant so don't let that scare you, as long as it is plausible it is acceptable.
Despite the current 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. High-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. Genuine doctors following scientific practices are starting to become accepted. Afternoon Salons often gather to discuss philosophy and natural history; sometimes even the women join in. Most people with an interest in genuine science 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, tradesfolk, laborers, and the rogues 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 the building is nothing more than a huge manor belonging to old nobility. 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 research, conduct studies, even permanently live, 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. Light meals are provided, along with studies and libraries and drawing rooms of comfortable furniture, desks, and the like. Though electricity and plumbing are both relatively new, and unreliable discoveries, the manor is outfitted for both enabling people to work through the night should they wish and providing them with semi-modern bathing facilities. All in all the society provides its members with discrete privacy, the basic supplies, books, and work spaces needed to conduct their research should they wish, and a simple 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 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, record, and analyze the genuine. In fact fraudulent claims of psychic practitioners is the one of two things the Society despises above all; that and those who use their psychic powers in amoral manners. Despite the fad-love of the paranormal most people are terrified of true psychic abilities. Ianus Congreatio despises those who, in using their talents, make it even harder for those with genuine psychic talents to be accepted.
****
Our story begins in 1890 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. The history is unimportant so don't let that scare you, as long as it is plausible it is acceptable.
Despite the current 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. High-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. Genuine doctors following scientific practices are starting to become accepted. Afternoon Salons often gather to discuss philosophy and natural history; sometimes even the women join in. Most people with an interest in genuine science 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, tradesfolk, laborers, and the rogues 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 the building is nothing more than a huge manor belonging to old nobility. 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 research, conduct studies, even permanently live, 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. Light meals are provided, along with studies and libraries and drawing rooms of comfortable furniture, desks, and the like. Though electricity and plumbing are both relatively new, and unreliable discoveries, the manor is outfitted for both enabling people to work through the night should they wish and providing them with semi-modern bathing facilities. All in all the society provides its members with discrete privacy, the basic supplies, books, and work spaces needed to conduct their research should they wish, and a simple 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 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, record, and analyze the genuine. In fact fraudulent claims of psychic practitioners is the one of two things the Society despises above all; that and those who use their psychic powers in amoral manners. Despite the fad-love of the paranormal most people are terrified of true psychic abilities. Ianus Congreatio despises those who, in using their talents, make it even harder for those with genuine psychic talents to be accepted.
****
2x Like
