I just updated the lore page with an entirely new post detailing supernatural and occult happenings. These may seem unrelated to our current storyline, but they paint a picture of what we can/will encounter. It also sets the theme for how I like supernatural stuff to be. I will go on to write about "Witches" eventually, but I ceased because that will be a long write-up.
The supernatural and the occult are nigh non-existent to the average person. This is not solely because the supernatural is well hidden, rather the supernatural typically manifests in a subtle manner infrequently. On the other side of the same coin, the occult and its practitioners rarely wield enough power to where making oneself known will be beneficial.
As one might imply, the supernatural and occult are two separate concepts that are closely related. The general public's definition of the supernatural and occult are far from the technical definition.
Supernatural: Unexplained happenings not of direct human origin.
Occult: Unexplained/Explained happenings of human origin that goes beyond previously understood principles of existence (NOTE: Theoretically speaking, occult phenomenons could become commonplace if the greater society became aware of it and accepted it).
Below is a list of supernatural and occult occurrences with additional information on each topic.
Supernatural
An unsettling phenomenon that has been dubbed a combination of "Beckon" and "Blip" due to how it manifests. Individuals experiences a beckonblip report feeling an overwhelming sense of purpose for a brief period of time, some even calling it comforting, and they begin move towards a voice of no words calling them. Some individuals report seeing an overwhelming sheen of darkness envelop the world for the duration the of the beckonblip.
It appears beckonblips only happen in specific locations very infrequently and for a brief time (Hence the "blip" portion of the name).
REPORTED LOCATIONS: - Atlanta - Glasgow - Jerusalem - New York city - Paris - Rio de janeiro - Tokyo - The Vatican
Many scientists concluded this could simply be a case of mass-hysteria/opportunity to get attention. On the other hand, various respected individuals, most notably Dr. Tanya Romanov, propose that unseen mechanisms could be preemptively activating to lure mass-populations to specific locations. Various excavations of locations experiencing beckonblips occasionally have found nothing and have lost funding. Mysteriously, one of these dig sites experienced an unknown detonation that killed approximately half of the crewmen.
Many describe a reoccurring figure that has caused ruin in the lives of several unrelated individuals. The strange thing about this individual is that when speaking of his misdeed to others who have encountered the individual two things happen...
1.) The individuals who have encountered "Blank Face" immediately know that they have encountered the same person.
2.) No matter how hard they try to recall there appearance, name, or any other discernible features they cannot remember. They only remember that it was a male and they had a "blank-looking" face.
It is important to understand that his face does have "facial features" however they can only draw a "blank" when describing him.
The following was taken from a twitter post:
yoshi919: so like weirdest thing happen two years ago my grandma (rip) died cause she was given the wrong medicine by a pharmacist well when talking bout this with another person they knew rite there who this fucker was and they ran over there doggo (rip) but we only know he has a blank lookin face. can we retweet this to find this motherfucker??!?
Theories range from this being a case of mass hysteria, all the way to this being the "Devil" himself. The amount of people suddenly being able to acknowledge the relationship between unrelated events cements this as a factual occurrence, but there is no current natural explanation for this event.
An alleged division of an unknown organization (presumably a nations military) that utilizes "phantom-like" soldiers capable of projecting emotional trauma into an enemy force. The first instance in-which the "The Voodoo Squad" (Name taken from the word "VOODOO" being painted on the side of their air-carrier according to two sources) came into the public consciousness was in the initially fictional science-fiction novel "A Trauma. A Phantom. A Warrior" written by notorious conspiracy theorist and host of IntelFights "John Stalvern."
The novel was a first person account of a soldier's service in Afghanistan as an infantryman for the United States Army. The name of the main character is "Johnson Stalwart" and the novel was critically torn apart for being poorly written and the main character being an obvious self-insert for Mr. Stalvern. It followed him as he served in a fictitious proxy war against Russia in the Middle-East - his platoon is ambushed by supernatural phantom soldiers and Johnson Stalwart must survive against all odds. Two months after the novel's release Mr. Stalvern, on his internet show IntelFights, went on to claim the novel based on his actual experiences in his single year of military service before being dishonorably discharged for sexual misconduct (Mr. Stalvern claims this was the work of the deepstate to silence him and no such misconduct occurred).
Initially, this became an internet meme and was the subject of further mockery. Many people assumed Mr. Stalvern's claim at this being non-fiction was an attempt to salvage both his book and military career. It was not until LiveLeak user "Poughkeepsie" uploaded an ominous 33 minute long found-footage titled "Gone Fishing" captured off the GoPro of a deceased ISIS soldier. The death of the soldier was either omitted from the found footage, or not captured. The head of the deceased individual was turned sideways facing an open front-door of a house peering out to the center of a village. Various ISIS fighters are depicted firing at seemingly nothing while frantically chanting Islamic prayer. The passage of time seems to be incorrect and it goes from a bright noon to nearly complete darkness over 32 minutes of the video. The fighters depicted in the video take their own lives one by one and at the 30 minute mark all fighters have taken their own lives.
The last minute of the footage is the damning bit. Light returns to the village and an airship lands with the word "VOODOO" painted on the side. The bay opens and then closes before leaving.
The alleged "Voodoo Squad" is never seen but many have proposed they either are cloaked or are wearing a substance that makes recording them impossible. Mr. Stalvern attempted to view the found footage and had to stop viewing and preemptively end his show upon seeing the footage. This is unusual considering Mr. Stalvern typically shows graphic material on his show with very little reaction to said material.
Many others since the publishing of "Gone Fishing" have come forward with anecdotal stories about the Voodoo Squad and supposed evidence, but nearly all of these cannot be confirmed or are quickly debunked. Mr. Stalvern refuses to comment about the "Gone Fishing" tape. Some believe the footage to be staged, but no conclusive evidence has been to discredit the validity of said footage.
Occult
A recently discovered phenomenon within the human mind. Dr. Tanya Romanov famously fell victim to a psychic magician Bailey Reeves and was ordered to fall unconscious - in-which she did, twice. The television program was intended to debunk the magician who was famous for also practicing hypnotherapy that had an uncanny supernatural quality to it. The broadcast ignited a surge of interest in the magician and he has enjoyed great success; however, he himself has kept quiet about his abilities beyond that demonstration.
This led Dr. Tanya Romanov to seek funding in her country of Ukraine to research a "new" form of science which became known as Nu-Science. She has made great strides in many discoveries, but her most constant work is in the field of psionics. She discovered a new particle in the brain dubbed the "Psidicide."
Psidicides - Recently discovered cells within the brains of mammals only detectable by a specialized scan. A standard amount of psidicides is defined as 100%. Psionic "Powers" will become apparent at as little as 101%.
Psychics - Individuals who have over 100% psidicides in their brain. This increased amount allows them to utilize naturally emitted electro-magnetic frequencies (with training) to manipulate the psidicides in other mammal's brains. The effects psychics can induce upon other brains varies depending on both training and psidicide count (NOTE: Some with small psidicide amounts above 100% can accomplish great psychic feats with training). Some of these effects include: mind control, mind reading, hallucinations, suggestion, paralysis, and spontaneous combustion.
Psionic powers can only effect the mind of other mammels; therefore, many people have trouble believing psychic claims. Media has depicted such individuals being able to tell the future or lift boulders with their mind. The actual manifestation is far more subtle and nuanced. It is inconclusive whether or not psychic individuals are a recent occurrence or have always been part of human history.
I will write a lore entry on the Shadow Queen tonight and the occult and how that manifests in this universe. (Maybe add a few more instructors as-well)