Shin Ghost Note

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree NPC List

The 8th Street Coven

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Leadership

The leadership of the 8th Street Coven, which is comprised of Emily's closest allies and little sisters.

Emily.G.Reed
28 | Emily Gwendolyn Reed | She/Her "Don't worry about where I came from; worry that I'm right here."	Description: The unofficial and self-proclaimed "fourth" in command was a former friend of Ashley, Daisy, and Auri. Emily was initially a shy and unconfident girl who was used to getting trampled all over until someone pushed her a bit too far, and she finally decided to work on herself. She wanted to grow a backbone and lash out at all the people she felt were taking advantage of her, and unfortunately, she was unsure of where to stop. So she became a nasty, over-the-top queen bitch of the school that, sadly, lacked the smarts to back it up. When the Stygian Snake went on its rampage through St. Portwell, Emily was nearly killed, but Britney Williams saved her. She was mysteriously adjoined to an Apparition named Babylon the Great. Emily joined the Sycamore Tree Coven and spent most of the fight against the Stygian Snake trying to make herself the leader, sometimes over-stopping the damn thing. However, she still assisted in the battle against the Stygian Snake, and afterward, she found out that Britney forcibly adjoined Babylon to her to use her as a meatshield. She was not happy about that and spent most of her time in the Sycamore Tree Coven antagonizing the other members (primarily Samantha and Britney), and was a huge part of why many members of the group left. Soon, despite her strength, Emily was voted out of the Coven and could not be happier. Emily was happy to hear those sluts broke up, but she got the idea to form her own Coven. As Emily entered college, she found a group of other Paranormal women and formed the 8th Street Coven, named after the street under which they formed their pact. Initially, Emily wanted to learn more about magic so she could learn what magic could do for her. Still, Emily intends to declare herself the ruler of St. Portwell's magical underworld. Thus, she has been directing her little cult to go around and steal artifacts from whoever she can and enthrall any Apparitions she could find. Her arch-nemesis is the Spring Maiden of the Greenwood Coven. Abstraction: Adjoined - Hellfire. The abstraction of Babylon the Great that Emily uses by proxy, the ability to summon hot flames in the environment. Emily can either generate these flames out of her body or spawn them in the environment - as it's a technique for Emily to create a wave of fire. These flames are far hotter than average, bright red, infused with the screaming faces of Babylon's victims. Emily is entirely immune to the negative effects of heat, and she can teleport anywhere in sight.
Babylon
Eons Old | Babylon The Great | She/Her "There's a monster in everyone, I'm just bringing it out..."	Description: An ancient Apparition famous throughout the All-verse due to her... antics. Initially, in a separate universe, there was a town so overtaken by greed, corruption, lust, and sin that a pastor desperately sought a reason for it all. That reason came in the form of Babylon the Great, who made the situation in the town worse, but she was ultimately teleported to another universe before she could do more damage. Babylon has destroyed universes, enslaved them, and worse; however, for every time that she succeeded, there has been an equal amount of times she was foiled. Recently, she was sealed, but Britney Williams released her so she could be adjoined with Emily G. Reed to defeat the Stygian Snake. However, after the Snake's defeat, neither wanted to be separated from the other, and the two have been bonded. Usually, Babylon remains inside of Emily, but she appears and chats when the moment is right. Abstraction: Babylon allows Emily to use her abstraction.
Vashti.Nour
28 | Vashti Nour | She/Her "We’re going to run it all, bro." @Atrophy	Description: The boisterous and bubbly woman serves as the second-in-command of the 8th Street Coven but acts more as the enforcer and bodyguard for the Reed sisters. As a child, Vashti encountered a benign apparition that left her One-Eye-Open and obsessed with the world of the Paranormal, her ramblings about magic and seeing spirits alienating her from many of her peers. However, when the Stygian Snake arrived, all her previous talk drew the attention of a mysterious person who offered Vashti the gift of magic if they would join the fights against the Stygian Snake. Vashti accepted, but the offer was a trick, cursing her with an affliction that made her appear monstrous, behave irrationally, and occasionally transform into a wild and uncontrollable reptilian Apparition obsessed with proving itself to be the apex predator known as the Leviathan whenever she was threatened. While Vashti tried to help the Coven, she was often more dangerous to the group than anything. The Coven’s magical expert, Britney Williams, was able to help Vashti try to control the Leviathan long enough for her to assist in the final fight. However, after the Stygian Snake was defeated, Britney admitted to cursing Vashti and forcibly adjoining Emily to an Apparition. Thanks to this, Vashti and Emily would form a friendship primarily fueled by their mutual hatred of Britney. While the Coven could seal the Leviathan and break Vashti’s curse, she left regardless when Emily was voted out, having spurned most of the members against her anyway due to joining in with Emily’s toxicity. Eventually, the two would form the 8th Street Coven. Although Vashti had first hoped that their Coven would focus on learning about magic to help others who'd gone through similar experiences like Emily and herself, it's impossible to deny that there was still a lingering hunger to be at the top of the food chain buried inside her. In the end, Vashti had no complaints when the goal of the 8th Street Coven shifted towards conquest. She seems invigorated by the idea, feverishly encouraging confrontation with the other organizations. Abstraction: Agent - The Leviathan's Veil. The shawl Vashti used to hide her monstrous appearance when the Leviathan cursed her and ultimately served as the Apparition’s prison. At first glance, the Veil seems to allow Vashti to generate a localized storm that follows above them and grows in intensity over time. Depending on the local weather, this starts with little more than a slight drizzle or a few flurries of snow and eventually escalates to an intense thunderstorm with hurricane winds and flash flooding or a freezing blizzard with whiteout conditions. However, as the storm is active, Vashti gains the viciousness and brutality of the Leviathan without being cursed to transform into the creature. Her nails and teeth can tear through metal, punch and kick through concrete, and her skin is essentially body armor, allowing her to shrug off most mundane and even some magical attacks. Vashti’s movement is unimpeded by her storm. She is immune to the elements generated by it, allowing her to easily see through the poor visibility caused by a prolonged downpour or slide through the snow.
Jacqueline.Reed
25 | Jacqueline Mackenzie Reed | She/Her Take it easy! I got all the answers!"	Description: The beloved younger sister of Emily G. Reed and her twin sister, Miranda Reed, are (together) the third-in-command of the 8th Street Coven. Jacqueline is the opposite of her sister, Miranda, where Miranda is the girly of the two; she is more adventurous and fearless (with a hint of brutality). Jacqueline grew up the more tomboyish of the two and loved exploring St. Portwell's woods, which she claims crafted her into the person she is today. While the girl is ruthless, she has a deep reverence for nature and the outdoors (which makes her a bit more sympathetic towards 8th Street's rival, Greenwood) - and is the ultimate free spirit. She would do anything to maintain her independence above all else. However, much like her sister, she is a loving and compassionate person who, deep down, reveres the rest of the 8th Street Coven as sisters and loves each one. This hidden compassion leads Jacqueline (alongside Miranda) to attempt to quell her older sister's brutality and try to keep 8th Street on the straight and narrow. She doesn't want to see them get hurt or arrested if (or when) they finally go too far. Jacqueline is a skinny Caucasian girl who usually dresses for practically rather than style - so expect jackets with lots of pockets, cargo pants, etc - and is a bit more athletic from hiking. Abstraction: Agent - The Expert's Book. The Expert's Book is an artifact given to Jacqueline Reed by her older sister, Emily, and it is a leather book inscribed with golden runes. The book gets its power from a Sealed-Apparition known as The Expert, a being with a vast wealth of knowledge and wisdom that is willing and wanting to share. However, the Expert is not just a passive source of information; it has a distinct personality and has chosen Jacqueline as its host (Or in its words "Scholar"). It's an Apparition with a quirky, annoying, and exceptionally pedantic personality that communicates with Jacqueline through the words on its pages and occasionally nudges Jacqueline towards specific topics, suggesting it has its agenda. The Expert chose Jacqueline as its host because of her adventurous spirit and thirst for knowledge, and this bond is not just a matter of preference; there is a magical bond that makes the book useless in anyone else's hands. The Expert is connected to Jacqueline's soul, and The Expert has no obligation to share its knowledge with anyone else. So if separated from it, the book pages will remain blank until Jacqueline reclaims it. If someone kills or injures its current Scholar to take the book, The Expert will know and permanently lock itself out to the killer and any of its associates. Only when the current Scholar willingly gives up the book or dies will the Expert choose a new Scholar, but they must be worthy of the Expert's power. To use the Expert's Book, Jacqueline has to ask it a question (either out loud or internally). Its pages come alive with countless pages filled with comprehensive knowledge of the subject or topic she wants to learn about. Plenty of this information is useless, so Jacqueline sometimes has to comb through the book to find valuable information. The book has a "slotting" system, where it can only learn about one subject at a time and gets discarded and replaced with the subject. This ability allows Jacqueline to gain near-omniscient knowledge, but only within the bounds of her questions. As a limit, she can only inquire on a subject once.
Miranda.Reed
25 | Miranda Trinity Reed | She/Her "8th Street needs us... and maybe if we try hard enough we can make them a force for good."	Description: The beloved younger sister of Emily G. Reed and her twin sister, Jacqueline Reed, are (together) the third-in-command of the 8th Street Coven. Miranda embodies a more traditional and "girly" persona and a kind and empathetic nature that sometimes puts her at odds with the ruthless practices of the 8th Street Coven. Miranda abhors the manipulation and intimidation used by the rest of the 8th Street Coven and often tries to push for a more ethical path. She often finds herself openly questioning the behavior of Emily and the others (and desperately hopes that Jacqueline isn't taking after their sister). She sees herself as the only thing stopping the Coven from going off the deep end, and only remains in the Coven out of love for her two sisters and a sense of family. Above all, she's a gentle, nurturing, and empathetic soul amid the 8th Street Coven's more sinister activities. Much like Jacqueline, Miranda is a skinny caucasian girl with brown hair, except she keeps her a bit shorter... ironically. She usually tries to dress more "feminine" than her sister in dresses and skirts. Abstraction: Adjoined - Mother Mallory's Gift. In life, there was a legendary Adept with Green Lux, known only as Mother Mallory, who was known for her potent healing abilities and kindness. She wandered all over the All-Verse, healing people's wounds until she died, and the All-Verse got just a little bit sadder. Emily located Mother Mallory's Apparition (or one spawned from her legends), captured it, and adjoined it to Miranda - granting her the ability to use her abstraction by proxy. The most basic ability is that Miranda has an incredibly potent healing factor, as in she can regenerate from minor injuries instantly, and major ones can heal in less than minutes. She once regrew an entire arm in seconds and has demonstrated insane amounts of resilience to go along with this ability. However, Mother Mallory's Gift's primary aspect is that Miranda can transfer the wounds of others to herself and regenerate them. She can transfer anyone's wounds to herself on touch and heal them in seconds. Thus, Miranda acts as the 8th Street Coven's healer. However, she is unaware of the upper limits of this abstraction as she never had to push herself that far, and not to mention it hurts. Miranda suspects that taking on too many wounds at once can kill her, but she'd still do it in a heartbeat. Miranda has learned that she can transfer wounds to others if they consent, but she rarely does this.

Underlings

The other members of Emily's 8th Street Coven who make up the footsoldiers, goons, and other minions.

"Greta".Faust
26 | Gretchen Melissa Faust | She/Her "To change things, you have to push past boundaries."	Description: A member of the Old Coven that wasn't under that sycamore tree but was another pivotal member as Greta was a healer and support in the fight against the Stygian Snake. Greta is a native of St. Portwell who was unfortunately named after her late grandmother, whom she "inherited" the artifact known as the Alchemist Ring. However, her Grandmother wanted the ring to be buried with her so it'd be lost to time as the Alchemist Ring was a chaotic instrument, and she wanted to finally bring an end to it. Her grandmother trusted Greta to follow through with her wishes, but curiosity got the better of the girl, and when her grandmother finally passed, she discretely slipped the ring off of her. Greta used the alchemist ring and experimented her little ass off, learning about all the beautiful things the ring could do. She created a healing potion and various other potions and wanted to use this artifact to change the world! However, she needed test subjects, and being a natural introvert, finding people to experiment on was hard. So, the young Greta went out at night and slipped homeless people her unique concoctions. This was when the Stygian Snake had long begun its rampage through St. Portwell, and one night, the Stygian Snake attacked and nearly killed her. The Sycamore Tree Coven, naturally, saved her, and she was roped into the Coven - which she only joined to test out her special potions. She provided potions that healed and enhanced abstractions, and turned people into monsters when needed. When the Stygian Snake was defeated she was the one that made that special potion that removed everyone's memories whenever they so much as took a sip. However, Greta had a natural drive to go out and experiment with her abstraction! She had infinite test subjects to experiment on in the Old Coven and kept her head down while everyone was bickering about this and that. She had her little special lab in the old Coven's lair where she had hundreds of potions she made to save the world! Various monsters began to pop up around St. Portwell, and the fearless second-in-command of the Coven, Daisy Hunter, got suspicious of Greta. Daisy knew that Greta could create potions that created monsters, and she was very reclusive... which led to Greta returning one day to a destroyed lab and Daisy accusing her of creating these monstrosities! Greta defended herself and eventually cleared her name with the help of Britney, Emily, Auri, and the others. However, the damage was already done; Greta's perception of the old Coven had already been long marred, and Greta left the Coven with a bitter taste in her mouth. This led Emily to personally reach out to Greta and invite her to a better Coven, the 8th Street Coven. Greta didn't like Emily initially, but she and Emily bonded over their mutual hatred of the Old Coven's leadership. Greta Faust became a longtime member of the 8th Street Coven and had a renewed lab in the 8th Street Manor. She supports Emily's goal of taking over St. Portwell only because the city is in absolute chaos, and they're the only chance of bringing some order. Greta is a small and pudgy woman who stands at four-ten and has a noticeable gut; she dresses and appears punk with bright red hair. Abstraction: Agent - The Alchemist Ring. A ring that Greta has taken from her grandmother against her wishes. It is an incredibly powerful and dangerous artifact with many different applications and uses, as Greta can create any number of potions by mixing different ingredients that she believes will create her potion. With this abstraction, Greta is a very flexible and essential member of the 8th Street Coven. Below are the potions that Greta has devised so far: Healing-Potion: Aloe vera gel, Honey, Chamomile Flowers, and Lavender Oil. A simple glowing green potion that'll cause whoever drinks it to heal their wounds. The more they drink, the more they'll get healed from their injuries. Monster-Potion: Bat Guano, Mandrake Root, Belladonna. A glowing orange potion will cause the consumer to transform into a monster that reflects some aspect of them. This transformation is usually painful and lasts for a few hours - and it causes the recipient's wounds to heal temporarily. Explosive-Potion: Baking Soda, Citric Acid Powder, Aluminum Foil Shreds, Iodine Tincture. Greta's primary combat Potion is a glowing red serum kept in a glass jar that'll go off like a pipe bomb if it shatters. It's incredibly dangerous and once knocked down a brick wall, and laid waste to a squad of Das Sonnenrad footsoldiers. Fire-Breathing-Potion: Red Dragon Chili Peppers, Dragonfruit Juice, Cinnamon Whiskey, Ghost Pepper Extract. A dull-red glowing potion that allows whoever drinks it to breathe fire at will. It is independent of abstractions, so one can breathe fire and use their regular abstraction. Invisibility-Potion: Juniper Berries, Slippery Elm Bark, Camouflage Green Tea, Clove Oil. A failure of a potion that Emily demands Greta to make. As the name implies, it allows whoever drinks it to turn invisible... and it doesn't work on their clothes, and Greta is not the kind of person who likes casual nudity. On anyone. Smoke-Screen-Potion: Charcoal Powder, Pine Tar, Eucalyptus Oil, Clove. When thrown or shattered, this potion creates a dense cloud of smoke, providing cover and obscuring vision. Stamina-Potion: Ginseng, Beetroot Extract, Ginger Root, Lemon Juice. The Stamina-Potion provides a temporary surge of energy, allowing whoever drinks it to perform strenuous physical activities for extended periods without fatigue. Acid-Potion: Hydrochloric Acid, Sulfuric Acid, Vinegar, Lemon Juice, Ground Limestone. When shattered, this potion releases a highly corrosive acid that splashes over a wide area. The acid rapidly dissolves materials such as metal, stone, flesh, etc. Shape-Shifting Potion: Chameleon Skin, Mandrake Root, Butterfly Wings, Ginseng, Nightshade Berries. This potion grants the consumer the ability to shape-shift into a different person for a short period of time. The exact form taken depends on the intent and focus of the user, as they can mimic someone they already know or temporarily remove a imperfection. Abstraction-Enhacement-Potion: Ginseng, Ashwagandha, Blue Lotus Flower, Cinnamon Bar. A glowing blue potion that boosts the abstractions of others the more they drink (and she is unaware of the upper limits, if any). For obvious reasons, it does not work on Greta.
Phoebe.Carmicheal
29 | Phoebe Tatiana Carmichael | She/Her. "I'll never let myself get outstaged again."	Description: A native of Los Angeles, Phoebe grew up in an upper-middle-class environment, and she was the resented daughter of her father. You see, her father, Ian Carmicheal, isn't her actual father, and she was the product of an affair between her mother and her partner. Her father knew this, resented Phoebe, and treated her as the black sheep of her family - and mistreated her at every opportunity. Which made the girl feel like trash, and she, throughout her life, tried her best to rise out of it and become great. Throughout school, she was the Queen Bee, tried to be the best at soccer and basketball, best at arts... and yet, in the end, it didn't make her feel any better. Though Phoebe wanted to be home and play video games, her home was where the hatred was. The second Phoebe graduated high school; she was shunted away to college in St. Portwell, which was for the best as it allowed the woman to slow down and find herself. She quickly learned to love being by herself and was usually stuck in her dorm room playing video games - which was an escape to her - where she was underestimated due to her race and gender often. Despite her more reclusive nature, however, she was drawn to being a performer, and as a hobby, she became a streamer who kept her identity a secret known as "Juicy-Fruit," a masked gamer. It started as a hobby she did on the side that gradually grew bigger and bigger due to her skill, confidence, and ability to put on a larger-than-life performance on stream... until she came out and unmasked herself. Some people turned their back on her, others became far more supportive of her, and Phoebe, as Juicy-Fruit, was always a divisive figure in the community due to her over-the-top ego. She eventually reached fame and fortune in which she could support herself full time off the streaming and dropped the whole college BS, went no-contact with her family, and got her apartment. Things were good; despite getting into numerous controversies, she rivaled a rising star, Kimberly Walton. Kimberly was a superstar who gained fame off being a "Ghost Hunter" who went around the country fighting monsters and ghosts, and Phoebe made sure to hate on her whenever she got the chance. After all, Kimberly boasted that magic was real; that mere notion made Phoebe laugh. However, Phoebe received a crash course in magic when, one day, she was pursued by a man-eating monster that broke into her apartment. She was in the middle of streaming, and if one of her viewers hadn't pointed it out, she would have been a hashtag herself! Phoebe was chased out of her apartment into the cold streets of St. Portwell, where she was cornered by the monster in an empty park... the experience made her undergo her Kindling Event. However, Kimberly Walton conveniently appeared and killed the monster - letting her know that she was the one in her stream that got her to turn around. Phoebe was confused as Kimberly quickly explained magic to Phoebe, then disappeared. For a few weeks, Phoebe went off-grid, and chased after Kimberly, desperately trying to learn about any magic but getting the cold shoulder by the girl. After Kimberly left St. Portwell, Phoebe naturally went to the internet and chased any lead she could... however, Emily. G. Reed personally reached out to her. Phoebe was talked into a personal meeting with 8th Street Coven's leadership and wanted to learn about magic. Magic was new and exciting to Phoebe, and she would rather be out fighting monsters than sitting at a computer table talking to Simps. Phoebe is quick to be sarcastic and point out the holes in her leadership's plans. Phoebe is a half-African-American (with some Caribbean), a half-Korean woman who is tall and bony (at five-eleven) with notably dyed green and yellow dreadlocks. She isn't aware of this, but James Carmicheal is her cousin. Abstraction: Adept - Red & Green Lux. Channeler: Her necklace. Ice Bitch: Cryomancy: Phoebe's main spell that allows her to create and manipulate ice at will. With focused thought, she can conjure intricate ice constructs, form icy barriers, or craft deadly projectiles to hurl at her foes. Her cryokinetic abilities allow her to shape ice into various forms, making her a dangerous and versatile fighter. Ice-Blast: Phoebe can create freezing blasts of cold energy in various forms (beams, orbs, etc.). These blasts freeze objects upon contact and encase them in a layer of ice. Chill: Phoebe can immediately lower the temperature of an area of her choice, either by a few degrees or to absolute zero. Due to her immunity to cold, she can function just fine in these pockets of cold. Ice Form: Phoebe can selectively or fully transform her body into solid ice. In this form, her body will be anatomically the same as her human form. Except her flesh and bones will be made out of ice - her organs will still be visible through the ice - and she will be absolute zero. In this form, Phoebe can manipulate her body shape and transform her hands into blades/maces/etc, and she'll be very durable. However, she'll be very slow and have a hard time maneuvering. Ice-Regeneration: Phoebe has developed a spell in which she can absorb liquids (well, liquids that can freeze), shift them into her Ice-Form, and heal the wounds. Through this method, she can regenerate from otherwise fatal wounds in mere moments.
Brianna.Wallace
27 | Brianna Harmony Wallace | She/Her "It was the most beautiful place I've seen."	Description: Another member of the Old Coven drawn to Emily's 8th Street to achieve her own ends. Brianna grew up a very mousy and reclusive woman in the town of St. Portwell; there isn't anything epic or amazing about her upbringing: She was shy, kept to herself, and was more interested in her family's library... which told fantastic stories of her family, Daniel Wallace, being a great dimensional explorer. Inside his library were the chronicles of his adventures, which ended when he met Brianna's mother, and they settled in Shimmer. There was something about a place known as the "Oasis" and "Luminescence," but the Stygian Snake attacked her house, killed her parents, and razed the library. Brianna was distraught but filled with aspirations of revenge... a desire that fueled her Kindling-Event. Briefly, Brianna went on a one-woman rampage against the Stygian Snake, taking out several of its dark minions... that was when she came in contact with the Sycamore Tree Coven and joined them. She joined the expedition to find the necessary artifacts, being a backup portal opener if one of their primary teleporters went down. Fortunately, that never happened, and Brianna was there to watch the Snake get sealed into the Sycamore Tree, then she left. She knew her true calling wasn't in Shimmer or the Sycamore Tree Coven... it was in the greater All-Verse. Brianna followed in her father's footsteps and traveled the All-Verse, cataloging her various adventures while searching for this "Oasis" and "Luminescence" that she could vaguely remember. However, during one of her adventures, she learned about an artifact known as the White Compass, something that could take someone into the Oasis and Luminescence. However, she heard that it was in the Pit, and like any sane and rational adventurer, she threw herself into a red crack and ended up in the Pit. A hellscape like no other, full of horrible monsters (which makes her a little adverse to her Coven sister, Cynthia). However, it was an exciting experience; she explored the place, searching for the White Compass, almost dying countless times and gathering many artifacts. Until she came across a temple where it was stored... and it was gone, she saw a Recollection of a man named James Vanburen taking it... and that sounded very familiar to her. Leaving the Pit was easy for Brianna, as the place appeared to be sentient, and it hated the fact that Brianna was only there to plunder. She returned to Shimmer and searched for James Vanburen and, unfortunately, heard that he was dead... and his descendants were less than friendly towards her. She had zero leads on where the White Compass was... but she eventually fell into Emily's 8th Street Coven. Brianna didn't like Emily, but with her insane aspiration of stealing everyone's artifacts, she had the best chance of getting the White Compass. So, she begrudgingly serves as 8th Street's teleporter. Brianna is a short and mousy woman at five-three who is chubby but hides her extra weight well. However, she always had wider hips and backside. Abstraction: Adept - Red & Purple. Channeler: Her cell phone. Photomancy: Brianna can use magic to create light and manipulate existing light sources. She can create flashes of light, holograms, and more... but the keystone to this spell is the ability to create "hard-light" constructs. She can create anything that comes to mind, and this gives her extreme amounts of versatility. Portal-Creation: A spell that allows Brianna to create a spiraling portal made out of spinning light that she and her 8th Street allies can travel through. Before, it only allowed her to only enter a brand new dimension, but she has adjusted it to allow her to teleport to places she has been before, as well. Reflective-Teleportation: A far faster and linear form of teleportation, but it has its limits. Brianna sticks her phone out and fires a beam of light, which will reflect off any surface. After focusing, Brianna can teleport to the other end of this beam of light. Teleportation Nullification Veil: A particular spell that Brianna devised during the battle with the Stygian Snake that'd negate its ability to teleport and escape them. After some experimentation and fine-tuning, she perfected the Spell and managed to block the Stygian Snake from escaping during the final battle. However, this spell is so potent that it works on any form of teleportation. Essentially, Brianna creates a transparent dome that can be up to thirty meters in diameter, and any teleporter, portal-creator, and whatnot will either not be allowed to teleport while in the veil or cannot enter it with teleportation.
Cynthia
22 | Cynthia, just Cynthia | She/Her "Cynthia finds this human annoying. Cynthia looks forward to silencing you."	Description: A predator among humans, close to a wolf in sheep's clothing as they get, as Cynthia is not an actual human even in the slightest. Cynthia comes from a species of Abominable that lurk in the Pit known as Abyssal Hunters, creatures that hunt and devour Paranormal Beings in the Pit. Cynthia would have just been another Abyssal Hunter who would have done nothing more than kill people and breed more of her kind if it wasn't for a woman named Tiffany Beck. After the Stygian Snake was defeated, Tiffany was one of the many who rushed into St. Portwell to see if she could fill the power vacuum before it was too late. She was a Purple Adept who cracked the code and created a method to enter and leave the Pit freely, and she heard about the Abyssal Hunters. She traveled into the Pit, found a pack with young, and simply kidnapped the newborn and researched the thing while feeding it her enemies. Tiffany discovered that the Abyssal Hunters had intelligence on par with humans (capable of human speech, too!) and raised the beast as a sort of child. Tiffany taught it how to read, write, talk, and societal customs, to the point where the thing could blend in with humans! She named it Cynthia and applied a spell known as Glamour, which allowed Cynthia to change between human form and Abyssal-Hunter Form. Tiffany turned Cynthia into her killing machine that hunted down and stalked all her enemies, forming an organization to take over St. Portwell. Which would have made her a formidable opponent in the present... if she hadn't crossed Emily G. Reed. Emily and the newly formed 8th Street Coven clashed with Tiffany Beck's faction, but the tide was turned when Jacqueline Reed found out about Cynthia's true nature. Emily convinced her that Tiffany was an unworthy pack leader, and she got through to the beast by saying she was nothing more than an attack dog to her! Cynthia turned on her master and brutally killed Tiffany in front of the entire 8th Street Coven and joined them - accepting Emily as her new pack leader. Becoming one of their longtime members who was a great help during the conflict with Das Sonnenrad, where she ate several of Kaiser's Chosen. Alive. Cynthia has a strange personality because while the Abyssal Hunters have human-like intelligence, they're still wired differently. For starters, she uses the third person to speak and sometimes acts like an excitable puppy rather than a person. However, she must resist the urge to eat every Paranormal she comes across and save her appetite for the enemies of 8th Street. She doesn't consider herself human thanks to Emily and aligns herself with 8th Street only because she sees Emily as a superior "pack leader" to Tiffany. While under glamour, Cynthia appears to be an African-American woman modeled after a younger Tiffany. One that stands at five-four, with an afro that was dyed blonde. In her true form? Well... Abstraction: Abominable - Abyssal-Hunter. The Abyssal Hunters are a hazardous species of pack hunter Abominable that inhabit the Pit - though it's theorized that they previously resided in a destroyed universe and adapted well to the harsh nature of the Pit. They have human levels of intelligence... while having animalistic strength. To begin, Cynthia's "master" had a spell applied to her so she could switch between human form and Abyssal-Hunter form at will, exploding in a cloud of pink smoke. Her proper form is a white, four-legged creature with a mouth full of teeth and two long, razor-sharp talons on her feet, and she is twelve feet long from head to toe. The Abyssal Hunter's physical capabilities are far from superhuman, however. Still, she is strong enough to throw a human around with her bite alone (speaking of bite, you do not want to get bit by her), her sense of smell is on par with a bloodhound, can run thirty miles per hour, mimic voices, and durable enough to tank most non-Paranormal attacks. However, they have an ability that is known as Emotional-Field Attunement. Cynthia can see the auras of any Paranormal-Being in sight (even in human form), and she can focus on them and automatically adjust her Emotional-Field to resist their Abstraction. For example, against a Cyromancer, she can be incredibly hard to freeze and can tank their frozen attacks like nothing. Someone with super strength will find their punches hitting her at half their strength. However, she can only do this to one Paranormal-Being at a time. As a failsafe, if the "Pack-leader" (Emily) shouts "Cynthia heel!", then Cynthia will transform back into her harmless human form.
"Lee".Evans
24 | Stanley Daniel Evans | He/Him "I should have been the hero! I should have saved everyone!"	Description: The Stygian Snake terrorized many different universes, hopping from dimension to dimension whenever daybreak arose. Many don't know there was a dimension parrel to Shimmer in which an alternate Sycamore Tree Coven formed to defeat the Stygian Snake. However, given that Shimmer's Sycamore Tree Coven defeated the Stygian, this alternate Coven didn't suffer nearly the same number of casualties and had no purpose. However, this alternate Ashley Stone apparently took the Coven down a darker path, and they became an antagonistic force that took over St. Portwell's magical scene - killing or imprisoning anyone who objected. Where does Lee come in all of this? Mercy Evans, his older sister (who died fighting the Stygian Snake in Shimmer's Coven), objected to the direction that Ashley took the Coven. Mercy formed a resistance group, the Vanguard, and rebelled against this Coven. Mercy went home and told her younger brother all about this, and Lee thought it was soooo cool and saw his older sister as a hero! Eventually, they ambushed and critically injured Mercy outside their home, and she gave Lee the artifact she used: The Hero's Gauntlet. Lee vowed revenge against the Coven and used the Gauntlet to wage a one-man war against this Coven. He seemingly made headway against this powerful organization, but in his attacks against the Coven, he somehow made things worse. Releasing dangerous and powerful monsters into St. Portwell and leaving St. Portwell's power vacuum open for worse threats to take their place. The Coven desperately tried to convince Lee that he got everything wrong and he should stop. This plunged St. Portwell into chaos while eroding Lee's sanity while claiming to be the hero that would liberate St. Portwell from the evil Coven. He finally faced Ashley, Auri, and Daisy and prepared for an epic final battle. They chucked him through a portal, and he ended up in Shimmer. Lost, scared, and alone, he eventually found Emily G. Reed, a member of Mercy's Vanguard in his home dimension. He told her everything and... Emily essentially manipulated him into joining 8th Street under promises of helping him defeat the alternate Coven if she helps him. Since then, Lee has been a member of 8th Street who quickly found himself abhorring Emily but swallowed his pride because she is familiar to him and out of hopes that she does help him. Lee is a skinny, somewhat well-built caucasian guy due to hitting the gym, and stands at five-eleven. Due to his experiences with his universe's Coven, his perception of the Sycamore Tree Coven is permanently marred. Abstraction: Agent - The Hero's Gauntlet. The Hero's Gauntlet is an artifact created in an alternate dimension that changed hands quite often until it fell into Mercy Evan's hands... then Lee Evan's. The Gauntlet, at its basest, raises Lee's strength, speed, reflexes, durability, and healing to slightly above peak... not quite superhuman, but he's going to give an average person a challenge hand to hand. However, the artifact can allow its wielder to summon several magical weapons wielded by the first heroes to defeat Babylon The Great and stop her from destroying the All-Verse. The weapons and their abilities are below: The Valiant Blades: The go-to weapon for Lee, and it is essentially a glowing-gold sword that has no supernatural properties in particular... other than the fact that the blades are functionally indestructible. He can create the blades from regular-sized swords to comically large claymores straight out of a videogame. The Blazing Arrow: A flaming bow and arrow that Lee can use to fire explosive arrows... upon contact, the arrows will create an explosion of fire. The Zephyr Dagger: A glowing dagger that Lee can use to summon powerful gusts of wind by swinging the short blade. He can create a tornado by spinning it around as long as he keeps spinning it. The Quake Hammer: A mighty hammer made of stone, he can slam the hammer on the ground and create powerful earthquakes that could potentially knock down an entire building. At the very least, he can disorient and slow down foes. Aegis Reflector: A transparent, triangle-shaped shield made of glowing purple energy that will reflect any magical projectiles that make contact with it.
Nadine.King
38 | Nadine Shaniya King | She/Her "The Baron wants you in his army... I want you out of my face."	Description: Not a native of St. Portwell like many others, Nadine was born and raised in New Orleans... where clashing necromancer families rule the city from the shadows. Nadine has no connection to this and grew up in the poorer parts of New Orleans to parents who were getting by. However, they were a victim of the feuding magical families, and they were killed, leaving Nadine a bitter child who was kicked around the system while desperately searching for a cause of all of this. However, this attracted the Baron, an ancient necromancer Apparition, to Nadine, and he adjoined himself to her. He became Nadine's magical mentor and explained to her everything that had happened... and helped Nadine discover a new purpose in life. She vowed to destroy the magical families that ruled New Orleans, but that was easier said than done - while the Baron was powerful, they were powerful and numerous, so the young Nadine had to get creative. She acted as a double agent, spy, information broker, mercenary, and so forth, constantly pitting the families against one another until she managed to evoke a fatal war between the factions. Eventually, all the families were destroyed, and she developed a sense of nothingness... this didn't make her feel any better, and eventually, other factions moved into New Orleans. So, with the Baron, Nadine left New Orleans to fall into chaos and traveled the West Coast, acting as a "supernatural expert" con woman. She traveled, deceiving people out of their well-earned funds by casting curses on people and engineering Paranormal phenomenon (that she could conveniently solve). Eventually, however, she ended up in St. Portwell right after the defeat of the Stygian Snake, and the city was rife with marks... However, Nadine was confronted by the Sycamore Tree Coven, who were investigating her. After a brief confrontation, Nadine was run out of the city by the Coven. Humiliated, Nadine went back to drifting from place to place... until she was reached out by Emily G. Reed, one of the people previously a part of the Coven that defeated her. Emily knew that there was more to Nadine than what met the eye, and the Baron and Babylon the Great were old friends. Emily wanted Nadine to be part of her new 8th Street Coven as her supernatural expert - it wasn't a gig that Nadine was used to. Still, Nadine was tired of wandering around scamming and saw some potential in Emily's plans. If not, then Nadine King didn't exist. Nadine is a tall (at six-two) African-American woman who usually has a handful of different rings and vibrant earrings. She usually keeps a scowl on her face and is silent, but when she speaks, 8th Street listens. She is the most quiet and mysterious of the 8th Street Coven - to the joy of Emily. Abstraction: Adjoined - The Baron. One of the many apparitions that spawned from the legend of Baron Samedi... the Baron himself is more inspired by what Baron Samedi was not. Where Baron Samedi was a peaceful Loa that welcomed people to the other side, the Baron is a more malicious and villainous Apparition that seeks power. The Baron is a necromancer Apparition deeply intertwined with human emotions, particularly those associated with life and death. The Baron can tap into the leftover emotional residue left behind by grieving hearts and tragic and tumultuous events - creating a bridge between the human realm and the realm of the undead. Through this link, the Baron can summon various undead minions that are typical Necromancer feats. The Baron can summon hordes of zombies, skeletons, wraiths, and whatnot - and he can somewhat manipulate these minions' forms. He can create massive rolling blobs of flesh and even towering monstrosities, even given enough time. The Baron is naturally connected to grieving hearts and can sense the auras of people grieving their loved ones from over a hundred meters through solid objects.
Malik.Jakane
26 | Malik Wyatt Jakane Jr. | He/Him "I am Malik... of the soaring wind! Of the raging sea!"	Description: The theatrical and hammy Malik Jakane (Jr)! A resident and native of Miami, Florida, and son and the only child (that we know of!) of Shayton. Malik grew up utterly oblivious to what his father was doing to give the boy what he wanted; after all, Shayton was a very distant person, making him a distant father. He would appear now and then, mainly for important events and to see his son, and then disappear. Which... did not bode well for Malik's development. However, the boy was naturally personable and outgoing, surrounded by friends constantly, and Florida was the place to be for summer activities. So, Malik didn't grow up unhappy, and he grew up with aspirations to become an actor (and was naturally drawn to theater) and travel the world - to be there on the world stage. However, when Malik turned 18, Shayton felt it was time for him to come clean to his son about what he was doing and that somehow pushed Malik further away from Shayton. It was an emotional moment that caused Malik to undergo his kindling event, and it was a secret that he kept from his father (who could have helped him a great deal). Once Malik graduated, he went to college to make a man for himself and pursue his dreams! He first went to Miami University for a bachelor's in Computer Science. However, this was merely a fallback plan to gain some extra skills. His true calling was acting, and after applying, applying, and applying... he managed to get into the prestigious St. Portwell School of Acting! Since then, he has been working to become the actor of his dreams. Malik was very well-rounded and outgoing in different places was his thing - his favorite restaurant was the one that Pearl Cho's parents owned. He became very close to the girl that moonlit as some nature-based superhero! The two dated briefly, where she revealed the world of magic, and Malik thought that was crazy... because he, too, had magic. She roped him into the Greenwood Coven (Where he was the Knight Storm for a stint), where he acted as the sole male member for a time. However, in the war against Emily, Malik came up with a genius idea: practice his acting by acting as a spy for Greenwood. Ruby approved the idea, and Malik put on the guise of a ruthless thug while transmitting all the information he could back to Greenwood. However, Malik is not built for this and is miserable in 8th Street and wants to go back to smoking weed with Greenwood. Malik is a second-generation African immigrant; his father was Liberian, and his mother is Nigerian. However, Malik identifies as American while taking in his parent's culture. He is tall, at six-three, and very thin and lanky due to years of exercise (he doesn't want to be a fat actor!). While with 8th Street, he usually has a scowl and puts on the facade of a violent thug who is a massive softie behind closed doors. He has no clue that Shayton is in St. Portwell and would rather not know. Abstraction: Adept - Red Lux. Channeler: Aeromancy: The first spell that Malik devised was an Aeromancy spell! Reflecting his peaceful nature, he can summon gusts of wind, tornadoes, and whatnot that gelled well with the Spring and Fall Maiden's Aeromancy. What was essential to the spell was that Malik had developed a form of flight by riding the wind, baby! However, apart from his guise as a member of 8th Street, he has temporarily retired the spell, only using the flight aspect. Storm-Cloud: One of the Spells that Malik had developed as the Knight Storm, Malik can summon a telepathically-controlled storm cloud that can be used to create any weather phenomena. Whether it be rain, snow, hail, lightning, fog, wind, etc. However, while in 8th Street, he does not use this spell lest he gets outted as the Knight Storm. Starsailor: The primary spell that Malik uses as an 8th Street spy... Malik can shoot miniature stars out of his hands that appear as they would if they were in the night sky. These stars are hot and can burn anything they come in contact with, but they dissipate on contact with an object or after a few moments. He can manipulate their direction somewhat and do something similar to the ol Hellzone Grenade.
Flora.Benard
31 | Flora Sydney Benard | She/Her "I was just trying to have a sister! I didn't deserve this!"	Description: Flora is a native of St. Portwell who grew up in an idyllic little suburb only a stone's throw away from the coast! She grew up playing with friends and cousins and idolizing her older sister, Geneva. Geneva was everything Flora was not; she was tall, dazzling, personable, and talented! Flora was... just there for the most part, and her accomplishments were typically passed over in favor of her sister. To the point where she used to claim that she has been "sixteen, clumsy, and shy, for over fifteen years now!" Geneva went to college, and Flora was stuck as a receptionist for an accounting company. She spent several years dodging her boss's "offer for promotion" while miserable, only watching the fantastic life that Geneva was living through social media! Things changed once Geneva got a boyfriend... it was a gradual change. She started posting dog whistles that went over Flora's head to outright posting fascist propaganda. However, the most significant change was that Geneva was finally paying Flora attention and treating her like a sister instead of a prop! However, it wasn't long until Flora realized just why her sister was treating her nicely all of a sudden. To recruit her into Das Sonnenrad. You see, Geneva's boyfriend crept into her life, corrupted her mind and worldview, and made her perfect for the Das Sonnenrad cult. Using his abstraction, he deduced that she had Adept lineage, forced her to undergo a Kindling Event, and made her one of Kaiser Draeger's Chosen alongside himself. Geneva roped her sister into the cult only to gain favor with Kaiser Draeger, and she gave her sister the Aegis Piercer to act as one of Kaiser's footsoldiers on the streets of St. Portwell. Flora knew it was wrong, but the high she got from finally getting attention and approval from her sister was none other. So she happily cut down men, women, and children alike to keep that high. However, it wasn't long until she came down and what had happened to her: she was love-bombed into becoming a soldier for a Neo-Nazi cult only so her sister could get the approval of a Hitler-wannabe. She wanted to shoot Geneva with the Aegis Piercer... but she knew that Das Sonnenrad didn't take kindly to deserters (as in they were typically made an example of), so she had to play the part until Flora saw the writing on the wall: Kaiser Draeger had made some serious enemies and they were systematically tearing the cult apart, stronghold by stronghold. Flora knew this was her chance to get out of this: she contacted Emily G. Reed of 8th Street. She allied with 8th Street and told her where the remaining Das Sonnenrad strongholds were and, most crucially, where Kaiser Draeger was. During the final battle, Flora tried to get through to her sister, but she was too far gone and was willing to die for the Cult. The Winter Maiden killed her, and the Specter Knight claimed her soul. She escaped the Das Sonnenrad sanctuary, and it didn't take a genius for the Das Sonnenrad remnants to figure out that she had betrayed the cult. Naturally, they came for her neck, and Flora barely made it out alive. She went to the PRA's new Regional Commander, Meifeng Liao, and she told Flora to pound sand, that she had zero sympathy for Nazis, and to go accept the consequences of her actions. Flora falls into 8th Street with no other choice, who utterly hates her guts but finds her too valuable to get rid of. It was the only way to keep the leftover Nazis off of her, as they were afraid of 8th Street wiping out the rest of them. So, Flora acts as the begrudging punching bag and foot for Emily G. Reed's 8th Street Coven. Flora is an average-height Caucasian woman who is skinny with a face full of freckles and reddish-brown hair. Abstraction: Agent - The Aegis Piercer. A magical artifact and weapon used by the famed Amazon tribe to protect their home island. The Amazons had an array of magical weaponry that would be fantastic by the outside world's standards, but the standard issue to them. They used The Aegis Piercer to defend their island, but several were smuggled off the island and sold to the various black market groups... and one ended up in Flora's hands. The Aegis Piercer takes the appearance of a crossbow made out of stone marble... and despite looking too heavy to wield, it can easily be wielded by the scrawny Flora. It is a devastating and helpful weapon that is standard-issue for a reason. It essentially has a limitless supply of arrows; just by pulling the trigger, an arrow will always appear and fire at the enemy. Interestingly, the arrows can bypass any defenses and end up in the target. These arrows are imbued with dimensional traveling ability and can temporarily phase in between different dimensions to bypass any defenses and end up in the target - bypasses any defenses, laws of physics, or common sense. This has different levels, as the Aegis Piercer is mentally linked to Flora, as it can either bypass a wall to get to the target on the other side or pierce through the armor of an individual... or even go through one person to get to the one on the other side. However, these arrows have no supernatural properties beyond being supernaturally armor-piercing and are just functionally regular arrows.
George.Nelson
26 | George Nicholas Nelson | He/Him "You can't put this rush into words!"	Description: A member of the Old Coven... he was famous in St. Portwell High as one of its biggest bullies, who used his incredible size to intimidate others. He was famous in the wrestling ring as George the Juggernaut! However, one day, after beating some nerds at the old arcade, George was attacked by the Stygian Snake's minions, who nearly killed him. Until he was saved by the old Coven and discovered that he suddenly had an Abstraction, he was roped into the Coven by Britney Williams, primarily comprised of the people he bullies! Working with the people he intimidated was difficult, but he felt a rush like no other when fighting the Stygian Snake and its minions! This abstraction he had made him cocky and even bolder in his bullying and bullying members of the old Coven during the campaign against the Stygian Snake. This all culminated in the final battle, where he rushed in, took a fatal blow, and was left for dead by the members he had scorned! If it wasn't for the kindness and compassion of Jade West, he wouldn't have made it. He was mad, and instead of reflecting on himself, he blamed the Coven. He eventually became one of their enemies, a persistent nail in their side that acted as dumb muscle for various factions. He was defeated time and time again, and this made him no different as he loved the rush he got from these magical fights! The collapse of the old Coven didn't stir George at all... as he fell into the hands of Emily G. Reed. Emily told him the truth: that Britney forcibly adjoined him to his Apparition under hopes that he would die fighting the Stygian Snake. This made George feel no way or the other, except that Britney wanted him to die before her little secret got out. Emily knew that George liked to fight, just for the thrill of it all, and invited him to a Coven where he would get all the fights he wanted... and he gladly accepted, becoming 8th Street's enforcer and strongman. George is notable for being freakishly tall at seven-five (like they made News articles about the guy!) and very well-built due to his abstraction. Abstraction: Adjoined - The Strongman. The Apparition born from the ideations of what strength can do, and human power! The Strongman was one of the few useful Apparitions in Britney's possession... to put it simply, it's a simple abstraction (Shocker!): George is strong. Like, really, really, strong. He can perform ridiculous feats of super strength, such as throwing trucks, punching through concrete, and tanking bullets like it was nothing. It's unknown where the upper limits of this Abstraction land. Still, they come with a subtle telekinetic aspect that allows George to defy the laws of physics with some of his feats, such as pulling a chunk out of the ground, throwing it at someone, and throwing a car without falling apart when he swings it. George is also durable to boot, but only to physical attacks - you can still burn, electrocute, and whatnot.
Aaron.Sawyer
30 | Aaron Elijah Sawyer | He/Him "Whatever. Take the deal or get the fuck out of my face."	Description: A native of Chi-town... he grew up in the mean southside alongside his younger sister, Kenya. Chicago wasn't a safe place to raise kids, but their parents did their best to give their children a better life than them. However, Aaron, despite it all, found himself drawn to the bad crowd, the kids who idolized the gangster lifestyle. By high school, Aaron was selling drugs and illegally had a gun that was given to him by an older friend... and he eventually ended up getting arrested for possessing drugs and possession of a stolen firearm (that gun he was given? Reported stolen). Given that he was a black youth already committing crimes, he was tried as an adult and sentenced to over twenty years in prison before he got out of high school. The stress triggered his Kindling Event, and with his White Lux, he navigated the prison system more easily than others. He developed a sharp edge and cunning that helped him survive these twenty years that he had to look forward to... however, when he was in his early twenties, his sister, Kenya, visited him in prison in a private room with some people in suits. These people turned out to be Meifeng Liao and Cindy Keagan, who guessed correctly that he had an abstraction and gave him a choice: Get released out of prison now and join the PRA, or rot there. Naturally, he chose the former, underwent training, and had his sister as his partner. It was a culture shock, but Aaron would rather be in a suit than a cell. However, old habits die hard, and it wasn't long until he was making under-the-table deals with Paranormal organizations, tampering with evidence, and skimming drugs and money. He knew it was a great way to get thrown back in jail (or worse, "accidentally" fall out of a window), but this was all that Aaron knew. However, his sister Kenya caught onto this and demanded that Aaron stop, and at the request of his loving sister, Aaron ceased and went clean... ... Until the Lighthouse incident. Like many other agents, it was a traumatic event that he doesn't like to talk about. What is significant about the whole thing was that his sister Kenya was the one to end it all... and then she went missing. No one in the PRA cared about her and brushed him aside when he demanded that they search for his sister, but they already declared her dead. Out of frustration, Aaron left the PRA, and Director Alcott allowed him to do so without throwing him back in prison, as the Director felt that wasn't right. So, Aaron went from place to place, working for different crime-lords across the states (including Dollhouse, briefly), and sometimes being an informant for the Police and/or PRA. Until he ended up in St. Portwell... where he came across the lovely Emily G. Reed; dealing with her was like rubbing his nuts against sandpaper until they go raw, but she had potential (and she fought Nazis), and she needed someone who was used to working in the criminal underground in her ranks. So, Aaron is a defacto member of the 8th Street Coven (only because he detests Emily G. Reed too much to call himself one of her people), acting as a bridge between 8th Street and the criminal underworld - allowing them to make deals with different factions and finding artifacts for them. Aaron is an African-American man who is skinny but stands at five-eleven. Abstraction: Adept - Pink & White Lux. Channeler: His trusty lighter. Spotlight: A spell Aaron devised to avoid fights: he can focus on a person and, using his Pink-Lux, influence people subconsciously into paying attention to that person. People's eyes will be drawn to them, and will pay more attention to them over other events. This somewhat bypasses Emotional-Fields, as the Paranormal will have the ability to resist. Emotional-Amplifier: By focusing on a person, Aaron can intensify their current emotions to exponential levels - causing them to quickly spiral out of confront. A mildly annoyed person will break out to throwing hands in seconds, a happy person will be able to ignore even the worst moments, while a sad person will be catatonic. Emotional-Fields inhibit this spell somewhat, it will take more effort and concentration to bypass this Emotional-Field. Danger-Sense: A keystone spell in Aaron's arsenal, this spell allows him to instinctively sense when he's in danger or when someone nearby has hostile intent toward him or his allies. This sense manifests as a tingling sensation or a heightened state of awareness, allowing him to react quickly to threats. This spell works automatically and has saved him and 8th Street countless times since he joined. Connect The Dots: This spells Aaron understands the cause-and-effect relationships within a action. By focusing his attention on a specific location or person, he gains intuitive insights into the links between events and "fills in the blanks for him." For example, if he walks into the aftermath of a fight, he can know what sparked the fight and how many people were fighting in it. Radar-Pulse: A spell that continuously sends out a pulse of White-Lux that travels out in a range of thirty meters. This pulse bounces off living beings and returns to him and gives him a sort of "map" of people or other Paranormal-Beings in this radius - trumping most stealth abilities that don't specifically counter White Lux or information gathering in general. He can sense if someone is entering the range, moving within it, or just lingering. It doesn't give him more information beyond the location of whatever is within its range. Knowledge Absorption: A spell that allows Aaron to gain intuitive knowledge and insights on his environment. It works by creating an invisible thirty-meter field dome around him, and it's a sensory field that gathers information in his environment. It gives him information on basically everything within that field, such as details on objects and people, information on computers and books, and even residual magical energies. The longer it remains active, the more information he gathers, including distant history - but that would require the field to be active for hours. Lie Detection: This spell activates the moment someone starts talking. Aaron sees an aura, and this spell basically monitors their aura for dishonesty. When they lie, the aura changes color, and Aaron will know that they are lying. Mixed with Connect the Dots, there's just no lying to Aaron. Abstraction Intuition: A spell his sister taught him helps him learn about the paranormal and their abstractions. When an abstraction is used in his field of view, he instinctively senses and understands their nature and gains information such as what Paranormal-Being they are, what their abstraction is, and any other information relating to their abstraction. This spell also allows him to see the auras of Paranormal-Beings and essentially automatically tells him if they are Paranormal or not.
Carol.Doyle
Chronologically: 24. Biologically: 14. | Carol Heaven Doyle | She/Her. "I'll turn you into a fucking baby if you do that ever again!"	Description: The spicy member of the Old Coven and current member of the 8th Street Coven. Carol was a native of LA but moved to St. Portwell when she was young because her parents thought it would be a better environment for her (and they have family there!). There wasn't anything of note about Carol's past; she was just a regular ass girl. However, the Stygian Snake's rampage was where it all began, and her entire house was knocked over by the Stygian Snake, which killed her entire family. She was barely alive... and she saw Britney Williams. Suddenly, she was brought back to life, and... she looked down and saw a fucking hourglass fused to her stomach. She was confused about all of this, but Britney brought her back to her cult, and they explained everything - about how magic was real, and now she had magic too (which Britney was oddly knowledgeable about). She was still confused but honestly went along to stop the Stygian Snake and avenge her family! The Stygian Snake tore her in half during the final battle. However, at this point, Carol began returning to the same spot where it all started: her destroyed house. She checked the hourglass in her stomach, and it would gradually drop sand from the second the day started, ending at midnight, where it would teleport her back to the exact spot where her old house where her family was killed. It would also revert her to her exact appearance, preventing her from aging alone while triggering her to see her old house. Carol went to Britney, who explained that the hourglass resets Carol back in time to the moment she received it, with its ability to restore anyone or anything she touches merely being a sub ability. Then, it came out that Britney did this to her and others without their permission. Naturally, Carol was pissed off about this, and this naturally drew her to the likes of Emily and Vashti. When those two left, Carol was right behind them, given that the Old Coven had more interest in arguing and fighting each other than getting this damn thing out of her. Thus, Carol was one of the founding members of the 8th Street Coven and wholly supports Emily's dream of magical supremacy only so she can stop assholes with God-complexes like Britney. However, her goal is to get rid of the hourglass and gain a new abstraction, which Emily claims she's working on (she's not). When she was fourteen years old, Carol appeared to be herself, a small girl at four-eleven with very short blonde hair. Despite her aggressive and firey attitude, she doesn't look intimidating or assuming. Abstraction: Agent - The Hourglass. The Hourglass is a valuable and potent artifact that Britney forcibly fused to Carol to force her into the fight with the Stygian Snake. Carol admits it is a powerful artifact, but she wants nothing to do with it. Its most notable ability is to gradually revert anything she touches in time (reverting it to a previous state), and the longer she touches it, the further back in time it goes. This can reach a point where she can do things such as reverting materials to their raw form and turning people back into fetuses (and yes, she has done this before). She can exert more energy to make this process faster, and this abstraction can work on the Paranormal, but Emotional-Fields make it work four times as hard. If someone consents, she can pierce through their emotional field; using it offensively on the Paranormal is impractical. With this abstraction, she can easily repair damage and heal wounds - even resurrect the dead. However, this isn't the true ability of this abstraction and is merely a sub-ability. The primary aspect of the Hourglass is, essentially, immortality. Upon her first death, it created a fixed point (a checkpoint) in time that she automatically returns to once the clock strikes midnight. Once midnight hits, she will be teleported to where Britney gave her the hourglass - her parent's house that the Stygian Snake destroyed - and reverting her physically back to that point. So, any alterations made to her body will be restored, any aging, any wounds, and it will even bring her back from the dead. While it is a powerful abstraction, Carol wants to be normal!
Maya.Choi
28 | Myeong-Suk “Maya” Choi | She/Her "Just try telling me to shut up again." @FernStone	Description: Maya likes to claim that the 8th Street Coven has no leader, or if asked will say its her, but in reality she’s more like the gum on the bottom of Emily's shoe that she can't get rid of no matter how hard she tries. Maya grew up in Seoul, Korea in an incredibly strict household where the only fun she had was educational games. She got into St. Portwell college for Chemical Physics, and immediately moved (just after the Stygian Snake was seeled). She fell in with a bad group, then a bad relationship that turned incredibly abusive. This triggered her kindling event, and the aftermath led her to losing all her friends… Then she heard about the little coven Emily was putting together. Maya was one of the early members, joining pretty much as soon as it was created. She was looking for companionship and a way to explore her newfound magic - but she was quite happy when the coven’s focus shifted. Taking over the city's magical scene seemed pretty good. While with the 8th Street Maya has graduated and gotten a very well paid job at a company run by one of the cities Elite (literally, they’re a member of this group). This means she can help 8th a bit with information gathering on one of their enemies... At least the little she finds out and overhears at work. It’s hard to tell why Maya is still in the 8th Street Coven. Her and Emily are constantly at each other's throats - Maya just can’t help making snide comments towards her, which leads to arguments and threats, but ultimately the two of them agree with each other more often than not (which neither would admit to). She also doesn’t really have anything to gain. Maya doesn’t take any issue with Emily’s brutality, she’s glad to go along with that, she just takes issue with how controlling she is and her constant slut shaming. And she will not shut up about those issues she has. But 8th are also the only people she knows in the city, so she’s chosen to stick there. Maya is an incredibly loud, abrasive person. She doesn’t deal very well at being told what to do, which just adds to her constant clashing with Emily, and is very stubborn. Maya can be good company when she’s enjoying herself - she’s incredibly flirty, which definitely never causes problems for 8th street. Maya is a short (five-one), slim Korean woman with dyed red-brown hair. She often dresses in a cuter style, which completely clashes with her bitchy personality. Abstraction: Adept - Red Lux. Channeler: A helix hoop earring Sound Manipulation: Maya’s main spell, she can create sound waves and manipulate already existent sounds. She primarily uses this to emit powerful waves of sound waves that cause physical damage, either in a burst of sound in a radius around her or a more directed but slightly weaker blast from her hands. These sound blasts knock people back and cause all sorts of damage. She also uses it distort already existing sounds. She can make a sound incredibly loud and grating to the point it causes auditory damage, mess up how something sounds so it's unrecognizable, and the like. Sand Blast: Similar to how she uses direct sound wave blasts, Maya can create and control sand and send out a powerful blast of it from her hands. This is only from her hands, and a limited amount of sand, but it’s strong enough to hurt - and blind if it hits the eyes.
Amy.Nakamura
24 | Amy Nakamura | She/Her "If the first hit doesn't take you out; the second one will. And if the second one doesn't; you’ll wish the first one did."	Description: Called Amy by Americans, but known as Aiko by Kura. She is a second-generation Japanese immigrant who was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. She grew up with other siblings that her parents thought were better than her, and they neglected her needs, which was unsuitable for the girl's development. She grew up being rebellious and acting out in any way she could, which led to her spending many afternoons in detention or suspended. However, the Nakamura family moved to St. Portwell as a teenager, and she came across a mysterious kanabō ... and it spoke to her when she touched it. It was very spooky, but Amy kept it hidden underneath her bed of weird interest in it, realizing that the supernatural was real. Eventually, she met Kura Yoshida, and the two became best friends. The two became far closer when the Stygian Snake attacked, and they were forced to fight for their lives. However, they were saved by the Sycamore Tree Coven, and eventually, the two joined. Amy grabbed the kanabō, then gained the powers of the Oni and used them against the Stygian Snake, being there when the thing was defeated and sealed into a tree. However, Kura returned to Japan afterward. Amy remained in America, keeping in touch with Kura, and became an MMA fighter as a Strawweight fighter afterward. However, she went missing after Father Wolf murdered Kura, and when she returned she immediately joined the 8th Street Coven for mysterious reasons (She claims is to get a shot at the bastard that killed her friend). Amy is very short at five feet even and is very athletically fit, with muscles she forged by years of going to the gym. Abstraction: Agent - The Oni's Club. In ancient Japan, three powerful Apparitions that called themselves Onis were defeated by old Oni-Kariudo (Demon Hunters) and sealed inside a kanabō. The Nakamura family kept this kanabō until modern times when it was merely a family heirloom... however, this family heirloom grants whoever's holding it their power. Empowered by the Club, Amy possesses superhuman strength and durability that allows her to toss someone effortlessly, flip over a car with one hand, and tank supernatural attacks. The kanabō itself is supernaturally durable, allowing Amy to unleash devastating attacks without fear of damaging the weapon. In addition, it grants her tactile pyrokinesis, enabling her to generate fire only at the touch range. She channels this pyromancy into her strikes, which can inflict severe burns. However, as Amy fights, the Onis can exert their influence upon Amy and thus channel more power into her. They fuel her rage, and eventually, she will go utterly berserk, turning into a rampaging beast that can be (vaguely) directed at a target (and the ones close to it). The longer Amy fights, the more powerful she becomes; her strength, durability, and pyrokinesis will increase to exponential levels as her pain will be numbed, and she'll be able to ignore her injuries as she fights. It is unknown if there is any limit to how strong she can become. However, there's only so long she can be berserk, and eventually, her body will give out as she collapses due to exhaustion.
'Violet'.Santos
29 | Marcia Zoe Santos | She/Her "It's okay to stare, sweetheart."	Description: Native of Los Angeles, Violet and her best friend Pink (though they call each other sisters) drifted from town to town and ended up in St. Portwell because once they turned 18, they were put out. Violet grew up the pariah and outcast of her family and peers because she was born intersex. She has a woman's general appearance and shape to the point where she's unmistakably female but was born with male genitals. When growing up, Violet was excessively mocked and shunned for this feature because regardless of what she did, people always found out, and she could never escape it. She, in time, learned that regardless of what was between her legs, she was a woman and dressed excessively provocatively and feminine to show the world. If the weather allows it, Violet would dress in the most racy outfits possible (booty shorts, crop tops, mini-skirts that, if they were shorter, would get her arrested for indecent exposure), except she would keep that little shame in between her legs hidden. Violet is used to living on the fringes of society, as she had to steal, cheat, and other unspeakable things to ensure that she and her sister had food in their stomach and a place to sleep (even if it was the floor most of the time). Violet and Pink finally settled in St. Portwell, where the two became strippers at some trashy gig named Veni Vedi Veni, where she had to shake ass to put food on the table. Violet is half African-American, half Brazilian, with light-caramel skin, and usually has her hair dyed some color (before, it was lavender, but she dyed it hot-pink). She stands five-seven feet tall and is very skinny due to her ridiculous genetics and her... career choice. The woman is flirty, firey, and loves to make jokes... frequently taking things too far. Abstraction: Unknown.
'Pink'.Howard
28 | Abigail Taya Howard | She/Her "Step into the mist, daddy. You won't forget it."	Description: Pink is Violet's best friend (though they call each other sisters) and, much like her, was born and raised in Los Angeles. Her parents weren't the best, so Pink spent her youth rolling with other troubled youth. Pink was very used to the inside of a police car that usually took her home to her parents after she committed a crime or two. She's also used to Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall as sometimes the judge wasn't so lenient on the young girl. Eventually, her parents just gave up on her, and the second she turned 18, she was put out. With her best friend, they drifted from place to place and ended up in St. Portwell. She does not like to think about what she did for food and shelter, and staying in homeless shelters gave her a lot of things to forget. Eventually, she and her sister became a stripper at Veni Vedi Veni, where she worked with her sister, Violet. Pink is African-American and usually keeps her hair natural, albeit dyed hot pink. She's skinny and dresses conservatively, making the two stick out more. Abstraction: Adjoined - The Tantalizing Mist. Pink is Adjoined to Deniza, a mysterious and silent Apparition, which she says also conveniently found her around the time Violet adjoined to Lightning Girl! This Apparition allows Pink to use her Abstraction by Proxy, which is the ability to generate a bright pink, sparkling mist. This mist can be manipulated by Pink telekinetically and, if inhaled, has a unique effect: it induces illusions/hallucinations of what the person desires the most. These illusions will be incredibly realistic and convincing, being able to manipulate all five senses and can be interacted with as if they were actual. As long as they are in her mist, the illusion will persist; however, they can break the trance if they can tell that it's just an illusion (or know about Pink's abstraction). Pink herself is immune to the effects of the mist, and by focusing on someone in her mist, she can see and interact with the illusion much like they do - confusing them further. This Abstraction bypasses all Emotional-Fields long as it's inhaled.
Annabelle.Heart
24 | Annabelle Candy Heart | She/Her "Emily has to help me... I don't know how long I can hold back."	Description: A friend of Miranda and Jacqueline, whom they roped into the 8th Street Coven, Annabelle was originally a native of St. Portwell. She lived a lovely life with her younger sister Sophia and was an artist (She got paid handsomely for drawing pictures of people's specific... interests). After joining the 8th Street Coven, she was given an artifact allowing her to psychically control birds. Annabelle had little issue with 8th Street's bullying of St. Portwell's magical scene as she was getting paid and wanted to dominate it to make it safer for her little sister. However, a marble urn she was carrying was broken during 8th Street's faithful battle with Greenwood in the temple underneath St. Portwell over the many artifacts. It exploded with a mysterious black mist that Annabelle inhaled. She was infected with a mysterious curse known as The Hunger. The Hunger transformed her from a regular gal to a freakishly tall creature (at eight feet tall) that is near skeletal with two horns on the side of her head, sunken yellow eyes and long spindly claws. Worst of all, Annabelle has fits of hunger for human flesh and will become increasingly rabid until she eats someone. Emily has been letting her out into other dimensions to let her eat a few people and return to keep her quelled - however, Annabelle desperately wants to be cured so she can return to normal. Annabelle stays in the 8th Street Mansion, but when Emily isn't aware, Annabelle sometimes ventures out at night, putting on a robe and a deer-skull mask. Paranormal Ability: Unknown.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

---

Ten years ago, Downtown St. Portwell…

---

---

She tripped, falling on one knee as she fell in a puddle. Splashing water in all directions and soaking her grey jeans, she panted, turning her head around to see if she had finally lost the bastard… before she heard footsteps approaching her; then she saw it… or did she? She only saw the puddles of water getting splashed as if something was approaching her. She hopped to her feet by her hands and ran through the dark alleyways of St. Portwell. It was only the end of the day, as were the streets so… empty? She glanced up at the cloudy skies so thick that it appeared to already be night, with only glimpses of sunlight piercing through the dark and foreboding clouds.

She turned right as she heard the footsteps approaching, getting closer and closer, and she tried to pick up speed… only to feel something slash her back, and she loudly yelped as she hit the ground. She could feel the hot blood drip from her back as she desperately crawled forward, her heart racing… then it grabbed her leg. She flipped over, and then she finally saw it.

It’s otherworldly glory.

It was unnaturally tall, with no features other than its unmoving white eyes that appeared to be holes through its body. It pulled her closer to itself… creating a black portal in which it attempted to pull her into. The girl screamed at the top of her lungs as she desperately attempted to break free.

Whoosh

The creature’s body was suddenly sliced clean in half, top to bottom, as someone appeared before them both. A young teenager with black hair, holding a jet black scythe in his hands like the grim reaper. He was dressed in a grey and gold robe that fumed with black smoke, which clung to him as if it had a mind of its own.

The monster he attacked stumbled back as its two halves split apart and evaporated into smoke.

Something landed before her, and she desperately hoped it was not another one of those things… but definitely a monster of some type. A grey jumping spider, except instead of being the size of a pen tip, it was enormous. It was the size of a UPS Truck… and on top of it was some black girl wearing a black robe with golden spider webs weaved into it, riding it like it was some type of horse, with a saddle and handlebars and everything. She pulled out a walkie-talkie and said into it,

“Stygian Snake’s monsters are everywhere downtown! We’re - we’re gonna need some Backup!”

“We’re fighting the Stygian Snake in the woods right now! But, we can divert some help that way!” Someone replied.

Then she looked down and awkwardly smiled before talking… fast.

“Hi, I’m Lisa! It's great to meet you! I know it’s scary; I am riding a giant spider, you almost got eaten by a monster, and I just fell out of the sky! But we are the good guys! We are going to get you out of here!”

She dramatically paused before giving the scared girl a wide smile.

“... Trust me!”

That was when more of the shadow monsters began showing up… and the girl stopped smiling and cupped her hands together to shout.

“Someone get her up on me!”

“Here, let me help you,” an older Asian teenager leaned down with a far too relaxed grin for the situation, hooking her arm around the girl’s back. “I’m Bianca- hey, Qianqian, help me get her up!”

”Don’t call me that,” a scowling teenage girl - Linqian - huffed, even as she reached down to help the girl. Between the two of them, they could lift the girl towards Lisa and onto the spider.

“You didn’t mind it last ni-”

”Shut up! There’s more of them, we don’t have time for this, Bea!”

“... Could you two, uhhhhhh, focus?” Lisa raised an eyebrow.

Appearing in a shadowy blur on the other side of Lisa’s giant spider, Jack cut in. ”I can’t get all of you out of here the easy way, but I can keep them distracted. When you’re clear, I’ll get help here quicker. Go on, I’ll meet out of here.”

”Oh shut up, Jack,” Linqian rolled her eyes at him. ”Who put you in charge, I swear-”

“Not the time, Linqian!" Bianca cut her off. "Yell at him all you want when we're safe."

”Fine, go get help,” Linqian waved dismissively at Jack. Her body temperature began to drop, lower and lower, till a chill could be felt coming off her in waves. ”We can handle this. Bea, boost me.”

With Bianca starting to boost her, tendrils of ice crawled out from underneath Linqian’s feet as her body temperature plummeted, and she stepped forward to intercept the shadow monsters coming towards them.

“Does somebody have one of Greta’s potions?! Aw, never mind!” Lisa weakly called out to the group before she waved her hand and commanded her spiders to wrap webs around the girl; she thrashed a bit as Lisa said,

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, I’m holding you down so you don’t fall off! Now awaaaaaay we go!”

She commanded her giant spider, and they lept through the air, landing on the side of the building as she scampered away to safety.

Ideally.

---

The Stygian Snake’s minions were swarming the downtown area… They were flooding the alleyway Linqian and Jack were holding out in.

The shadows writhed and came to life around Jack, lifting in thick clouds of smoke, and lashing out like an endless tide of spears to skewer, impale and maim the creatures. The Stygian Snake wasn’t the only one who ruled the darkness.

”He’s getting lazy, this is nothing.”

“Nothing, huh?” Came a call out from behind. A tear opened in the alleyway, and Alizée and Void stepped out, smirking and ready for action. Phantom hands flew, knocking aside the monsters, trying to leap over the spears Jack had sent forward.

“I dunno, looks like a lot of monsters this time around.” Alizée huffed.

"Nothing we haven't handled before! But still, nice to have more backup!" Bianca called out cheerfully from where she was sheltering just behind Linqian. Linqian dealt with each monster that came their way, hitting them with ice-cold fists or freezing them entirely by grabbing them. Bianca was boosting her to entirely bypass their emotional fields, letting her freeze them to death.

“I’ll crush as many as I can, but we need better ground, Bea!” Alizée called out, doubling the size of her phantom hands to scoop up a handful of wriggling monsters, squeezing until she heard several pops. White specks of light flurried around her as Void worked alongside, smashing monsters into the wall and pavement hard enough to leave cracks in his wake.

"It's alright, we can- shit!" A monster got past Linqian, knocking Bianca to the ground. She rolled out of the way just in time, and Linqian spun around, kicking it in the back and freezing it solid.

"Less chatting and more staying alive," Linqian gritted out, lightly panting. Having Bianca boost her was invaluable, but at the same time, it put her in danger - which Linqian didn't like. She shook her head, facing another one. "Fuck, they just keep coming."

The hail of shadowy spears continued to pelt them as Jack decided not to waste time warning them all about his next move. He flickered out of existence, reappearing beside everyone as he laid a hand on their shoulders. One by one, he used his Gloomy Step spell to teleport his comrades up to a roof where they could easily keep their assault up without being trapped. Once the last of them was at higher ground, shadows began solidifying and wall off their exit like a cage.

”You know what to do,” he said.

"Oy," Linqian snapped, attention swapping from the monsters to Jack. She took a step forward, frost coating the roof underneath her. "Just you fucking try to teleport me again without warning."

Another step, and she was close enough to him that he could feel the cold radiating from her body.

"Next time, I won't-"

"Thanks, Jack, you really saved us; just ignore her!" Bianca cut in, jumping in between them. Linqian immediately backed off, not wanting to hurt her girlfriend. "They're starting to climb onto the roof, soooooo…"

As Bianca spoke, one of the hollow-eyed monsters leaped up, trying to slash Linqian. That was, before a phantom hand wrapped around its shadow form, squeezing until it burst into seeping smoke.

“They’re coming, guys. Try to focus!” Alizée spoke, a hint of panic in her voice as three phantom hands cut swathes along the building wall, destroying the brick face as she and Void tried knocking down the alarmingly high number of monsters coming up.

"I had that," Linqian rolled her eyes at Alizée, even though she hadn't had it. She spun around to face the monsters, catching another one's claws before they hit her shoulder, freezing them off.

"We definitely need more help," Bianca shook her head, stepping back out of the way and looking at Jack.

The Stygian Snake’s minions paused… As a monstrous growling and thunderous footsteps appeared. They cleared a path for the shark among little fish… a monstrous hellhound that easily stood twenty feet tall. It growled as it walked down the alley, roared, and lunged up to the roof as the other minions continued their assault - scaling the walls like it was nothing.

”…Yeah. Yeah. I’m grabbing Reza. Don’t die, got it?” Jack jumped off the edge of the building into the dark alleyway below and teleported to somewhere far away, well before he was in danger.

"Jack! Be quick-" Bianca started, but Jack was already gone… leaving just the three of them to face the hellhound. "Fuck, fuck, this is bad."

As soon as the hellhound appeared, Linqian backed away, breathing quickening and temperature rising back to normal as she dropped her spell. Her hands shook, and her chest heaved, practically beginning to hyperventilate. She squeezed her eyes shut so she didn't have to see it.

"Shit," Bianca grabbed Linqian's hand and pulled her behind her - it just had to be a hellhound. She didn't have time to calm her down right now… Bianca dropped her boost on Linqian and swapped to Alizée, layering them up - boosting her abstraction strength and ability to penetrate elemental fields. At the same time, she began to back away, preparing to run. "She's not going to be able to do anything like this. Can you hold them off till Jack gets help?!"

Alizée glanced at Linqian, grimacing before leveling a hot glare at the massive monster approaching them. Her phantom hands flexed, razor tips glinting.

“Dammit, Jack. I'll do what I can, Bea. Just get ready to run, kay?”

Just in case.

She took a step towards the hellhound and almost instantly regretted it. A massive claw swiped down, blocked by phantom darkness, her shoes scraping the cement as she was pushed back.

Before, the remains of an air conditioner were uprooted by Void's hands, smashing across the terrifying face of the hellhound. It was enough to cause a slight distraction, letting Alizée leap out of its claws’ reach.

They were losing ground. Minions on all sides. Void was about to check on Alizée before minions pounced on him. Immediately, his hands and jagged teeth were busy shredding minions apart, leaving Alizée on her own.

The hellhound was staring at Bianca and Linqian, maw barred. But before it could snap its jaws around the duo, a massive void hand smashed across its face.

“Pick on someone your own size!” Alizée yelled, preparing to punch the beast again.

Before its teeth came crashing down, trying to swallow Alizée whole. Alizée was pushed to the ground, void hands trembling on the top and bottom of the hellhound's snapping jaw, trying to keep it steady as the beast tried to press through and eat Alizée.

She sweated, glaring hard at the beast, trying to will away the scattering hallucinations clouding the edges of her vision.

“Get…”

Her grip tightened on the jaws of the hellhound.

“The hell…”

Fingers started to pull apart instead of back.

“BACK!”

In one fell swoop, Alizée heard a crack as bone snapped back, and the hellhound howled. It recoiled, its jaw dislocated and hanging at a sickening angle…

… Only for it to snap back, seemingly automatically.

Dread set in the pit of Alizée's stomach. ”Shit.”

Void was busy sweeping the roof clean of shadowy minions, hands frantically cutting swathes in the numbers that kept coming back.

Linqian and Bianca were behind Alizée, counting on a miracle she didn't have. Jack was nowhere to be seen.

They needed more options.

Alizée called out to the duo behind her without taking her eyes off the beast.

“Linqian, Bea, get outta here!” She cried, phantom hands shoving against the beast, trying to stop its advance.

She cursed under her breath, taloned fingers pulling at the rippled shoulder of the hellhound, through the sinews and tendon, until she had a good enough grip that she tore the arm right off the monster.

"Shit, come on," Bianca turned around and started shoving Linqian. It was enough to jolt her out of her panic slightly, letting go of Bianca's hand and temperature dropping enough to push away the apparitions blocking their way. Bianca kept up her boost for Alizée, straining to concentrate on that and getting the fuck out of there.

A burst of black smoke filled the air, and a white blur shot out of it directly toward the apparitions surrounding Linqian, Bianca, and Alizee. A metallic ring filled the air as all of them fell to the floor dead. As quickly as they were assailed, they were saved. Cloaked in white and gold, there stood a boy with tan skin, holding a sword etched with a red blade. He was fast as a whip crack and looked far too confident for someone surrounded by eldritch horrors.

Reza Cabrera, one of their gayest.

He smirked as he took in the scene. Now that he was here, everyone would be going home today. It was either that or he would be the last.

“Reza, you son of a bitch.” Alizée said, wincing as she picked herself up. The grin on her face betrayed a tone that was relieved more help had arrived.

“Reza!” Bianca let out a sigh of relief, halting her fleeing footsteps. She squeezed Linqian’s hand, slowly coming down from the intense panic she’d been feeling - it would be there as long as the hound was, but at least now there was a chance to calm her down. Bianca kept her boost up on Alizée - Reza didn’t need it. “I’m so fucking glad to see you.”

Alizée’s grin widened, listening to Bianca, before they fell on the hellhound, hobbling on three legs. However long that would last. She flexed her phantom hand, hovering above her, watching the minions gather themselves and preparing to continue the onslaught.

There, her eyes fell on a smile. Reza’s smile.

That smile meant one thing and one thing only: Victory.

”Backup’s here, ladies. Let’s win this and get out of here!” Reza lifted his Noble Vow sword and rushed the apparitions, clawing their way up the roof. He weaved between their claws, fangs, and their everything with uncanny grace, beyond anything the world’s greatest fencers could dream of, as he cut them down one by one. His sword cleaves through their supernatural bodies as if they were ordinary flesh and bone, dropping like flies.

A bright flash filled the environment as a monstrous bolt of lightning came from one of the adjacent rooftops and struck the giant hellhound on the side of its monstrous body. It let out a yelp as it stumbled over, craning its head around to see two girls standing on one of the other rooftops… the Coven sisters Zoey Gray and Elsa Connor.

Zoey raised a fist in the air, then cupped her hands together to shout,

“Take that asshole!”

While it was stumbling, someone ran up, holding a hockey stick… it was none other than Claire O’Sullivan, one of the Old Coven’s most frontline fighters. She lept into the air, hockey stick primed, surrounded by an opaque, dim-blue aura, and whacked the Hellhound with it, sending it spiraling over.

“... You get it, Claire!” Zoey shouted.

The Hellhound made a complete roll and charged her. Claire blew a bubble with some bubblegum as she spun the hockey stick around her back. The beast opened its mouth unnaturally wide and attempted to swallow Claire whole, only for her to stick her hockey stick in its mouth… and it could not close it as hard as it tried. Claire managed to hold it back…

… For a younger Amy Nakamura to valiantly leap into the air, her kanabō overhead, screaming as she brought it down on the hellhound’s skull, shattering it into a billion pieces… and it stumbled over… before exploding into darkness and fading away.

“Good job, homegirl!” Claire shouted while laughing,

“Well, the fight’s not over; we gotta take care of the…” Amy said as she prepared to fight off the others… only to see a massive shadow cast over her. She looked up to see…

… The Stygian Snake.

---

The spider, Lisa, and their reluctant captive leaped from rooftop to rooftop.

Lisa had no clue where she was going or why, just that she was getting this girl out of there. She heard a bang in the distance. Glancing over her shoulder, Lisa saw the hellhound appear and pounce the group… her eyes shot open as her jaw dropped due to shock. She started panting, holding her chest as she commanded her spider to stop. She quickly reached for her walkie-talkie in the saddle's pouch while affirming herself, working up the courage…

“Okay… k-keep it together, Lisa, yo-you’re strong. You’re b-brave. You’re loved. Like what Adora says!”

She took a deep breath.

Then she pressed the button.

“... H-hello? Mission control? Headquarters? Mother base?”

"Yes?" A slightly sharp male voice - Jinhai - came from the other side of the walkie-talkie. He sounded calm, but it was a cold calmness, and his words diplomatically pushed her towards getting to the point. "Has something happened, Lisa?"

The walkie-talkie shook in Lisa’s hands as she said, “S-someone’s h-hurt! N-no one has Greta’s potions, i-is t-there somewhere I can take her before she bleeds out on my spider!?”

There was silence on the other end of the line, then quiet talking between at least two of the people there. “Can you get her back here? We have plenty of potions. If not, the closest to you with one is… Olivia. I can put you through to their channel.”

Lisa looked over her shoulder at the girl bleeding out, and the webs were not good gauze. She could ideally get back to the lair, but with all the monsters… That was a risk.

“I-I don’t think she w-will last long enough for me t-to get back! Where is Olivia?!

“She’s in front of the Five-Star theater. Five streets over, by rooftop, you can get there quickly.” There was a pause on the other end, then Jinhai added, “she’s with Luca, keep the injured away from him if they’re blind.”

Lisa glanced over her shoulder at the girl… she had no clue if she had an abstraction, but probably, given what she just went through. She raised the walkie-talkie to her lips and said,

“C-copy! I am on my way!”

Then she gave her saddle a good grip and commanded her minion to leap until she got there. Then she looked around for them…

Olivia and Luca were backed up against the theater’s entrance, fighting off another group of apparitions that had swarmed them. Olivia had all the ones closest to them bound in thick, thorny vines. At the same time, Luca moved between them as quickly as possible, grabbing whatever limb was closest and corroding these weaker apparitions.

One had managed to free a hand from the grasping vines and lunged towards Luca before a cartoonish-looking arrow slammed into the creature's eye socket, forcing the head back before the arrowhead exploded. From down the road, The Ranger limped towards the theater. Its artwork was more comic book-inspired than not, and its jagged lines starkly contrasted the surrounding area. Its right leg was wounded, and the paint was bleeding off onto the ground below. Behind it was Jasper, Evelynn, and Michael. Blood was pouring down Evelynn’s face, and she was drifting between consciousness and out. Michael had her arm over his shoulder, pulling her along with her. Evelynn limped and was dragged. Above them Michaels crows flew a tight circle, their orders were to attack the eyes of any monster that got too close.

“Olivia, Luca,” Jasper looked up from the canvas he was furiously painting on, “Lisa, I got Evelynn she’s hurt pretty bad, does anyone have a potion?”

A snarl was heard behind them, and before anyone could react, the Ranger had notched another arrow, turned around, aimed, and let it fly down the road.

“Heeeeeeeeey!” Lisa called, commanding her spider minion to scale the wall downwards. She didn’t want to scare anyone again, so she quickly made it to the street level with the others and looked at Olivia. “Do you have an extra potion!?”

“I do!” Olivia pointed to the bag around her waist. Looking at the two injured, she furrowed her brow, retracting the vines binding individual apparitions and having them form a large, thorny cage around the seven people. It trapped them inside, but it also kept the apparitions out. “Here!”

She pulled two potions from the bag, handing one to Jasper and the other to Lisa.

“Thank you!” Lisa quickly said as she took the potion.

“Thank you, Olivia. You’re the best,” Jasper said as he stopped painting and grabbed the potion. He turned his attention towards his two friends, “Michael, get this in Evelynn as quickly as possible; we’ll need her foresight before long.”

“Got it,” Michael said as he laid Evelynn down on the ground, propping up her head with a random brick that was strewn about. “Here, drink up.” Evelynn started by just sipping, which soon transitioned to her potion drinking.

“That shit,” Evelynn paused as she caught her breath, “is nice.” She finished the potion and leaned up.

“Evelynn, look to the possible futures for me,” Jasper paused as he returned to his painting. He was halfway through painting a paladin. “I need to know if we’re going to have any company soon, Michael if anything gets close, have your crows go for their eyes and their throats,” he paused as he shifted his vision and watched his ranger finally melt down completely, forming a giant puddle of oil on the ground, “what can we do to be helpful here while I finish this,” he asked Luca, Olivia, and Lisa, “once I can get it summoned we’re going to run around looking for more wounded.”

While this was going on, Lisa had popped the top of the potion, grabbed the girl by the nose (rather roughly), and said, “Open wiiiiiiiiiiiiide!” Then shoved the potion in her mouth while tilting her head backward, force-feeding her the potion. In a few seconds, her wounds were all healed. Lisa smiled, and the girl looked at her.

“... What? What is going on?!” She shouted.

“Shhhhh, shhhh, shhhhhhhhhh!” Lisa put a finger to her lips and said, “Everything is going to be all right… alright!”

The strange girl looked around… and realized they were on a giant spider. She went stiff… before she screamed at the top of her lungs.

“C-calm down! Calm down!” Lisa shouted.

Before she fainted.

Lisa shrugged.

“... At least she stopped screaming!” She said to herself. “Okay Lisa… what do… I…”

Lisa’s train of thought was interrupted by a shadow getting cast on them… her jaw dropped as she saw it.

The Stygian Snake.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

---

Interactions: Eve (@LanaStorm), and Layla (@Estylwen])

The Church of Ass.

---

---

At this very moment, Layla caused the group to devolve into petty bickering over leadership over solving the important shit, like the murder. Adora merely took a few steps from the group, faced away, and crossed her arms as she listened to everyone speak. For starters, if memory served Adora correctly, Layla was that little kid that other weird girl dragged into the Coven - and Adora remembered giving Alizée loads of shit for it. Naturally, that Layla girl had a problem with Adora being here. Without even looking at Layla, she said,

”... Weren’t you a goddamn kid when all of this went down?” Adora started. ”I don’t care who the leader is, as long as we get to the bottom of this… but I’m not voting for you.”

Then Adora whipped around and put a hand on her hip as she said,

”I’ll vote for whoever the fuck promises to get my damn rings back.”

Then she laughed.

Things got increasingly chaotic as a fucking kid entered the fray with an axe, causing Adora to tilt her head at the kid. Then, another girl started rambling about killing people last night and how some didn’t make it. Adora recoiled as she raised her hands, saying,

”Okay, okay, okay, everyone slow the fuck down for my sake, please,” Adora started, ”I was not here last night. So could someone enlighten me on what the fuck happened? Like, what the fuck happened to Alizee? Who the fuck died? Who the fuck did ya’ll kill?”

She let her question hang in the air as she continued.

”Because I was under the assumption that we got back together to solve this whole debacle we got ourselves in. Not… whatever the fuck ya’ll are on. Jesus.” Her heart started fluttering as anxiety crept down her spine.

”I can fill you in if you’d like,” Lila spoke up from her spot in the pews. She stood up, shuffled past Lynn and Jasper before she reached the center aisle and moved towards Adora. She motioned for an area off to the side, offering at least a more private conversation.

”Please…” Adora said as she followed Anya’s lead and walked off. ”My fucking anxiety is about to go crazy.” She said with a roll of her eyes.

”I feel that,” Lila said as she led Adora to the end of the furthest back pew. ”Honestly, it is one of the reasons I stayed away today.” Lila smiled as she finished her sentence. “It is good to catch up with some of the people, and it is good to see you again,” she paused as she looked back at the rest of the coven, before returning back to Adora, ”I never got to chance to thank you back in the day for everything you did, you saved my life more times than I could count,” she paused as she looked down, ” and I wanted to say sorry that we weren't there for you when you needed us most.”

Adora sighed.

”Thank you… I needed that,” Adora sighed. ”I know, I ghosted you all after… you know, but it was just so hard. It’s… hard being back here, too…” Her heart started fluttering harder as she took a step back; her heart rate went up as she leaned up against the most adjacent wall before she fell on her ass.

”Oh shit,” Lila whispered as she looked around to see if anyone saw her fall. ”It is almost miserable to be back,” Lila said with a sign. She offered her hands to help pull her up, ”If you need anything here, let me know. You’ve done so much for us, might as well repay the favor while how I can. Now, for the recap,” Lila paused as she exhaled deeply, “I was at the Dairy Queen when everything went down. Drake decked Sloane, broke her nose, and then 8th Street rolled up and tried to poach Lynn and I, and they wanted to kill Britney. Across town, Alizée was at the strip club and picked a fight with a gang. A kid got shot,” she paused as she looked at the kid with the axe. ” After the kid got shot, from what I was told, the groomer over there got pinned down, and Alizée tried to save him. She got shot, and it devolved from there.”, Lila paused as she took a deep breath. ” Britney came over to my place after covered in blood, and told me all that before she sealed my apparition.”

”That should catch you up to this morning at least,” she paused as she looked around the Coven, ” Something tells me we have more to come.”

Adora tilted her head, jaw slack.

”... In one fucking afternoon?!?!”

”In one fucking afternoon., Lila paused as she looked out the door and noticed a half dozen crows outside looking at her. ”Just like the good old days.”

Adora stared at her, awestruck for a few moments. ”I mean… you’re just gonna have to explain to me who the fuck 8th St is because remember… I’m a little out of the loop.”

” Emily Reed, remember her?” Lila paused as she let the question hang in the air, “After the fall of the Coven, she formed a crew out of the remnants; George, Greta, and Carol were who we ran into last night, and there are a lot of former friends of ours in their ranks,” she paused as she tilted her head, ” which makes the fact that they are actively trying to control the towns magic scene through force and violence, and have been waging war on all the other groups all the more conflicting,” she paused again as she scratched her chin. ”I don’t know much more about them than that; I have kept a low profile since our coven days.

Adora crossed her arms.

”... How could I forget Emily?” She asked. ”That bitch was Lisa’s biggest bully… George too…” She trailed off momentarily.

”... I’m surprised Greta is rolling with her… If memory serves me right, she didn’t like Emily.”

”I don’t know if you were around when Greta left, were you? We accused her of creating monsters to test her potions and stuff. She wasn’t, mind you, but she left soon after and was poached by Emily,” Lila laughed for a second, ”it turns out all it takes to get back on good terms with one another was how much each of those two hated our leadership. Bonding experience, you know?”

”I mean…” Adora trailed off. ”Not gonna join in on the “down with the leaders” circlejerk they got goin’ on, but Ashley and them let their friends do whatever they wanted. I get the whole bigger picture thing, but c’mon…” She shrugged and rolled her eyes.

”It felt like I was the only one keeping them in line.”

”Do we even need a leader?”, Lila paused as she eyed up Anya, ”Like I think we could get a lot more done if we had a centralized area to meet, get support, and stuff, but work together in smaller groups towards the bigger picture.”

”I mean…” Adora shrugged as she paused, ”... It don’t seem like it’d make a difference. Auri just talked big, walked here, and then dipped off for a wild threesome with Stormy and Brit in the bathroom or something.” She ended that sentence with a roll of her eyes.

”Yeah, feels like they’re keeping shit from us again, you know? I don’t like it. I never liked it, Lila paused as she looked back towards the group.

”Well, I heard from Vanessa and Clem how much it worked out for them in the end, so,” Adora sighed as she shrugged. ”Hopefully, it works out. And if it don’t… ” Adora trailed off.

”... It don’t. Unlike the rest of these assholes, I’m only here because everyone in this building, everyone who died and beyond, is important to somebody. And I can’t just stand by and let us all get cut down.”

Adora, naturally, left out the part where she was past the point of caring if she went down.

”Fair,” Lila said with a smile, ” You don’t have to do that alone, how about this,” She paused she looked over towards Lynn and Jasper. ”While you watch over everyone here, we’ll watch over you. Make sure someone has your back if and when things go south. You have a few people who care about you here.”

Adora was silent for a moment before she said,

”... Thank you,” Adora answered. ”So, what did happen to the old Coven? In your own words.”

”It died the death it deserved…. The Coven could have been special, could have been,” Lila shrugged, “instead, it went out with a whimper due to how it treated the average member.”

”Not surprised,” Adora shook her head. ”We were a bunch of dumbass kids trying to play cult. While the leadership was also playing a popularity contest while we were literally getting cut down by a demon… well, maybe it should have died. Maybe we shouldn’t have reunited.”

”You’re right, maybe we shouldn’t have, Lila said as she looked around the group. In truth, she did not want any more harm to come to anyone in the coven. No matter what clique they were in, how grating their personality, or how much she already hated them. She did not want to see another die. “At the same time, Father Wolf, the missing artifacts, and all the crazy that has happened in the past day already,” she paused as she looked Adora in her eyes, “feels like we’re on the verge of something awful again, and I’d rather face it with the devils I know, you know?”

”Well…” Adora knew that Lila had a point, but there was a point that Adora wanted to raise herself. She lifted her hand and showed Lila the sole Trinity Ring she had, ”At the moment, I can’t do much even if something awful happens… Clem and Vanessa are in DC right now with a fancy government job, and they gave their rings to that pissant Sloane before they left. I’m… I’m… just look….” Adora tried to will herself to fly like before, and she did! She raised off the ground very…

Very.

Very.

Slowly.

”I had the source of my power sealed away, I may be relegated to pulling wounded back to the healers again if something does happen, she nervously laughed, the memory of that was very much still present in her mind, ”If I still had my powers I’d say ‘hey crows, I want you to go across town and search for Adora’s missing trinity rings’ or something like that and have them ei-”

*CAW*

Lila looked towards the door and saw about five crows in the doorway. Each one had their eyes on Lila as if they were awaiting something. Lila recognized the look; it was the look they would give her if she asked them to do something without an offering in hand. She looked at Adora and chuckled. ”I guess they still have a thing for me.” Lila looked down at her hand, removed two of the cheaper rings she had, and jokingly offered them to the crows before one of the crows swooped in and grabbed the rings out of her hands before the small murder left the doorway of the church and took to the skies. Well, old habits and all. Doubt we will see them again anytime soon. Fuck me, those were important.”

Adora chuckled as she fell to the ground (which was like two feet at this point). She crossed her arms and said, ”Who knows,” Adora started. ”I kinda put more faith in those random ass birds to find the rings than them.” She nodded at the group.

”They were always reliable, if a little dumb ha,” Lila said as she leaned against the pew and let out a laugh of her own, ”I’ll tell you what, on the off chance that there is still any magic in those crows, and they find anything, you’ll be the first to know.”

”Yay,” Adora tried not to say sarcastically, but it probably came off that way to Lila. Nothing Adora could help, but she said, ”If they can do that, maybe you can ask them to get Clementine and Vanessa to rejoin, and we can throw Father Wolf through a building.” She chuckled, making clear it was a joke.

Lila could not help but notice the sarcastic ‘yay’, and it caused her smile to fade for a brief moment. She smiled again but it was not as warm or inviting as it was. ”Yeah, I can do that.”

The birds, there was something about Lila that she didn’t quite put her finger on… Adora walked over to Lila, closing the distance in a manner she hoped that Lila wouldn’t interpret as intimidating, as she looked at Lila… she grasped onto her hand (fingers interlocked), and then asked a question. One that was probably going to get interpreted as Adora being an asshole (again). ”My memory is a bit fuzzy…” That was a lie, as Adora was actively suppressing the memory of the Old Coven. ”... I need a reminder on a lot of things. Like… you look familiar but at the same time sooooo different.”

Lila blinked once, twice, and a third more at the statement. Yes, she should look both familiar and so different simultaneously. ”Ummm,” Lila whispered as she rubbed her hand against her other elbow, ”“yeah you probably knew me by a different name entirely back then,” she paused as she took in a deep breath, ”I am going to deadname myself here but does the name Michael ring a bell?”

”Oh shit… you’re…” Adora’s jaw dropped. ”... You’re Micheal? I thought your abstraction sounded familiar. You look…” Adora looked Lila up and down.

”... Different.”

”That…” Lila paused as she rubbed her arm again, ”was the point,” she paused as she looked back to Lynn and Jasper. A small sense of panic began to brew deep inside her and she wanted nothing more than to run back to the safety of her friends. Yet that was what Michael would have done. He would not have confronted these feelings of fear, he would not have maintained the space he was taking up, and he would have apologized for any confusion he caused. ”I was Michael,” she kept her words short and sharp, adding an extra emphasis on the ‘was’,”Michael died during the battle with the snake. Lila was born anew in the time that followed.”

”Are you cool with all that?”

Adora smiled.

”... And why wouldn’t I be?”

”… thank you. It’s just a little weird coming out again after a while. Sometimes I just forget that I had a life before, is all.”

”Come now, it’s just-”

A window broke and Adora immediately whipped her head around, then she saw several canisters being launched into the room through that window. With a fun word on the side saying GAS. It wasn’t more than a second after that Adora experienced absolute hell. Her eyes burned, and she coughed as she fell to her knees, trying her damnest to hold onto Lila.

”... WHAT IN THE - *Cough* - FUCK?!”

The door got kicked down, and people with guns charged in; at the corner of her eye, Adora could see one of them waving a badge around.

“EVERYONE! GET ON THE GROUND! ON! THE! GROUND!”

What the fuck did these assholes drag me into?!

---

The PRA.

Interactions: None.

The PRA Headquarters.

---

---

By the time Meifeng had returned to the PRA building, she had already changed into a suit. She stormed in, went to the elevator, and went up a few floors, and a short walk later, she was walking right into Cindy Keagan’s office… she was playing on her phone instead of working. She raised her head as Meifeng entered the office, put her phone down, and said,

“Gather everyone in the meeting room, fully armored,” Meifeng started, “it’s time.”

Cindy nodded.

---

Less than twenty minutes before Meifeng’s little agents were ready to go… she walked into the room, and everyone was wearing armor, with their helmets nearby. She looked to the left and right as she looked around. She wasn’t in armor yet, and she clapped her hands together and said,

“Good morning, team,” Meifeng started, “How have you all been today?”

“Good as we can be hearing the news last night,” Leon said as he leaned on his hand.

Meifeng was silent as she twisted her face up momentarily, then spoke,

“... We’re going to take care of that right now,” Meifeng started as she grabbed the remote control to the projector. She pushed the button, and a slide showing a collage of the various members of the Sycamore Tree Coven was shown. “As you all know, the Sycamore Tree Coven had their… reunion yesterday,”

She let her words hang in the air for a few moments.

“... And in less than two hours, they attempted to kidnap someone, attacked one of my agents, and got into an all-out gang war.”

“Heh,” Samson chuckled. “They got busy!”

“I have no clue just what they are doing, but I feel like it’s time we give them a nice, warm reception and show them that this is my city, and they can’t go around doing whatever the hell they want,” Meifeng calmly said.

Meifeng turned her gaze to Trevor Obott,

“Trevor, did you do what I asked?”

Trevor audibly gulped as he stood up, holding a stack of papers, “Yes, ma’am!” He walked over as Meifeng held her hands behind her back. He then said, “I tapped into all their phone records, internet history, and we are working on placing bugs in all their homes, but after going through it - ^{and getting PTSD from their porn habits} - I managed to track down their lair to this church.”

Meifeng pressed a button, and the slide changed to a photo of the Coven’s new lair, the church.

“Their dumbass leader doesn’t turn off her location services! And going off of her communication, she will lead the Coven to their lair today.”

“... We’re going to be there, waiting for them,” Meifeng said, “Once they get settled, we’re going to go in, hard and fast, and give them a good ol’ scare and find out which one of them is responsible for what happened to Agent Mahendra.”

“... And what about the one that attacked Agent Manalo?”

“I was getting to that,” Meifeng pointed at the projector screen and pressed the button, and it changed to various photos of Everleigh Thorn. “I don’t care what you all have to do; before my shift ends, I want her in a cell.”

“Can we waterboard them?” Leon playfully asked.

Meifeng chuckled.

“... Maybe if they don’t behave,” Meifeng started before she turned to Bianca. “Agent Manalo, do you have an issue with any of this? I’m giving you full permission not to participate and take the rest of the day off, but if you do…”

She chuckled again deviously as she looked off to the side, then said,

“... Maybe Everleigh ”resists”, and you have to employ more drastic measures to detain her?”

“Is that in regs?” Helena asked with her arms crossed.

“Nope, but who will shoot it up the chain?” Meifeng grinned. “I know you don’t care.”

"I've got no issue with this, much as I'd love a day off," Bianca shook her head before cracking her knuckles. "I'd love to give Everleigh back a little of what she gave me."

“Great to hear,” Meifeng responded before she spoke to the rest of the group. “I am authorizing strict use of taser rounds for this operation,” Meifeng started, “However if any of them get violent, switch to live rounds and send them to their God. Clear?”

“Clear!”

“Now, let’s get ready. We’re going to hit them so hard and fast they will have no clue that we were even there,” Meifeng said, then narrowed her eyes at Trevor. “... If you shout ‘Just the Tip’ like a dumbass again, my foot is going sooooooo far up your ass!”

Trevor gulped.

“Now, the meeting is adjourned… we are…” Meifeng raised her fist into the air; everyone raised their fist as they shouted.

“... THE TIP OF THE SPEAR!”

“Let’s get to work, everyone!” Meifeng shouted.

The New Coven’s Lair.

---

Long before the Coven arrived, most of the PRA were already set up in the bushes… in full armor, wearing gas masks as they patiently waited for the Coven to arrive. They had surrounded the church… while many were chatting, playing on their phones, and whatnot. Meifeng and some other agents were not in the bushes but in the enormous mobile command center parked on the opposite side to the church - completely hidden by the church itself. Meifeng was sitting in it, texting her husband while sipping some relaxing green tea. She turned her head towards Trevor and said,

“Trevor! I know our intelligencers are off, but if this information is faulty…” She trailed.

“Relaaaaaaax!” Trevor laughed as he put his hands up, “They’re coming, trust me!”

“You better be right…” Meifeng growled, “Or next time you hang out at HQ on your day off, you’ll be cleaning the entire building with a toothbrush!”

“Aw.”

“... They’re coming!” Meifeng heard Helena announce on the earpiece, and Meifeng grinned as she pressed her earpiece.

“Let me know when they are inside.”

A few moments passed as Meifeng heard Nakala speak, “They’re inside.”

“Go in.”

Cindy gave Meifeng the side eye as she said, “You’re excited.”

“Nobody hurts my Agents, Cindy,” She could hear the screaming and shouting, she turned the keys to their truck as she added,

“Nobody,”

---

Unnatural - CRX

---

It was go-time, and Nakala was selected to lead the insertion group… and the moment the door closed behind them, a team of herself, Maximilian, Samson, Akira, Fiona, Claudette, Sonya, Helena, and Bianca came out of the foliage and converged on the location from all sides. Each of them armed with the M4 Colt Assault Rifle save for Akira, who just stuck with a pistol at her hip, and Nakala… who had a tear gas launcher with only her compound bow strapped to her back and a pistol at her hip.

The Agents formed a line, leaning against the walls at the entrance, save for Nakala, who nodded at Sonya and Helena, who scaled the building and set up shop on the roof. Nakala took a few steps back, aiming the teargas launcher at the window with one hand and then raising her other hand and counting off.

Three…

Two…

… One!

Nakala quickly put her other hand on the teargas launcher and let out several teargas canisters that broke through the window, and she could hear them coughing and screaming inside. With a nod of her head, Maximilian kicked down the door, and the PRA Agents charged in, forming a line as they aimed their assault rifles at everyone. Nakala walked in after them, flashing a badge, her voice booming,

“EVERYONE! GET ON THE GROUND! ON! THE! GROUND!”

She walked to the front of the line of agents as she shouted, making it dead clear who was in charge here.

“DON’T MAKE ME SAY IT AGAIN! YOU'LL GET A NICE TASER DART IF YOU DON’T GET ON THE GROUND RIGHT NOW!!”

“I know it hurts, but just comply,” Maximilian calmly said. “It’ll be over before you know it.”

“Yeah, we don’t want this getting ugly,” Samson added. “Some of you seem like good people!”

Nakala raised three fingers as she shouted!

”ON THE COUNT OF THREE! IF YOU’RE NOT ON THE GROUND, YOU’RE GONNA BE SORRY! THREE…”

That was when her eyes landed on Clancy, and she tilted her head…

“... What the fuck?! Why is there a fucking kid here!?”

“Oh lord, we teargassed a white kid,” Samson awkwardly laughed.

“Wait,” Bianca squinted her eyes. “That kid got shot last night!”

“You sure?” Samson turned his head towards Bianca. “He looks fine to me…”

He then thought about what he said,

“... Well, except for, you know.”

“Certain,” Bianca shook her head in confusion. What the fuck. “I got a real good look at him first.”

“Someone get him the fuck out of here! Agent Liao is going to have a fit!” Nakala ordered, pointing to the exit.

“On it,” Samson said as he slung his rifle over his shoulder, walked over to the kid, grabbed him by the arm, and prepared to drag him out of there. “Hey, little guy-” only for the boy to yank his arm back with enough strength to throw him off his footing. Samson landed on his ass, dropping his rifle in the process. He raised his head and raised an eyebrow from underneath his gas mask.

“... What the hell?!” Samson asked.

---

While everyone was pushing in from the bottom, Agent Page and Agent Mayfield would be the eyes in the sky. They both took position by the window that Nakala had just broken and knelt as Sonya aimed down the scopes of her M4, just itching to give someone who couldn’t follow instructions a taser dart. Helena just knelt beside her and summoned her birds, spreading them out as far as possible so they could have as many eyes on this operation as possible.

“I can’t see shit in this damn gas mask…” Sonya hissed to herself as she scanned the room. “That tear gas burns the fuck out of my skin any-”

When her sight landed on Clancy, her jaw dropped.

“... There’s a fuckin’ kid in there!”

“Hostage?” Helena asked.

“Don’t look like it!” Sonya started,

“I can get him out of there,” Helena calmly asked.

“No need, Agent Brown is on it!” Sonya said as she patiently watched the scene unfold… and Samson got put on his ass.

By a kid.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Since ion feel like PMing Esty, I decided to use the OOC like it's 2012! I did a big ass update to the OOC stuff starting with adding the mural to the Sycamore Tree Coven section, and adding a whole new area of St. Portwell, a new faction devised by our @AtomicEmperor, and brand new NPCs!

If you're too lazy to go check, imma post them here!

The Mural

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You're back here again. You told yourself that you would never come back.

That you would just forget the horror.

But you find yourself drawn back here for one reason or another.

You walk past the destroyed mansion, the lair of the Old Coven, and walk around it in hopes that tree is still there. You see it... surrounded by some of the most beautiful flowers you ever see as if someone was maintaining it. You walk over to that tree, and as you get closer, you see letters carved in. The average person would not be able to comprehend, but the Old Coven had to cover their tracks; it was all coded. So nobody would track them down.

To the average person, it was gibberish.

But to you, it was everything.

Time to pay your respects to those who made that sacrifice....

MH AdAb - M. Chimera of the World Tree CB GOA- F. Red Panda of the Manchineel NT RA - M. Scarlet Ibis of the Manchineel CS RA - F. Robin of the Manchineel HF PA - F. Flamingo of the Oak WR YA - M. Yellow Warbler of the Oak MA AfAb - M. Aswang of the World Tree KE BA - F. Blue Jay of the Oak RB RG A - F. Christmas Iguana of the Oak NC RGYPGGOBWBA - F. Octopus Vulgaris of the Oak VA AdAb - M. Old Man Winter of the World Tree PG AdAb - M. Jormungandr of the World Tree AG AdAb - M. Golem of the World Tree BH RA - M. Cardinal of the Oak AT GA - M. Emerald Tree Boa of the Cherry KF Af Ab - M. Cyclops of the World Tree AP Ad Ab - F. Banshee of the World Tree CH AdAb - F. Phoenix Of the World Tree JL PA - F. Pink Robin of the Oak CS RA - M. Red-eyed Vireo of the Manchineel COS YA - F. Yellow-Rumped of the Manchineel EP AbAb - NB. Sphinx of the World Tree TM RA - F. Red-crowned Crane of the Oak OV RGA - F. Red-legged Partridge Of the Mountain Ash SH RA - F. Red-shouldered Hawk of the Mountain Ash TM GA - M. Green Pheasant of the Cherry RM RGA - F. Golden-Backed Weaver Bird of the Manchineel CE RGA - F. Hawthorn Shield Bug of the Mountain Ash MB GA - F. Roseate Spoonbill Of The Mountain Ash .............................................................................

DV AfAb - M. Nue of the World Tree SH GOA - F. Panther Chameleon of the Oak RC AgAb - M. Hero of the World Tree EL Ad Ab - F. Unicorn of the World Tree WL GRA - F. Spinybacked Orbweaver of the Manchineel MT RA - M. Red Fox of the Manchineel SC YA - M. Yellow Tang of the Manchineel HO AfAb - M. Dragon of the World Tree ZM OA - F. Orangutan of the Manchineel CW GA - M. Green Anole of the Cherry TP RA - F. Red Kangaroo of the Oak AS RGBA - M. Scarlet-bellied Parakeet of the Mountain Ash DP AgAb - M. Griffin of the World Tree KF - AdAb - F. Gluskap and Malsumis of the World Tree NM RA - F. Scarlet Macaw of the Oak HM GA - M. Green Finch of the Oak RM RA - M. Red Squirrel of the Cherry HC. BA - F. Blue-footed Booby of the Manchineel AT BRA - M. Violet Turaco of the Oak SR BA - F. Raven Of the Mountain Ash CT GA - M. Green Jay of the Cherry JC WA - F. Arctic Fox of the Oak EV GA - M. Green Jay Of the Cherry PW AgAb - F. Kitsune of the World Tree AM OG - F. Spanish Shawl of the Cherry SH GA - F. Sunset Moth of the Mountain Ash LT GGA - F. Green Tiger Beetle of the Cherry MD GA - M. Green Spiny Lizard of the Mountain Ash VD YGA - F. Purple Sunbird of the Mountain Ash

---

However, you find yourself drawn to the other side, where you discover someone had been carving names on the other side.

With the words: "Someone will pay for this" written above it.

AS BA - F. Black Bear of the Manchineel JB GA - F. Green Lacewing of the Cherry RH GA - M. Golden Retriever of the Oak LH GA - M. Golden-Crowned Sifaka of the Manchineel KY RP Adept - F. Pink Orchid Mantis of the Oak SA AdAb - F. Spirit Bear of the World Tree EC RA - F. Red-Faced Cormorant of the Mountain Ash KW WA - Female. Snowy Owl of the Oak JH RGA - M. Green-Throated Mango of the Manchineel BR OA - F. Bengal Tiger of the Oak AA AdAb - F. Faun of the World Tree ET BA - F. Black Rhinoceros of the Oak FR AbAb - M. Homunclous of the World Tree SLF RPA - F. Rosefinch of the Manchineel

---

You turn around and leave.

You seen enough.

New Location: Cracker Island

However, one of the main attractions of St. Portwell is merely a ferry away... the famous Cracker Island, named after the man who found it, William Cracker. A gem that can only be reached via ferry, it is a famous tourist attraction due to the historic Cracker Town, a blast from the past, and the beach resorts that are a summer treat. It is also famous for being haunted, and its heartbeat is the haunted mansion on the hill, which many pay to take tours of. Taking advantage of this status, the famous Halloween Festival is hosted every year, in which ferry fees are waived, and thousands come worldwide to attend. However, that haunted superstition is rooted in a cult that used to inhabit Cracker Island... very little is known about them, but there is something underground.

The Temple

THE.TEMPLE "The dawn of New Eden, the end of Faulty Night." @AtomicEmperor

. . . . The Temple of Charming and Graceful Individuals. Originally a cult movement spawned in the French Motherland by the name of L'église de la Nouvelle Lumière, this organization's roots are hundreds of years old and span back to the bloodline of Charlemagne. The principal proprietors and stewards of the movement have been the regal Richoux clan, who migrated alongside a trove of relics and artifacts before the worst of the Nazi occupation of France claimed their secrets. Along with many old-world covens facing similar strain, they made purchases along the eastern coast of America, with the Church settling in a small neighborhood in Brooklyn. At the time, they were a primarily austere union of Adepts who specialized in their own Lux, unionized to create a "perfect" catalog of spells from which a Grand University could be built. They believed the knowledge alone would be enough to rouse all Blind who beheld it, and this effect would be harnessed to usher in a new enlightened age of magic. Some years passed, and as the cult became more Americanized, with second-generation children forgetting the ways of the Old Country, things became looser and less constrained. Older members passed along, some refusing the rejuvenating magic that would've staved off death. Canassa Deuxma, the Church's expert in White Lux, became fascinated with the onset of the Eastern Spiritual movement famous of her times. Under an Eclipse, she predicted the coming of a messiah, a deity upon the Earth who would lead the Church to the final lands upon which their school would be built. The promised lands. Her affair with the Church's High Guard, Ivan Richoux, became a union that heralded the next generation of leadership for the Church, with their eldest son Maxwell, taking up the family's duties of protecting the remaining honor and effort expended toward their cause. He would grow to marry a woman, Lynette, a White Lux Adept who spoke to the family of dreams and premonitions she'd had all her life. Convinced that she was the one who would be their Messiah, Canassa convinces her Son to marry and solidify the union to unlock Lynette's true potential. Before things could be turned over properly, however, a scandal broke out among the Church's highest order as both Canassa and Ivan were found dead of a Curse. Lynette and Maxwell fled, making footfall in St. Portwell. To this day, Lynette remains the leader of this schism branch of L'église de la Nouvelle Lumière and worked closely with her husband until his disappearance almost fifteen years ago. While unable to claim all of the knowledge that existed in the original organization, the two successfully took Lynette's dreams and shaped a new pathway upon which they could direct many Adepts. Now named the Temple of Charming and Graceful Individuals, or The Temple, its compound is in a well-forested city. It's home to fifty full-time residents with a small private road. Outside of the "Ashram," another hundred and fifty or so members live in the surrounding areas of Oregon and consist of many local public and private faces. These names could be said at anyone's dinner table.

New NPCs

Lisa.Turner
16 | Lisa Celeste Turner | She/Her "Hiiiiiiiii, I'm Lisa! These are my friends! Why are you scared!? Don't you know most spiders are harmless?! They're soooo cool! I can tell you everything about each and every one of them! Just have a seat! I'll tell you!"	Description: A girl who was dealt some bad hands. Growing up, there was always something a bit off about the girl; she never seemed to fit in with any circle, regardless of how hard she tried. She grew up friendless, and her only consolation or social interaction was with her family. They didn't exactly care for her either; they just tolerated her because she was family. The girl was drawn to weird interests... she had an outright obsession with spiders, body horror, and the macabre. Which were niche subjects, but Lisa was an expert in them, and would gladly info dump anyone who showed the slightest interest. The girl was oblivious to when she was annoyed or overbearing, leading her to be bullied. Harshly. From the start of school to high school, she was bullied by at least two different people. She is used to pranks being pulled on her, and she never exactly had the confidence or backbone to stick up for herself. She was bullied into becoming an introverted recluse, one who would have to work herself up to order some pizza on the phone. High school was when Lisa got it the worst. her main bully was Emily G. Reed, a high school senior who was a monster. Lisa couldn't go a few hours without Emily harassing her, beating her up, humiliating her, or pouring something on her clothing, and the school district was a lot more sympathetic to Emily than Lisa. She tried to turn the other cheek, but Emily and her bozos were relentless, sometimes catching her when she went to the Coastal Plaza. Lisa couldn't take it anymore; her family was of no help, and neither was anyone else... and it pushed her to the brink. She gave up and stopped leaving her room as the ideations began forming in her head to end her misery finally. It was enough to force her into a Kindling Event, but Lisa was too apathetic at that point to care... ... Then Adora came in. Lisa didn't know what it was about Adora, but she was there to help her; she did everything to be Lisa's friend when there was none. She became that one friend that Lisa desperately needed, her savior! While Adora was oblivious to this aspect, Lisa began to develop feelings for Adora... but those feelings were rooted in a lack of exploration of her sexuality and thankfulness. Lisa didn't know how to feel or deal with those emotions, but she managed to pull herself out of that dark place and gain the strength to return to school. During this time, Lisa explored her abstraction and discovered all the cool things she could do! She had to show Adora! ... Adora ran away. Hurt and spiraling, Lisa desperately hoped that Adora would come back... but there was that urge to use this new ability to watch Adora from a distance. She was oblivious to it, but Lisa followed her wherever she went, and if she wasn't there, one of Lisa's spider minions was there. Watching her... and she knew that Adora would come to apologize before Adora knew! However, the Stygian Snake attacked, and Lisa was forced to flee, knowing this was her friend's end. Only for the two of them to be saved by the Sycamore Tree Coven, and Lisa was roped into the cult alongside Adora. Her part in the Old Coven was a shaky one... she wasn't smart enough to be in with the smart club, nor was she built for upfront fighting. While enthusiastic, she was seen as annoying and weird, and she was called out many times for not paying attention and putting people on the line. However, she found her niche in providing support by creating spider minions to help fight, scouting, and pulling people out of the fire. Lisa also worked closely alongside fellow Covenite Gretchen Faust, as Lisa's spiders were used to gather supplies for her to make potions. However, the day of the eclipse came, and it was time for the final battle; Lisa was right there watching Adora and Trinity fight from the side. However, they were knocked out of position by the Stygian Snake, leaving Lisa vulnerable... and the Stygian Snake sadistically killed her, making her suffering last as long as possible before her body just gave out and she died. Her death haunts Adora to this day, and she has her spot on the Old Coven's Mural (LT GGA). Lisa was a comically short African-American girl that stood at four-nine, and had a hair of natural hair. Had a habit of appearing out of nowhere and surprising people (primarily Adora). Abstraction: Adept - Green & Gold Lux. Channeler: Necklace of Orb Weaver Spider in Amber. Spider-Minion-Creation: Lisa's primary spell was the ability to create spiders out of her skin; they would harmlessly claw their way out of her pores (or, more horrifyingly, she spit them out). She could create thousands in mere seconds, and they could quickly grow around the size of a sedan. Lisa used these minions to attack the Stygian Snake's minions, act as scouts, and even as a mount. Insect-Splicing: Lisa could take features from insects and apply them to her spider minions to make them even stronger. She can use it to give them ant-like mouths to gather supplies more efficiently, give them wings to fly, or even give them the famed liquid of the Bombardier beetle. . Suicide-Bombs: At will, she can cause her spider minions to grow grotesque cytes filled with a powerful stomach acid that would explode and scald the enemies around her. Spider-Physiology-Adaptation: Using her Green Lux, Lisa can temporarily adopt specific physical attributes of spiders. This includes heightened reflexes, wallcrawling, and even the capability to regenerate minor injuries at an accelerated rate. Spider-Leg Generation: One of Lisa's spells is the ability to grow eight spider-like legs from her back. These additional appendages grant her increased agility, allowing her to climb surfaces and move swiftly in any direction. The legs were strong and had very sharp tips at the end, allowing Lisa to use them as weapons if necessary. However, they could move near silently if she moved slowly enough. . Eye Manifestation: Lisa had the spell to grow additional eyes on her body (particularly around her forehead and temples), expanding her field of vision and enhancing her depth perception. The number of eyes Lisa can manifest is variable, and the eyes appear spider-like. Each additional eye contributes to her ability to multitask and watch over her surroundings. . Web-Weaving: While Lisa cannot launch webs a la Spider-Man, she can spin webs the good old-fashioned way. Given enough time, she can weave intricate and layered webs and often made art with her webs... however, she only really used this spell to help her minions weave webs if the situation called for it. . Venomous Touch: Lisa could imbue her touch with a venom that would induce temporary paralysis, lasting around thirty minutes and gradually wearing off afterward. This had a secondary effect of leaving a disorienting (confusion, dizziness, and impaired cognitive functions) effect for hours afterward.
Claire.O'Sullivan
18 | Claire Annabelle O'Sullivan | She/Her "Call me cute; whatever you think will get you in my pants."	Description: A girl who had it just a little bit rough... her parents ran a relatively successful Diner, and in those days, Claire was a bright-eyed gal with hopes for the future! However, due to a shady deal, the Diner was sold and ultimately ran into the ground, leaving her parents without the Diner their grandparents owned, and left them broke, dissolute, and angry, going straight to the bottle. Naturally, they took their anger out on the young Claire, and she grew up being beaten and emotionally abused, leaving the girl a broken shell of a person. Claire had no relief or anywhere to go, so she had to take it. The girl acted out and fell into the bad crowds... she was used to detention and going home in a police car. She was known for getting into fights, stealing, smoking weed, and sleeping around with both genders. A hoe reputation was the least of Claire's worries as she usually had to sleep with someone to be anywhere but home. However, one day, they pushed young Claire to the brink. She finally experienced her Kindling-Event... and after experimenting with it, she could finally find her relief and defend herself... and was quickly thrown into the streets, which were not kind to a young, in shape girl. She would pay anything not to go back to the O'Sullivan household, but one night, she was forced to go back home by the police where her parents were acting... strange. As it turned out, they were enthralled by the Stygian Snake and attempted to kill her, only for Claire to fight them off and haul ass into the night. The Stygian Snake attacked her, but she was able to get away. She asked around the school about anything weird happening... only to run into the cheerleader trio. They told me about the weird shit that was going on in St. Portwell and that they were going to do something about it. Claire was under that Sycamore Tree with Zoey, making their oath, and she was one of the famed primary frontline fighters of the Old Coven. Her dedication and savagery were legendary as she felled many of the Stygian Snake's minions and came to see the Old Coven as the family she never had! Though, old habits die hard and she slept around in the Old Coven. Things changed during their darkest hour when a girl named Sharon Reid, desperate to defeat the Stygian Snake, attempted to use a forbidden Spell that would sacrifice thousands of citizens. Claire, Britney, Daisy, and Auri confronted Sharon, who triggered the Spell... killing Claire in the process. After her death, Claire was immortalized on the mural as COS YA. Claire was a relatively tall gal at five-nine feet tall, skinny, and had short brown hair. She usually had a hoarse voice from all the smoking she did. She was very close to Britney Williams, who regrets letting her die. Abstraction: Adept - Yellow-Lux. Channeler: An old teddy bear Strapped to her hip. Aura Shell: Claire could activate a powerful barrier that floated a few inches off her skin at will, acting as magical armor. This barrier could be manually activated, but it subconsciously activated whenever Claire sensed danger or got worried. This barrier was powerful, allowing Claire to tank hits from the Stygian Snake (it was damn near broken at that point afterward), and made her practically invincible to its mooks. Also, the barrier allowed Claire to simulate super strength and lift to three tons - not enough to threaten the Stygian Snake, but enough to serve a problem to anything else. The barrier wrapped around Claire's clothing and whatever she held so she could use it to protect allies and augment weapons to attack.
Sharon.Reid
15 | Sharon Allison Reid | She/Her "... We can't stop it, no one can."	Description: A distraught girl from the jump, as she was... unstable. The girl had difficulty keeping a lid on her emotions and found it very easy to get upset and blow up at other people. So, she usually stayed away from people, and she spent her early days being homeschooled and had great memories with her younger sister Bláthnat (who goes by Sugar these days). However, there was something off about her father, John Reid; he would sneak off to Cracker Island every Tuesday around eleven PM. Out of curiosity, Sharon followed after him one time, only to discover that her father was a serial killer who sacrificed women at a weird underground temple to a being known as the... Stygian Snake? It was crazy, Sharon confronted her father and he explained that if they didn't annually sacrifice women to the Stygian Snake, it would come to St. Portwell. The sheer stress of everything broke Sharon, and she fell apart... going through her Kindling-Event and discovering her Black Lux. She explored it a bit... ... And used it to kill her father. Afterward, Sharon just hid the body somewhere, and that was the end of it. Or so she thought because shortly afterward, the Stygian Snake began its rampage throughout St. Portwell, and she knew that maybe her father was onto something. To see if she could drive the bastard off, she stalked and sacrificed a woman... only for the thing to continue its rampage. Sharon kept at it, only for nothing to happen. Eventually, she was found by the Sycamore Tree Coven, and she joined them in their fight against the Stygian Snake. Keeping everything she did a secret, but she couldn't help but blame herself for everything that went wrong. Sharon kept to herself; however, a manual for Black Adepts was recovered during the Coven's excursions to other universes, and she found a spell in code. After working with the "Smart Club," she decoded it and found out it was instructions for a forbidden Spell: The Soulstorm. It was a powerful and devastating spell that could ravage even the strongest Paranormal beings, but it required a sacrifice: a thousand human souls. Sharon knew the cost was too high, and she wouldn't play God like that. However, more and more of the old Coven's members began dropping like flies, and she knew they were running out of time. The day of the Eclipse was a day away. The Stygian Snake began its nightly rampage. It was all her fault. Sharon prepared the ritual... and was confronted by various members of the Old Coven. Sharon continued the ritual, only to prematurely launch it, killing hundreds of innocent citizens and a few members of the Old Coven (including Claire O'Sullivan) in the process. Sharon tried to launch the spell again, only to be killed by Britney Williams. It became a secret among those present, and they went and told everyone that Sharon died fighting the Stygian Snake, and she earned herself a spot in their mural (SR BA). Abstraction: Adept - Black-Lux. Channeler: Spectral-Blast: A focused blast of Necromantic energy that could directly injure Apparitions; she could manifest this in the form of a ball of various sizes or a beam. However, the more powerful she wanted to make the Spectral Blast, the more she had to channel and focus. Spectral-Dart: A smaller version of the Spectral-Blast, she can instantly summon some tiny blasts that do not do as much damage but are not as time-consuming to cast. Ethereal-Wave: The most powerful form of the Spectral-Blast, a powerful wave of Necromantic energy that requires several minutes to charge up. However, once cast, it can instantly destroy any Apparition short of the Stygian Snake (which damaged it enough to drive it off one instance). Ethereal-Bind: Sharon could create several strings of necromantic energy out of her hands and wrap them around Apparitions to hold them down. Soulstorm: A forbidden spell and the peak of all necromantic casting... it's a mighty storm of necromantic energy stated to be powerful enough to destroy even the Stygian Snake. However, it requires hundreds of human souls to cast and be compelling enough to destroy the Stygian Snake. Sharon considered the cost too high until they were almost on the day of the Eclipse.
Scott.Reese
28 | Scott Lucas Reese | He/Him "It's still in me, and I wanna let it out..."	Description: The son of the St. Portwell Police Commissioner Steven Reese... growing up, Scott felt like he was invincible, as no one would dare mess with the son of the police commissioner, who was very well connected to the politics of St. Portwell. This inflated Scott's ego and gave him the feeling that he could do whatever he wanted to whoever he wanted. Naturally, he was a famed bully around St. Portwell High and gave many members of the Old Coven some very long-lasting trauma... however, things changed for Scott after the Stygian Snake arrived in St. Portwell. There was a party, and naturally, Scott went a bit too far and got his ass kicked by the very worms he used to bully! Scorned and defeated, Scott stumbled through the woods home... however, the Stygian Snake selected Scott as his thrall, seeing the anger and negativity he generated. He wasn't just any thrall; the Stygian Snake gave Scott a bit of its dark power and transformed Scott into a freakishly strong brute. He sent Scott back to the party, where he went on a rampage with an axe and fled into the night. Since then, he had been going on rampages, killing anyone who could get in the Stygian's Snake Way, including the Sycamore Tree Coven. Scott cut down several members during a raid of their lair one night and was a persistent thorn in their side. Regardless of how often Scott was put down, the Stygian Snake would use its evil power to resurrect him. Then the final battle came; Scott battled the Sycamore Tree Coven and was thrown out of the battle by Adora's Trinity into the ocean, where he was believed to have drowned... however, Scott survived. When the Stygian Snake was sealed, it could no longer influence him. And he was free! However, fragments of the Stygian Snake's presence exist in his mind, demanding it be free from its prison. Scott simply disappeared without a trace, and because the Old Coven assumed he was dead, no one bothered to look for him... Abstraction: Afflicted - Herald of the Devil Snake. A powerful abstraction that feasts on the negative emotions of those around him to fuel his power. The Herald of the Devil Snake transformed Scott into a brute with titanic strength that made him a threat so severe that the only option half the time was to flee the second he entered - and if he was killed, the Stygian Snake resurrected him by the next night. He was strong, fast, tough, and could simply not be defeated by most of the Old Coven... however, he could be avoided, mobbed, and/or tricked.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Sounds like Ghost is trying to stop democracy again.

@Atrophy

did you forget about the Collective's communism era?

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

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Interactions: The Pancake Ass Squad (@Fern & @Atrophy).

Tranquil Haven Park.

---

---

It wasn't long before this other jackass whom Adora vaguely remembered stuck her nose where it didn't belong, calling her unstable. You're about to find out how unstable I am if you don't get your Goddamn hand off me. Adora thought to herself and kept these thoughts internalized. The rings were given to Adora by her Grandfather, and as far as she was concerned, they were rightfully her property. That was mistakenly given to Sloane. However, not so much as flinching at the fact that Anya was still touching her, Adora turned to Anya and gave her a quick and concise,

"Mind your business."

Then, she turned back to Sloane, allowing Anya to keep her hands on her. It was not that she looked like she could do anything to stop Adora if she wanted to put her hands on Sloane. Then, Sloane, after possibly shitting herself, just came out and admitted the truth. She gave a long and honest spiel about how she lost the rings - she could care less about the other rings. After all that posturing, it turned out it was all just bullshit to cover up the fact that she didn't have the rings in the first place. Adora cracked a smile. At the very least, Sloane did own up to it once called out, so Adora could respect that.

Well, Sloane didn't have the rings, and flying off the handle at her was not going to make them magically come back (or maybe it would, but it was not an avenue that Adora was willing to explore). There were plenty of people here, and she didn't want to make things worse... Some people were saying things to Adora, other people were bitching she could hear, but they mostly ended up getting treated like background noise. Adora's body pivoted slightly, and she pulled her keys out of her car and said,

"You don't got my rings?" Adora started as she pointed her keys at her car and pressed the unlock button to accentuate her next point, "Cool. Get in my car; we are going to find them."

”You’re not going anywhere with Sloane, Adora,” Anya said in a calm tone, smiling at her - completely unbothered by essentially being told to fuck off. However, this situation could have been avoided if Sloane hadn’t let slip that she didn’t have the rings… Though, at least, Adora didn’t seem violent in response to it. She then lowered her voice so only the three of them could hear. ”I don’t think Lisa would have approved of you being like this, would she?”

At the mere mention of Lisa, Adora’s entire demeanor changed. Adora let go of Sloane, turned towards Anya jammed a finger into her chest, and very curtly said,

”... Keep Lisa’s name out of your mouth, bitch,” Adora started, hands shaking, ”I bet you never so much as had a single conversation with her…” She narrowed her eyes at Anya.

”I had a few,” Anya shrugged, letting Adora jab her chest. She felt safe in the knowledge that she knew more than enough to get Adora to back down if needed. ”At least I didn’t form a friendship with her out of my own selfish desires, like you did, right? No wonder you feel so guilty.”

Adora narrowed her eyes and quickly defended herself.

”... You don’t know what you’re talking about, I became her friend because she needed one. You didn’t see what people like Emily were doing to her.”

”Really?” Anya raised an eyebrow. ”Did she need one, or did you need to be needed? You wanted to be her savior. I’ve seen the thoughts you try to deny..”

Anya reached up and gently pushed Adora’s finger away from her, before delivering the final blow. ”But Adora, would you have really cared about Lisa if she wasn’t going to kill herself?”

In less than a second, Adora's previously tough demeanor completely evaporated... her jaw dropped, and she froze. A complete loss for words as she stood there, staring at Anya, unsure if she should clock her or scream at her. Then... it wasn't long before Adora took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tapped her fingers together as she quietly counted a bunch of random numbers...

... Before, she simply walked away, crossed her arms, and hung her head. Nothing else left her mouth as she waited for Auri to get on with things.

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Interactions: Tayla (@silvermist1116), Layla (@Estylwen), .

Tranquil Haven Park.

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---

Britney was stirred awake by a need to take a piss.

Groggily, her eyes slowly opened as the rays of sunshine hit her skin and reminded her that she had not set her alarm for today. She looked around and realized that she was asleep on Lila's sofa... and realized that she was only in her white bra and panties. Then it hit her; last night, she decided to take a shower, and then her clothes were dirty, and she didn't want to get back into dirty clothes, so she had her little festive... half naked. It was not embarrassing; there was nothing Britney had that those two probably hadn't seen before. However, she was trying to remember what she had done last night... She was nauseous as all got out, and her head was pounding, so that made focusing on remembering just a little bit hard.

Something about spinning the bottle and summoning a demon?

Uh... maybe she should have stopped at three bottles of wine instead of escalating to ten; she knows Stormy would get on her case if he found out she got drunk when they had issues to handle. There was also that incredible urge to go home and take a shower... she looked around and saw her clothes neatly folded on the table. Then she quickly went over, grabbed them, threw on her jeans and shirt (not bothering to button it up), and just hauled ass out of there before she had a very awkward morning.

She got in her car, and she was off...

Tranquil Haven Park.

---

After handling business at the mural, Britney was quick to make it over to the Gazebo where Auri said to meet... at this point, her hangover had died down a bit due to making some quick remedies (and a hot shower solves all problems). She had on sunglasses, a wheat-colored sun dress, a similarly colored sunhat, a brown purse hanging off her shoulder, and the most out-of-place item of clothing was her black combat boots. They weren't regular combat boots, but like those old-school army boots, and she was hoping that nobody questioned her sense of fashion too much. Britney made sure to slink off to the side, sitting away from Luca (because she was not ready to cross that bridge) and the others, and just watched. This time, Britney wanted to see the meeting for herself and hoped for Auri's brand-new Coven...

... Only for most of it to get dashed in an instant.

Britney heard from Auri first that literally three people were dead, and their first reaction? Start bickering and throwing shade at each other. Britney rolled her eyes as she just watched the whole thing, as it seemed to make her headache worse. She massaged her temples as she remained quiet... and then sighed.

Looked like Britney was going to have to play the adult.

Just like the good ol' days.

“Alizée hasn’t even been dead for twenty four hours and you’re already onto the next girl. Layla, you’re young and dumb so I can forgive you for being tricked by this parasite, but he’s not your buddy.”

Britney cracked a smile and, for now, glossed over the fact that Sloane just told someone to die. Britney spoke...

"Yeah, he just couldn't wait to lead another lamb to slaughter," Britney chuckled, "So tell me, Voidy, how many little girls have to die a senseless death before you're finally satisfied?"

Then Britney spoke to Layla,

"Whatever he's telling you, don't fall for it. You're just one in a line of many to him. Alizée literally died less than a day ago, and tell me: what is the first thing he does?" Britney started, raising an eyebrow, sassily putting a hand on her hip, hoping that Layla would get the hint. "It couldn't be a redder flag."

"Cause I could be dying at home and not with you assholes."

Tayla

"... And I thought we were friends."

Britney felt like she should address Tayla, who seemed to be furious that Auri was wasting her time... and Britney was starting to feel the same way; this Coven was a huge waste of time, as it seemed. But Tayla's bitching was making Britney's headache unbearable, and she ended up massaging her temples even harder before Britney sighed and said,

"Look, Tayla, I get where you're coming from - but there's nothing we can do about that now," Britney monotonously started, gazing at Tayla with a completely neutral expression on her face. "Getting angry isn't going to change anything because, at the end of the day, you decided to come here. We all did. So, let's just move on."

That was the nicer way of saying that because Britney wanted to grab Tayla by her shoulders, violently shake her back and forth, and say...

SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU! GROW THE HELL UP!

Britney didn't care if Tayla left; she didn't seem to care at all about the news that three people died. So why should anyone give a damn about her? She could get fired for all Britney cared. However, she was not defending Auri, as Britney turned her head towards Auri and said, "That said, Auri, please keep in mind we aren't teenagers on summer break anymore; be more considerate of everyone's time. Please and thanks."

Then she sighed.

Hopefully, that would be the end of it.

It wasn't.

“Who invited Adora, Auri? How can we put faith in you when you can't even control your own Coven? What about our safety in the public eye?!”

Layla

Britney raised a finger,

"Layla, it is not your place to talk about control when you literally just threatened someone a minute ago."

Britney raised another finger.

"Nor can you talk about control until you show you have a leash on that Ethereal Testicle you have floating next to you."

Then she raised a final finger.

"... And The Void Heart is a flying threat to our safety in the public eye. Do you remember what he was making Alizée do? What he's trying to groom you to do? See-through his bullshit. You're a tool for him. Trust me."

It wasn't Britney's place to speak, but she would not let all of this slide - it was dead straightforward that Layla was letting the Void Heart pollute her brain. If Britney had her way, she would seal the Void Heart in Alizee's coffin so he could be close to his precious for the end of time. However, the one thing that Britney agreed on was that maaaaaaaybe Adora shouldn't be here if she were going to act like this.

But she had to play her cards right.

Then, the grand revelation came to light: Sloane had lost her artifacts. Britney raised her sunglasses to look at Sloane... only to roll her eyes and put them back down. Sloane lost her artifacts before this went down and didn't tell anyone until she was pushed to. If Britney didn't know any better, she would have thought that this was the good old days. People fucking up and not telling anyone until it had become a problem. It was a high possibility that these artifacts were being used against them at this very moment, and she was making excuses.

But Adora wasn't helping.

Finally, Jasper spoke up; it had been years since she had seen him, and the years had caused him to mature. As he spoke to the group, what was all on Britney's mind... even though she didn't agree with everything he said (Adora deserved some heat for her stunt). She would have told the group not to dogpile on Sloane if it wasn't for the fact that Sloane didn't just tell someone they should have been murdered.

However, it was at this moment that Auri finally lost it.

---

Auri Auclair.

Interactions: These little bitches.

Tranquil Haven Park > The New Coven Lair.

---

---

Auri ground her teeth.

That bottle of wine at the bottom of the cooler was starting to speak to her as everyone bitched and moaned, threw insults at Auri, and actively attempted to undermine her leadership. Auri did not move; she just sat there against the railing as it got more and more and more and more and more grating. Until she reached her boiling point, she grabbed the butterfly staff, and then screamed,

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENOOOOOOOOOOOOOUGH!"

Auri slammed her butterfly staff on the ground, and the entire gazebo was overtaken by thousands of her butterfly Apparitions. They danced, taking up everyone's vision for just a moment before they all faded away. She panted, her throat on fire because she screamed so loudly and savagely.

"I am not going to let this meeting get derailed again because you all cannot act like adults," She pointed off into the distance, presumably where their lair was. "We are going to our lair before someone does something stupid and starts a fight. You either come or don't; I don't care." That was mostly directed at Tayla, who only got a roll of Auri's eyes as a response.

Then Auri walked off the gazebo's stairs, saying, "Now, let's go."

Auri commanded the butterflies to grab the cooler, which floated as Auri led the group some distance from the park. They approached a long road flanked by trees on both sides; a chain gate blocked that... she simply walked around it, making her butterflies bring the cooler underneath the gate. She walked down the pathway, and not a word escaped her mouth, but she heard some chattering from what was behind her. As long as they weren't bickering, she couldn't care less!

Their lair could be seen in the distance... She was tempted to talk about how this place was recently abandoned, and they should be careful because they wouldn't be here for long, but Auri knew that these people wouldn't care. However, her eyes caught sight of a... glowing blue bird. It was only a glimpse before it disappeared. Maybe she was just seeing things.

That was before Auri opened the door, which had no locks, and revealed the main hall of the church. She walked down the aisle... commanding her butterflies to leave the cooler by the door, and then slung her staff over her shoulder. She looked back at the group as she said,

"I touched up a little bit on the place as you can see..."

However, before she could say anything, Stormy approached her and said, "We need to talk. I shouldn’t have exploded when I first entered the flower shop. I was not fully prepared for this reunion, and I simply reacted. I do not want to continue that. Can we talk in private real? Just you, me, and Britney?"

Auri looked back at her impatient group, before she said, "Gladly."

Britney chuckled, "... I thought you'd never ask!"

That was when the three of them walked into one of the rooms on the side...

---

Interactions: No one in particular.

Tranquil Haven Park.

---

---

Adora quietly trailed along the group's rear... she kept her head down and mouth shut. She didn't care about Auri's blow and only wanted to know how to get to the bottom of this. These people were, so far, insufferable... and she had only been here under ten minutes. She wondered if her aversion to coming here was a subtle sign that she should have just stayed home and painted... but Adora would hear Auri out. Auri opened the door, let everyone in... aaaaaaaaand then just got pulled off before she got to the point. Adora clenched her fist, gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and sighed, frustrated. She spoke to the group without looking at them as she put her hood down.

"... All that just to fuck off and leave us twiddling our thumbs?"

She (rhetorically) asked.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

---

Auri Auclair.

Interactions: Anya and Luca (@FernStone), Jack (@Blizz), and Sloane (@Atrophy)

Tranquil Haven Park.

---

---

It wasn't long until after the announcement that Auri was barraged with different questions. Auri was still forcing her chipper demeanor only because if she didn't, she would be downing that bottle of wine she had stashed at the bottom of her counter. She leaned against the railing of a gazebo with the Butterfly Staff right next to her. So, she addressed things to the best of her ability...

”As our new leader, how are you proposing we stay alive? Do you have any plans or only leads?”

Anya

Auri was silent for a few moments before she calmly answered,

"Like what Layla suggested, a buddy system-" Not like any of you will follow it anyway. "-seems to be the best action. Nobody goes anywhere alone, as it seems only those alone are targeted."

”When did they die? ”Was… was it Father Wolf, like the others?”

Luca

"The Police say they died within hours of going to our meeting... and I am not sure if it was Father Wolf, but it's likely."

"Do we have any valid, legitimate leads to find our murderer? Or do we know anyone who could point us in a meaningful direction?”

Jack

“Come on, leader, keep this meeting on track. I take it we’re done chasing around strippers and bikers, yes? What are your leads?”

Sloane

Auri was silent momentarily, resisting the urge to glance at Layla and Void Heart... who was not even being subtle about moving on to the next poor innocent girl to manipulate. You'll be rid of that monster soon enough. Auri mused to herself as she remained silent.

"... The leads involve our deceased members, Kari Wilson, and Lionel Hunter - but there are some matters I need to settle before we go there as a group. Mainly, getting us to our home base to establish where we will meet from here on that I don't mind you all destroying!"

There was that urge to add on: Because some people ran off on their own, caused problems, and got themselves killed. But the goal was not to upset the Void Heart at the very least... unlike Sloane, she refused even to address Layla or the Void Heart. She knew that the Void Heart wasn't all that smart, but smart enough to pick up on her words and quietly plot against her.

She just needed to be the one who outmaneuvers him.

However, another guest had appeared... walking up with a hoodie over her head; it was none other than Adora. Auri recognized her height, body shape, everything!

"Why hello there, Adora, welcome to our..."

Then Adora beelined for Sloane.

---

Interactions: Sloane's Pancake Ass (@Atrophy).

Tranquil Haven Park.

---

---

"Okay... game day."

Adora muttered to herself as she faced the gazebo... she could recognize some faces from here, but she wondered if anyone would recognize her. She stood there... and if anyone noticed someone standing there with their hands in their hoodie and hood up, they would probably find the sight to be very strange. However, Adora was, internally, working up the courage to come here. In her head, she always just told herself she would find the strength to do it, but now that she's here, it's another discussion. Looking at them from a distance just reminded her of bad times.

Adora forced herself forward, one awkward ass step at a time, until she managed to walk up the stairs to the gazebo. She stood there, looked to the left and the right... and then her eyes landed on a special somebody.

Sloane.

That anxiety was quietly replaced with rage upon seeing Sloane's very punchable face. She turned her nose upwards and twisted her lips up... before she walked over to Sloane and put a firm hand on her shoulder, ignoring everyone as they did not simply exist to Adora. There was only one thing on Adora's mind at this very moment.

"Now that you can't hide behind your phone anymore..."

Adora trailed off before she put her hand out.

"My grandfather's rings, cough 'im up. I don't care if we gotta ride to your place; my car's right here."

She narrowed her eyes at Sloane.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree NPC List

Strange Beings

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Hider

Supernatural beings that reside in St. Portwell and beyond, many of them dangerous and far from innocuous. Take care when dealing with them, as they are numerous and unpredictable.

The Maiden.of.the.Crows
Millennia's old | The Maiden of the Crows | She/Her "I only ask for you to trust me." @NoriWasHere	Description: The Maiden of the Crows is a mysterious figure who stands at a height of five feet seven inches. Its attire is a mesmerizing display of otherworldliness, as both its dress and cloak are crafted from the sleek, iridescent feathers of crows. These feathers cascade down gracefully, creating a flowing and ethereal appearance. If she so costs she can expand the cloak, causing it to turn into her winter. These wings unfold with broken beauty and cast a green light on the area in front of it. The feathers are much, much larger than any crow seen on Earth suggesting that there exists a giant one out there, somewhere in the void, or the feathers are simply a construct of The Maiden. On a close look, it may be that The Maiden has a flair for the dramatic and simply modeled her dress after the Crows she so affectionately loves, but on a second glance one might see that the dress, and the outfit a whole, can separate in the middle. A possible second set of wings, or a possible entry point to something more monstrous underneath. The Maiden's hair seamlessly merges with her cloak. A mask conceals her face, leaving observers unable to discern the features behind it. Her visage is further heightened by a vibrant green emerald that adorns her waist, catching the eye amidst the dark feathers. The gem has a quality that draws in all eyes, causing those who stare for too long to be entranced with a desire to trade anything, and everything, to try and convince The Maiden to part with it. If that fails, they will then take it from her. A green glow envelops the Maiden. The glow is the same color as the emerald that sits on her waist and it carries a softer form of the trance effect of the gem. Those who bask too long under the glow are eventually driven mad with a desire to pluck the feathers off the Maidens's wings. On top of her head is a crown of feathers. Each feather seems to be plucked from a separate crow, and the more crows that are available to Lila the more feathers adorn the crown. Abstraction: Apparition - A Murder of Crows The Maiden is an Apparition born from the emotion of loneliness. Long, long ago she spawned into existence in this realm and has sought out a companion, a friend, or a lover to keep her company and break her loneliness. Yet, no matter who she lets in or gets close they are taken under the spell of her form, compelling them to break her body to steal her feathers and her jewels. The Maiden has a curse, and her body is hexed to enact revenge on those who succumb to the allure of her gifts. Those who pluck and steal a feather will eventually be turned into one of her servant crows within a week of the theft, and those who steal the jewels from her body eventually get turned into the very item they stole. As such, The Maiden maintains a treasure trove that is next to none in terms of size and has a flock of followers to keep her company on her eternal search for a companion, a friend, or a lover to keep her company and break her loneliness until the end of time. The Maiden becomes adjoined with every person she tries to bring into her life, and once selected there is no way to break free of her grasp except distance. If the person she is adjoined to has gifted her enough valuable stuff, however, distance is no longer a hurdle and The Maiden will follow the person forever more. Until they either accept her invitation, and gaze on her form, or die. Once adjoined, The Maiden will bind her crows to a chosen mortal. Her current choice is Lila. Once The Maiden binds her Crows there is no way to undo it. The Crows will take commands from the chosen, as long as they are offered a reward for doing so. The Crows themselves take great pleasure in shiny things, be it jewelry like rings and necklaces or raw gems. In the modern world the Crows have an intense love of anything diamonds although, in the past, gold was king. The Crows will also love a delicious treat, and they have been known to do many a bold thing for a particular dish that Lila cooks often for them. The Crows do not collect the jewelry and the gems for themselves. They collect, and return, them back to The Maiden. While it is unclear why The Maiden requests these gifts for a favor from the crows, especially considering the vast wealth she has available, it is suspected that it is a way to gauge the soul of a person. A gift given freely, without a task, is often considered especially important to The Maiden, as are gifts that carry a significant emotional reason or history. As such, a ring that has been in a family line for generations could convince The Maiden to advance her trust faster as there is power in that emotional connection. After the Maiden has deemed a mortal worthy, she will begin to unlock more of her power, and with that comes her voice. The Maiden will begin trying to build trust with her chosen. Offering her guidance, her opinions, and her assistance in their struggles. These whispers also have some of the infecting qualities much like her appearance. The more The Maiden whispers, the more she will want to talk. The more she talks, the more persuasive The Maiden becomes. The Maiden's end goal is to convince the chosen to take her challenge, and she will do anything she can and say anything she needs to get the chosen to let her in, and then she will let the chosen into her realm. And once she has the chosen in her realm, she will make them undergo her trials. The Maiden is covered in cursed feathers, gems, and jewelry. The curse works in two stages. Stage one is infection. When the chosen gazes on The Maiden's true form they will be overcome with a desire to take something from her body, and the infection that follows will be based on that choice. No chosen has managed to avoid taking something from The Maiden and the curse that compels them to look is strong. If the chosen takes a feather from her wings, they will start to notice a change happening within a few days. Feathers will begin to sprout all across their body until, after exactly one week they will be transformed into one of The Maiden's crows and be subjugated to be a servant of The Maiden for the rest of time. If a jewelry piece or gem is taken the mortal will undergo a similar transformation though instead of a crow they will instead transform into whatever they stole, a ring stolen means the mortal becomes a ring.
Razgoy.Stealer.of.Joy
????? | Razgoy “Skelly” | They/Them " I’m not here to kill you, I’m just going to take all that brings you joy." @FernStone@NoriWasHere	Description: Skelly is a horror that was brought to our universe when Britney, Lila, and Lynn accidentally performed a summoning one drunken night. They are old, and it is unknown just how old they truly are. They take the form of a skeleton though it is unlike any that is known in our universe. They have four arms with none attached to their body, instead it appears as though they are levitating. Their body is mostly bones however visible muscle sinew is present across it. Their head is the most visibly distinct, with white tendrils flanking what appears to be a visible brain that gives off light. Their most demonic features are their eyes which look like two lanterns ablaze in a dark, soulless expanse. Razgoy was formed from the emotions of one of their universe's very first serial killers. They took a particular joy in making a game or of their killings, and when they died the joy in this suffering created Razgoy. Ever since then they have been hunting targets, individuals or pairs, and bringing a specific brand of misery. They will fight their targets, steal their most prized possessions, ruin their special moments, remove their ability to seek help, and slowly corrupt their target, stealing every emotion but rage. Once they’re at this final stage, they will force a final confrontation to seal the kill. Their current targets are Jasper Wilde and Luca Oliviera. Abstraction: Apparition - Razgoy The Stealer Of Joy Razgoy is an apparition with a love of dramatic flair, and comedic timing. Razgoys powers are focused on isolation, stealth, and creating opportunities that it can later exploit. At the end of the day they are a hunter, a stalker, and a fearsome foe to be chased by. Mark: Razgoy marks up to two targets at a time. They will search an area for individuals who are, by and large, filled with joy. Happy people, joyful people, and people filled with emotions that are in a sense happy. They will mark them, putting them under their spell. Once marked, Razgoy will begin to hunt their marks periodically. They won’t show up every day, but they could show up every hour of a single day. They’ll show up at times of happiness, drawing their marks into a rage through a fight or by stealing an item or both. Then, they’ll slip away before the fight can turn against him. Silent hunt: There is nothing Razgoy hates more than a ruined hunt. As such, they will prevent their marks from seeking outside help through this spell. If a mark tries to speak, write, or communicate in any form that they are being attacked the mark will be forced to lie in increasingly bizarre ways. Stealthy hunter: Razgoy knows where you’re at, and they know when you’re happy. It has the ability to know where the mark is at all times, and it can tell when they’re happy. It will wait for the right time in these moments of bliss before they make their move and teleport in. Often it will wait, unseen and unheard, in the same area of the marks. They might let them have a moment of happiness before it strikes, or it might ruin it then and there. Stealer of joy: As the hunt progresses, Razgoy will begin to steal more and more of their targets positive emotions. Soon, these once joyful individuals will be filled with nothing but rage and a seething anger towards a monster they can never describe. Once they reach this stage Razgoy will finish the hunt, kill the marks, and begin anew.
Toad Emperor.Tennogama the Robust
14370 in Shimmer | Toad Emperor Tennogama the Robust | He/Him "The Pact remains unbroken! Fight, you Toads, like the Empire's last soldiers!" @AtomicEmperor	Description: Originally a Cane Toad Daimyo hailing from the realm of Gam, Tennogama first came to his throne after a bloody civil war saw his troops victorious in taking the capitol for themselves. It's said that he was the voice which unified the Amphibians of Gam, and that his army which took the capitol consisted of all creeds and faiths of their vast swampland home. By the time Sage of the Ten Paths Kai arrived through his secret paths between dimensions, said war had been long finished for thousands of years. Instead, he found new political unrest as territorial disputes and invading forces from an altogether different realm began to make their move upon the Toad Empire's vulnerable borders. Sage Kai managed to gain audience with the Emperor, whose generally rigid and imperious attitude was won over by Kai through means that are lost to legend and unwilling to be spoken of by Tennogama himself. What is known is that Kai offered his services to the Emperor, who eventually came around to making a wager: That if Kai was successful in repelling this foreign aggression, Tennogama would enter into a Pact. Pacts, an ancient form of Summoning Magic, allow the user to loosely bind the essence of a Greater Apparition to an artifact that can be used to commune with and accept power from an Apparition without Aberrance occurring. In return, the Apparition is worshipped in their own realm, but are also deified by the other party involved in the Pact. In his hubris, Tennogama was negligent in setting up an alternative, assuming that the painful death the little human would go through was going to be punishment enough. It didn't take long for the Sage to prove the Emperor wrong, and a stunned Tennogama was true to his word as he entered into a pact with Sage Kai. Of course, this was all part of Kai's trickery; his most brilliant plans and schemes often caught prideful spirits off-guard. Many of these pacts can still be found in their original scrolls within the annals of the Gold clan's library monastery. However, some were trusted to branch clans, gifted as artifacts of worship that they're meant to tend to and protect. Some are unruly spirits who are less than satisfied with their containment, while others learned to respect and revere the Sage who had hooked them into his schemes one way or another. Tennogama is in the latter category, who managed to not only find admiration for Kai, but for the branch clan who were left in charge of caring for his essence in the Shimmer. For almost fifteen hundred years, the pact has remained in the Shimmer in one form or another. This usually jovial spirit can now be found by a small lake just outside St. Portwell, where a hidden shrine has been erected in order to house the Pact. His relationship with his latest (and now only) retainer is far different than any relationship Tennogama has had in quite some time. While invigorated by the prospect of another life like he'd had following Sage Kai directly, Tennogama is keeping a secret from Ken: The Pact is keeping the Great Toad alive. In his own world, the Emperor's body has long withered from disuse, and while he's able to maintain leadership through the communion with his most loyal servants, he will never be able to physically recover from the strictures of the Pact. Therefore, while he can and has offered his power directly to Ken, he's reluctant to do so often, rather searching for the next Daimyo worthy of the seat and the crown. Abstraction: As an Apparition, Tennogama's abilities only extend as far as he's able to spread his influence. For close to a thousand years, the Murakin Clan harbored Tennogama in the hazy foothills of the Kanto region of Japan, where his still relatively young and fresh essence was able to permeate the ground, water and air. Now in this strange land, weakened by his long term disconnection from his homeland and stripped of the residual energy he'd left behind in Japan, he's more a refugee than any kind of territorial beast. But as a warrior, one who warred and killed and bloodied himself for his Empire, Tennogama is just as dangerous as he was thousands of years ago. While not some grand Multiversal threat, lesser apparitions need only feel the weight behind his massive padded fingers and hands crushing them to death or the equally deadly swordsmanship that the creature displays to know that he is truly leagues above common beasts. Like the Daimyo beneath him, Tennogama's sense for battle and combat is preternatural, and his immense strength translates into surprising speed while his massive girth and powerful Emotional Field leave him equipped to receive and return damage at devastating scales.
The.Watcher
??? | The Watcher in the Woods | He/Him…? "You are not in danger." @Blizz	Description: There once was a man named Reed Mayfield. He was an Adept inclined towards mimicking animals and promoting the growth of certain plants. He was a hermit, with a military background that left him troubled and weary a long career of service. Nature was his refuge, so one day, Reed retreated into the forests of St. Portwell, never to be seen again. Years went by, and years became decades. To him, time began to mean very little once he cast off his name. Family members assumed he moved out of town, others assumed he went out on his own terms. Both are true, but not in the way most understand. Today, those who venture into the deepest parts of the woods may find themselves feeling as if they are not alone. The Watcher in the Woods cares little for the troubles of society, but keeps a very close eye on those who walk into his domain. Should someone treat nature with respect, they may find that a deer or a bird will lead them back to a familiar path when they are lost. Those who simply come to hunt and live off the land are left well enough alone, but those who violate the peace of the forest are quickly scared off by an ominous presence that is just barely human enough that they don’t get the wrong idea. Abstraction: Green Lux The Watcher in the Woods does not consider himself human, or an Adept. But his domain of magic includes altering his physical form and tending to the forest in ways that simple gardening cannot. It is through the use of this magic that the Watcher has moved beyond the need for a human body, and has irreparably changed to something closer to an Apparition. Wild Form: The Watcher can take the form of many different forest-dwelling animals, such as wolves and deer. In Wild Form, he blends in with other animals so perfectly that they cannot tell him apart from their own offspring. Wolf Deer Crow Hummingbird Mountain Lion Ringneck Snake Great Basin Spadefoot Apex Predator: The Watcher stands at 8 feet tall, can see in pitch black darkness, and has skin strong enough to stand up to some of the sharpest blades in the world. This was achieved through magic, allowing the Watcher to reshape their body into something inhuman. He can go for weeks without food or water, and can rip flesh from the bones of wild animals with his bare hands. The changes are irreversible for the Watcher, but they are a product of biology manipulating magic, meaning the Watcher is also a very capable healer in emergencies. Boundless Garden: The Watcher’s body, when not in Wild Form, is a catalyst for ecological growth. Under the thick drapes of hide and moss that they wear, countless forms of plant life grow and flourish. This does not end at plants native to Oregon. The Watcher’s flesh supports everything from sunflowers to creeping arctic willows. Occasionally, this growth can be seen sprouting outwards over their body, tangling with moss and skin like a layer of wool.
Melsha.the.Architect
Billions of year | Melsha the Architect | He/Him "My dearest benefactor, you have much to learn." @Blizz	Description: In a place far from Shimmer, a creature named Melsha toiled for millennia to build a perfect world. He carved reality with the precision of a mason, and laid the foundation of time and space as an artist laid paint to canvas. Melsha likened himself to the Ancient of Red Lux, a creator of things so vast that mortals could not comprehend it. In his perfect world, Melsha was content to be less than a god, but more than a simple inhabitant. He yearned to build and create new life in his realm of metal and clockwork, and did so from before time had a name, and would have done so for all of eternity. But it was not to last. Melsha considered himself a benevolent being in his perfect world, not a god in the human sense, but a force of nature. But the inhabitants of his world were intelligent, made to be so in his image. They built civilizations of their own, discovered ideas that made Melsha proud. Among these ideas was hubris, the notion that they were above their creator. He could not bring himself to oppress or harm his people, and so Melsha was dethroned, ruined. They left his body and his spirit in tatters, with the hope that he might never rise to their level again. Melsha was exiled from his perfect world, and found his way to Shimmer after drifting in the All-Verse for centuries. He found a human girl named Nora, in which he saw a creator in her own rights. He made a bargain with her, that would give him the stability of a bond with another in exchange for his wisdom. Melsha is now voluntarily sealed within Nora’s body, and extends his knowledge of machines to her. They are friends, and she will be remembered when he returns to his world, long after she is gone. Abstraction: God of Clockwork Melsha is a being who lives to create. He understands machines and the design of the universe in ways so fundamental, that they are like breathing and thought for him. Anything that did not exist naturally, from cars to the pyramids, falls within the purview of his abilities. In his current state, Melsha is weak, and frail. His strength is a sliver of his former glory as the builder of an entire world. The most he can do is work through his host, and guide her with his teaching. But at his most powerful, Melsha can harvest a dead star to forge cogs of the purest metal, purpose-built to keep the universe in motion. He can create artificial life more intelligent than humans with brains of ticking clockwork, and extend the boundaries of the All-Verse.
ARMY OF.ONE
Unknowably old | The Army of One | They/Them/She/Her/It/Its "We are infinite. We are legion. We are one." @Blizz	Description: The Timeless Egregore, the Court of Fallen Souls, it has been known by many names in every corner of the All-Verse. In a time no longer remembered by anything in all of creation, a woman named Amara died defenseless and alone, fighting for something she believed in. Her business had not been finished, and her spirit carried on to another world, where she adjoined to a Counterpart of herself to grow stronger. Her host died, and the two carried on again, and again, and again, until they were unquantifiable. The Army of One has existed since the beginning of humanity, since the Bull created the very first places in the All-Verse. It is a unique Apparition, as it is not one entity, but an infinite number of entities acting as one. It is a hivemind of Counterparts, all of one woman, Amara King, who have died in fulfillment of the All-Verse constant that demands a righteous death. Many have told stories of the Army throughout history, that they are psychopomps, wayward souls who cling to existence, or a threat that is simply amassing power for something unknown. The reality of the Army is that it is a timeless manifestation of adversity, of spirits who have lost all but the will to fight. Infinite trillions of warriors, tacticians, strategists and revolutionaries who gave their lives for something worthy of them. Its purpose is to conquer, to overcome and outlive the enemy. In death, the phantoms of eras long past extend their knowledge of war and strategy to the living, who will one day take their last breath on the day where their cause demands it, and what is left behind will be committed to eternity. The living are simply blank canvases, yet to be washed away of all that makes them individuals to make room for the eternal war. This has always been the fate of Amara King's Counterparts since the youngest days of existence, and always will be. The Army of One takes the form of ghostly, humanoid figures. The phantoms are devoid of personhood, of anything that gives them a sense of individuality. They have no uniqueness, they are only Amara King, and they are One. Abstraction: Apparition - Army of the Fallen The Army of One is an extremely powerful Apparition that exists in every world at the same time, and draws on the power of the souls it collects from dead Counterparts. While most Apparitions can only bond to a single human at once, the Army of One is unique in its ability to bond with every Counterpart of Amara King at the exact same time, from the moment they are born to the moment they die. Born from emotions associated with war and loneliness, the phantoms of the Army fight together, and everything that a single phantom learns is relayed to the entire collective, and can pass these things along to the living Counterparts they are bound to. This is to them what toiling in a field is to a gardener, it makes them stronger so that they can reap what they sow. The Army of One, for this reason, is impossible to seal, and if they are summoned by a Counterpart, no amount of anti-Apparition measures can truly defeat them, only slow the tide. Where other Apparitions like the Stygian Snake or the Rampage threaten reality itself through sheer potency, the Army of One threatens anyone standing in its way through sheer volume. Ordinarily, living Counterparts are heavily limited in the number of phantoms they may call on. However, in times of extreme crisis, such as a world-ending monster going unchecked, the Army of One will invoke what it calls the Phalanx Imperative, allowing for forces from low-priority places in the All-Verse to be diverted to the center of the action. The only way to truly ensure that the Army of One is out of the picture, in a localized sense, is to exploit the All-Verse constant they thrive on, the universal law that Amara King's death will always occur when she fights for a cause she believes in. Upon killing the living Amara in one part of the All-Verse, the Army of One will not waste its power on places it has no footholds in.
The.King.of.the.Pit
Unknown | The King | He/Him "..."	Description: The King of the Pit is less a singular individual, and more a title passed down through the ages. Personally selected by the Mother Will, the King is often the most brutal and ruthless inhabitant of the Pit or a child meticulously groomed into the role. Many have held this title for ages, from mere minutes to decades. Each King's rule is marked by varying degrees of brutality, as the Mother Will explicitly encourages the King to act on their darkest impulses. What makes the King capable of exerting control over the Pit is his psychic connection to the legions of Autoknights created by the Forge. The current King's rule began after the previous King met his demise at the hands of the Pale Horse. Immediately, Mother Will selected a new king: a child named Jane Andrews, who had fallen into the Pit. Mother Will found her and turned her into the King, giving her a playground with many toys. This transformation rendered the King wicked, devoid of morality and empathy, with a lust for power. Under the current King's rule, the Pit has become more organized in its chaos. The Autoknights, driven by the King's psychic commands, patrol the Pit more efficiently, hunting down those who defy the King's will. The King's influence extends beyond the physical realm. This King is morbidly obese and physically incapable of leaving his throne, which necessitates the Autoknights physically lifting the throne to move him around. The King's face, like all Kings of the Pit, is hidden behind a mask, with a crown atop his head. His reign primarily focused on gathering artifacts scattered throughout the Pit for unknown purposes. Abstraction: Afflicted - Voices of the Pit. The Voices of the Pit is a potent and sinister Abstraction the Mother Will bestowed upon the King of the Pit. It grants him unparalleled control over the minds of those unfortunate enough to cross his path. This ability manifests as a duality of power: mind manipulation and telepathic communication. At the core of the Voices of the Pit lies the King's ability to implant thoughts, fears, and hallucinations into the minds of others. He can amplify these fears with a whisper, driving individuals to madness or coercing them into submission. Those who encounter the King often find themselves haunted by relentless, tormenting voices that echo their deepest thoughts, pushing them to the brink of insanity. This aspect of the Abstraction is particularly insidious, as it can erode the mental fortitude of even the strongest-willed individuals, leaving them vulnerable to the King's will. Complementing this ability is the King's power of telepathic communication. Within the confines of the Pit, he can establish a psychic link with any being, allowing for instantaneous and silent communication. This telepathic ability is crucial in maintaining control over his legions of Autoknights and other minions. The King can issue commands and coordinate complex maneuvers and strategies.
Autoknights
N/A | N/A | It/Its "Obey the King, or die!"	Description: Autoknights, short for Automatic Knights, are a marvel of engineering forged from the collective work of countless Adepts. Originating from Glint, these mechanical monstrosities were birthed in The Forge, a massive factory created by the lesser families of the League of Luminescence. Intended to expand the League's power, The Forge was deemed an act of rebellion and cast into the Pit. The families responsible were exiled to other worlds, but The Forge remained operational, falling into the hands of the King of the Pit. This massive factory is the cornerstone of the King's power, allowing him to produce legions of Autoknights. Autoknights are towering, coal-powered iron golems, each eight feet tall. Uniform in appearance, they wield various weapons, ranging from massive swords and muskets to cannons and salvaged artifacts, all created by The Forge or scavenged from the Pit. These iron giants are a familiar and terrifying sight in the Pit, representing a formidable challenge to anyone encountering them. Despite their slow speed, Autoknights are organized and individually strong, making them a significant threat. Autoknights operate under a hive-mind control system directed by the King of the Pit. Each unit is connected to the King, allowing him to command entire battalions with a single thought. Abstraction: Abominable - Wretched Automaton. Though Autoknights lack individual Abstractions and Emotional-Fields, they are solid and durable by default. Their metal bodies render many abstractions ineffective against them. However, agile and quick-witted adversaries can exploit their bulky and slow nature.
The.Mother.Will
??? | ??? | She/Her "The Pit likes you; it doesn't want to let you go." @Blizz	Description: A mysterious... being, that inhabits the Pit. Mother Will claims to be the mouthpiece for the Pit and has a direct connection with it. She speaks as if The Pit is a living, breathing place... and given how corrupted the Pit is, Mother Will may be correct. She appears before people she finds exciting and "judges" them, telling them how much the Pit favors them. If the Pit "likes" them, then it's unlikely any harm will come to them (but it also means the Pit won't let them leave). If the Pit "hates" them, their days are likely numbered (but they may be allowed to escape the Pit). She seems to be omnipresent and appears in several different places at once. Abstraction: It's unknown if the Mother Will is even anything within the bounds of Paranormal.
LIGHT.EATERS
???| Light-Eaters | N/A "LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT."	Description: In a time long forgotten, a creature full of gnawing hunger descended on the world called Gloom. The Light Eater turned its gaze upon the Adepts of this world, and swallowed them whole one by one. In an event now known as the Lux Purge, over 98% of the planet's Adept were killed over the course of eight days. The Blind believed it to be a meteor shower, but the huge, god-like beast swept over one country after the other in a frenzy too great to stop. The Light-Eater gorged itself on the power of Lux, growing stronger with each passing kill, until the day it could not eat any more. The beast retreated deep into the ground through a chasm, whose location was hidden by the few rare Adepts who survived. They scattered to the wind, and among the survivors, more than half were killed in the years that followed. The Light-Eater couldn't hold all the power it had hoarded, and the Lux began to fester. All the emotions tied to its stolen Lux soured, rage turned inwards, sorrow took root beyond reason, love went mad. It was just too much, and so the Light-Eater collapsed under its own weight. Its ravenous intentions leaked out alongside the Lux, and that power coalesced into billions upon billions of smaller, more dangerous Light-Eaters as diverse as the countless victims their progenitor had preyed on. Light-Eaters of the current day are ruthlessly dangerous creatures, who stalk Gloom with a ravenous, desperate hunger for Lux. Adepts who kindle often turn up dead within hours, and the few who have managed to survive in this world have become so detached from society that their names have never been heard before. In Gloom, the only Adept smart enough to live is one who severs from their ancestors, or find their way to other places in the All-Verse. Abstraction: Pitch A Light-Eater is, at the most fundamental level, a perversion of everything that Lux embodies. For every negative emotion one can associate with the rage of red Lux, there is a positive one. The fear of yellow Lux keeps people alive, and the sadness of blue Lux is a reminder of better days. But there is absolutely, unequivocally, nothing positive about the magic Light-Eaters wield. Known as Pitch rather than Lux, a given Light-Eater wields twisted powers that act as a dark reflection of their origins. For every color of Lux, there is a color of Pitch, and unlike an Adept, a Light-Eater does not express their Pitch in varied ways. All pink Pitch, for example, is based on the principle of nightmares, and not the manipulation of all emotions and thought like pink Lux. An individual Light-Eater has the ability to absorb its corresponding Lux, potentially rendering an attack all but worthless against them. The saving grace to this is that Pitch is exclusive, meaning a Light-Eater cannot possess more than one, unlike Adepts who almost always have more than one type of Lux. But using the matching Lux on a Light-Eater is folly, and only makes them stronger. Even the most powerful spells can be a waste if one is especially unfortunate. They also have the ability to sense all forms of Lux from very far away, no matter how small its use. Light-Eaters hunt Adepts to fill that hollow void in their souls, and will stop at nothing to butcher even the weakest Adepts unlucky enough to cross them. Red (Hatred): Deconstruction Lux Green (Hysteria): Sickness Lux Yellow (Madness): Vulnerability Lux Pink (Obsession): Nightmare Lux Gold (Egomania): Oppression Lux Purple (Starvation): Antimatter Lux Orange (Sacrifice): Vampirism Lux Blue (Cruelty): Agony Lux Black (Desolation): Apocalypse Lux White (Trauma): Ignorance Lux

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Here are the NPCs that debuted in the previous post.

8th STREET BIIIIIIIIITCHES

The other members of Emily's 8th Street Coven who make up the footsoldiers, goons, and other minions.

"Greta".Faust
26 | Gretchen Melissa Faust | She/Her "To change things, you have to push past boundaries."	Description: A member of the Old Coven that wasn't under that sycamore tree but was another pivotal member as Greta was a healer and support in the fight against the Stygian Snake. Greta is a native of St. Portwell who was unfortunately named after her late grandmother, whom she "inherited" the artifact known as the Alchemist Ring. However, her Grandmother wanted the ring to be buried with her so it'd be lost to time as the Alchemist Ring was a chaotic instrument, and she wanted to finally bring an end to it. Her grandmother trusted Greta to follow through with her wishes, but curiosity got the better of the girl, and when her grandmother finally passed, she discretely slipped the ring off of her. Greta used the alchemist ring and experimented her little ass off, learning about all the beautiful things the ring could do. She created a healing potion and various other potions and wanted to use this artifact to change the world! However, she needed test subjects, and being a natural introvert, finding people to experiment on was hard. So, the young Greta went out at night and slipped homeless people her unique concoctions. This was when the Stygian Snake had long begun its rampage through St. Portwell, and one night, the Stygian Snake attacked and nearly killed her. The Sycamore Tree Coven, naturally, saved her, and she was roped into the Coven - which she only joined to test out her special potions. She provided potions that healed and enhanced abstractions, and turned people into monsters when needed. When the Stygian Snake was defeated she was the one that made that special potion that removed everyone's memories whenever they so much as took a sip. However, Greta had a natural drive to go out and experiment with her abstraction! She had infinite test subjects to experiment on in the Old Coven and kept her head down while everyone was bickering about this and that. She had her little special lab in the old Coven's lair where she had hundreds of potions she made to save the world! Various monsters began to pop up around St. Portwell, and the fearless second-in-command of the Coven, Daisy Hunter, got suspicious of Greta. Daisy knew that Greta could create potions that created monsters, and she was very reclusive... which led to Greta returning one day to a destroyed lab and Daisy accusing her of creating these monstrosities! Greta defended herself and eventually cleared her name with the help of Britney, Emily, Auri, and the others. However, the damage was already done; Greta's perception of the old Coven had already been long marred, and Greta left the Coven with a bitter taste in her mouth. This led Emily to personally reach out to Greta and invite her to a better Coven, the 8th Street Coven. Greta didn't like Emily initially, but she and Emily bonded over their mutual hatred of the Old Coven's leadership. Greta Faust became a longtime member of the 8th Street Coven and had a renewed lab in the 8th Street Manor. She supports Emily's goal of taking over St. Portwell only because the city is in absolute chaos, and they're the only chance of bringing some order. Greta is a small and pudgy woman who stands at four-ten and has a noticeable gut; she dresses and appears punk with bright red hair. Abstraction: Agent - The Alchemist Ring. A ring that Greta has taken from her grandmother against her wishes. It is an incredibly powerful and dangerous artifact with many different applications and uses, as Greta can create any number of potions by mixing different ingredients that she believes will create her potion. With this abstraction, Greta is a very flexible and essential member of the 8th Street Coven. Below are the potions that Greta has devised so far: Healing-Potion: Aloe vera gel, Honey, Chamomile Flowers, and Lavender Oil. A simple glowing green potion that'll cause whoever drinks it to heal their wounds. The more they drink, the more they'll get healed from their injuries. Monster-Potion: Bat Guano, Mandrake Root, Belladonna. A glowing orange potion will cause the consumer to transform into a monster that reflects some aspect of them. This transformation is usually painful and lasts for a few hours - and it causes the recipient's wounds to heal temporarily. Explosive-Potion: Baking Soda, Citric Acid Powder, Aluminum Foil Shreds, Iodine Tincture. Greta's primary combat Potion is a glowing red serum kept in a glass jar that'll go off like a pipe bomb if it shatters. It's incredibly dangerous and once knocked down a brick wall, and laid waste to a squad of Das Sonnenrad footsoldiers. Fire-Breathing-Potion: Red Dragon Chili Peppers, Dragonfruit Juice, Cinnamon Whiskey, Ghost Pepper Extract. A dull-red glowing potion that allows whoever drinks it to breathe fire at will. It is independent of abstractions, so one can breathe fire and use their regular abstraction. Invisibility-Potion: Juniper Berries, Slippery Elm Bark, Camouflage Green Tea, Clove Oil. A failure of a potion that Emily demands Greta to make. As the name implies, it allows whoever drinks it to turn invisible... and it doesn't work on their clothes and renders them blind. So not only does Greta have to get naked to use it, but she's also blind until it wears off. Abstraction-Enhacement-Potion: Ginseng, Ashwagandha, Blue Lotus Flower, Cinnamon Bar. A glowing blue potion that boosts the abstractions of others the more they drink (and she is unaware of the upper limits, if any). For obvious reasons, it does not work on Greta.
Phoebe.Carmicheal
29 | Phoebe Tatiana Carmichael | She/Her. "I'll never let myself get outstaged again."	Description: A native of Los Angeles, Phoebe grew up in an upper-middle-class environment, and she was the resented daughter of her father. You see, her father, Ian Carmicheal, isn't her actual father, and she was the product of an affair between her mother and her partner. Her father knew this, resented Phoebe, and treated her as the black sheep of her family - and mistreated her at every opportunity. Which made the girl feel like trash, and she, throughout her life, tried her best to rise out of it and become great. Throughout school, she was the Queen Bee, tried to be the best at soccer and basketball, best at arts... and yet, in the end, it didn't make her feel any better. Though Phoebe wanted to be home and play video games, her home was where the hatred was. The second Phoebe graduated high school; she was shunted away to college in St. Portwell, which was for the best as it allowed the woman to slow down and find herself. She quickly learned to love being by herself and was usually stuck in her dorm room playing video games - which was an escape to her - where she was underestimated due to her race and gender often. Despite her more reclusive nature, however, she was drawn to being a performer, and as a hobby, she became a streamer who kept her identity a secret known as "Juicy-Fruit," a masked gamer. It started as a hobby she did on the side that gradually grew bigger and bigger due to her skill, confidence, and ability to put on a larger-than-life performance on stream... until she came out and unmasked herself. Some people turned their back on her, others became far more supportive of her, and Phoebe, as Juicy-Fruit, was always a divisive figure in the community due to her over-the-top ego. She eventually reached fame and fortune in which she could support herself full time off the streaming and dropped the whole college BS, went no-contact with her family, and got her apartment. Things were good; despite getting into numerous controversies, she rivaled a rising star, Kimberly Walton. Kimberly was a superstar who gained fame off being a "Ghost Hunter" who went around the country fighting monsters and ghosts, and Phoebe made sure to hate on her whenever she got the chance. After all, Kimberly boasted that magic was real; that mere notion made Phoebe laugh. However, Phoebe received a crash course in magic when, one day, she was pursued by a man-eating monster that broke into her apartment. She was in the middle of streaming, and if one of her viewers hadn't pointed it out, she would have been a hashtag herself! Phoebe was chased out of her apartment into the cold streets of St. Portwell, where she was cornered by the monster in an empty park... the experience made her undergo her Kindling Event. However, Kimberly Walton conveniently appeared and killed the monster - letting her know that she was the one in her stream that got her to turn around. Phoebe was confused as Kimberly quickly explained magic to Phoebe, then disappeared. For a few weeks, Phoebe went off-grid, and chased after Kimberly, desperately trying to learn about any magic but getting the cold shoulder by the girl. After Kimberly left St. Portwell, Phoebe naturally went to the internet and chased any lead she could... however, Emily. G. Reed personally reached out to her. Phoebe was talked into a personal meeting with 8th Street Coven's leadership and wanted to learn about magic. Magic was new and exciting to Phoebe, and she would rather be out fighting monsters than sitting at a computer table talking to Simps. Thus, Phoebe is another of Emily's longtime members and a "fifth in command." Phoebe is quick to be sarcastic and point out the holes in her leadership's plans. Phoebe is a half-African-American (with some Caribbean), a half-Korean woman who is tall and bony (at five-eleven) with notably dyed green and yellow dreadlocks. She isn't aware of this, but James Carmicheal is her cousin. Abstraction: Adept - Red & Green Lux. Channeler: Her necklace. Blizzard-Inferno: A form of cryomancy that Phoebe has developed and allows her to manipulate the power of cold in its most raw form. In this mode, Phoebe summons a blizzard of freezing ice magic that ices anyone in her path, and she uses this to create constructions out of ice. Through Blizzard-Inferno, she can freeze an environment to absolute zero, summon ice-cold storms infused with blades made of ice, and create constructs. She cannot just shape/manipulate ice like a typical cyromancer. Ice Form: Phoebe can selectively or fully transform her body into solid ice. In this form, her body will be anatomically the same as her human form. Except her flesh and bones will be made out of ice - her organs will still be visible through the ice - and she will be absolute zero. In this form, Phoebe can manipulate her body shape and transform her hands into blades/maces/etc, and she'll be very durable. However, she'll be very slow and have a hard time maneuvering. Aqua Absorption Regeneration: Phoebe has developed a spell in which she can absorb liquids (well, liquids that can freeze), shift them into her Ice-Form, and heal the wounds. Through this method, she can regenerate from otherwise fatal wounds in mere moments.
Brianna.Conquest
27 | Brianna Harmony Conquest | She/Her "It was the most beautiful place I've seen."	Description: Another member of the Old Coven drawn to Emily's 8th Street to achieve her own ends. Brianna grew up a very mousy and reclusive woman in the town of St. Portwell; there isn't anything epic or amazing about her upbringing: She was shy, kept to herself, and was more interested in her family's library... which told fantastic stories of her family, Daniel Conquest, being a great dimensional explorer. Inside his library were the chronicles of his adventures, which ended when he met Brianna's mother, and they settled in Shimmer. There was something about a place known as the "Oasis" and "Luminescence," but the Stygian Snake attacked her house, killed her parents, and razed the library. Brianna was distraught but filled with aspirations of revenge... a desire that fueled her Kindling-Event. Briefly, Brianna went on a one-woman rampage against the Stygian Snake, taking out several of its dark minions... that was when she came in contact with the Sycamore Tree Coven and joined them. She joined the expedition to find the necessary artifacts, being a backup portal opener if one of their primary teleporters went down. Fortunately, that never happened, and Brianna was there to watch the Snake get sealed into the Sycamore Tree, then she left. She knew her true calling wasn't in Shimmer or the Sycamore Tree Coven... it was in the greater All-Verse. Brianna followed in her father's footsteps and traveled the All-Verse, cataloging her various adventures while searching for this "Oasis" and "Luminescence" that she could vaguely remember. However, during one of her adventures, she learned about an artifact known as the White Compass, something that could take someone into the Oasis and Luminescence. However, she heard that it was in the Pit, and like any sane and rational adventurer, she threw herself into a red crack and ended up in the Pit. A hellscape like no other, full of horrible monsters (which makes her a little adverse to her Coven sister, Cynthia). However, it was an exciting experience; she explored the place, searching for the White Compass, almost dying countless times and gathering many artifacts. Until she came across a temple where it was stored... and it was gone, she saw a Recollection of a man named James Vanburen taking it... and that sounded very familiar to her. Leaving the Pit was easy for Brianna, as the place appeared to be sentient, and it hated the fact that Brianna was only there to plunder. She returned to Shimmer and searched for James Vanburen and, unfortunately, heard that he was dead... and his descendants were less than friendly towards her. She had zero leads on where the White Compass was... but she eventually fell into Emily's 8th Street Coven. Brianna didn't like Emily, but with her insane aspiration of stealing everyone's artifacts, she had the best chance of getting the White Compass. So, she begrudgingly serves as 8th Street's teleporter. Brianna is a short and mousy woman at five-three who is chubby but hides her extra weight well. However, she always had wider hips and backside. Abstraction: Adept - Red & Purple. Channeler: Her cell phone. Photomancy: Brianna can use magic to create light and manipulate existing light sources. She can create flashes of light, holograms, and more... but the keystone to this spell is the ability to create "hard-light" constructs. She can create anything that comes to mind, and this gives her extreme amounts of versatility. Portal-Creation: A spell that allows Brianna to create a spiraling portal made out of spinning light that she and her 8th Street allies can travel through. Before, it only allowed her to only enter a brand new dimension, but she has adjusted it to allow her to teleport to places she has been before, as well. Reflective-Teleportation: A far faster and linear form of teleportation, but it has its limits. Brianna sticks her phone out and fires a beam of light, which will reflect off any surface. After focusing, Brianna can teleport to the other end of this beam of light. Teleportation Nullification Veil: A particular spell that Brianna devised during the battle with the Stygian Snake that'd negate its ability to teleport and escape them. After some experimentation and fine-tuning, she perfected the Spell and managed to block the Stygian Snake from escaping during the final battle. However, this spell is so potent that it works on any form of teleportation. Essentially, Brianna creates a transparent dome that can be up to thirty meters in diameter, and any teleporter, portal-creator, and whatnot will either not be allowed to teleport while in the veil or cannot enter it with teleportation.
Cynthia
22 | Cynthia, just Cynthia | She/Her "Cynthia finds this human annoying. Cynthia looks forward to silencing you."	Description: A predator among humans, close to a wolf in sheep's clothing as they get, as Cynthia is not an actual human even in the slightest. Cynthia comes from a species of Abominable that lurk in the Pit known as Abyssal Hunters, creatures that hunt and devour Paranormal Beings in the Pit. Cynthia would have just been another Abyssal Hunter who would have done nothing more than kill people and breed more of her kind if it wasn't for a woman named Tiffany Beck. After the Stygian Snake was defeated, Tiffany was one of the many who rushed into St. Portwell to see if she could fill the power vacuum before it was too late. She was a Purple Adept who cracked the code and created a method to enter and leave the Pit freely, and she heard about the Abyssal Hunters. She traveled into the Pit, found a pack with young, and simply kidnapped the newborn and researched the thing while feeding it her enemies. Tiffany discovered that the Abyssal Hunters had intelligence on par with humans (capable of human speech, too!) and raised the beast as a sort of child. Tiffany taught it how to read, write, talk, and societal customs, to the point where the thing could blend in with humans! She named it Cynthia and applied a spell known as Glamour, which allowed Cynthia to change between human form and Abyssal-Hunter Form. Tiffany turned Cynthia into her killing machine that hunted down and stalked all her enemies, forming an organization to take over St. Portwell. Which would have made her a formidable opponent in the present... if she hadn't crossed Emily G. Reed. Emily and the newly formed 8th Street Coven clashed with Tiffany Beck's faction, but the tide was turned when Jacqueline Reed found out about Cynthia's true nature. Emily convinced her that Tiffany was an unworthy pack leader, and she got through to the beast by saying she was nothing more than an attack dog to her! Cynthia turned on her master and brutally killed Tiffany in front of the entire 8th Street Coven and joined them - accepting Emily as her new pack leader. Becoming one of their longtime members who was a great help during the conflict with Das Sonnenrad, where she ate several of Kaiser's Chosen. Alive. Cynthia has a strange personality because while the Abyssal Hunters have human-like intelligence, they're still wired differently. For starters, she uses the third person to speak and sometimes acts like an excitable puppy rather than a person. However, she must resist the urge to eat every Paranormal she comes across and save her appetite for the enemies of 8th Street. She doesn't consider herself human thanks to Emily and aligns herself with 8th Street only because she sees Emily as a superior "pack leader" to Tiffany. While under glamour, Cynthia appears to be an African-American woman modeled after a younger Tiffany. One that stands at five-four, with an afro that was dyed blonde. In her true form? Well... Abstraction: Abominable - Abyssal-Hunter. The Abyssal Hunters are a hazardous species of pack hunter Abominable that inhabit the Pit - though it's theorized that they previously resided in a destroyed universe and adapted well to the harsh nature of the Pit. They have human levels of intelligence... while having animalistic strength. To begin, Cynthia's "master" had a spell applied to her so she could switch between human form and Abyssal-Hunter form at will, exploding in a cloud of pink smoke. Her proper form is a white, four-legged creature with a mouth full of teeth and two long, razor-sharp talons on her feet, and she is twelve feet long from head to toe. The Abyssal Hunter's physical capabilities are far from superhuman, however. Still, she is strong enough to throw a human around with her bite alone (speaking of bite, you do not want to get bit by her), her sense of smell is on par with a bloodhound, can run thirty miles per hour, mimic voices, and durable enough to tank most non-Paranormal attacks. However, they have an ability that is known as Emotional-Field Attunement. Cynthia can see the auras of any Paranormal-Being in sight (even in human form), and she can focus on them and automatically adjust her Emotional-Field to resist their Abstraction. For example, against a Cyromancer, she can be incredibly hard to freeze and can tank their frozen attacks like nothing. Someone with super strength will find their punches hitting her at half their strength. However, she can only do this to one Paranormal-Being at a time. As a failsafe, if the "Pack-leader" (Emily) shouts "Cynthia heel!", then Cynthia will transform back into her harmless human form.
"Lee".Evans
24 | Stanley Daniel Evans | He/Him "I should have been the hero! I should have saved everyone!"	Description: The Stygian Snake terrorized many different universes, hopping from dimension to dimension whenever daybreak arose. Many don't know there was a dimension parrel to Shimmer in which an alternate Sycamore Tree Coven formed to defeat the Stygian Snake. However, given that Shimmer's Sycamore Tree Coven defeated the Stygian, this alternate Coven didn't suffer nearly the same number of casualties and had no purpose. However, this alternate Ashley Stone apparently took the Coven down a darker path, and they became an antagonistic force that took over St. Portwell's magical scene - killing or imprisoning anyone who objected. Where does Lee come in all of this? Mercy Evans, his older sister (who died fighting the Stygian Snake in Shimmer's Coven), objected to the direction that Ashley took the Coven. Mercy formed a resistance group, the Vanguard, and rebelled against this Coven. Mercy went home and told her younger brother all about this, and Lee thought it was soooo cool and saw his older sister as a hero! Eventually, they ambushed and critically injured Mercy outside their home, and she gave Lee the artifact she used: The Hero's Gauntlet. Lee vowed revenge against the Coven and used the Gauntlet to wage a one-man war against this Coven. He seemingly made headway against this powerful organization, but in his attacks against the Coven, he somehow made things worse. Releasing dangerous and powerful monsters into St. Portwell and leaving St. Portwell's power vacuum open for worse threats to take their place. The Coven desperately tried to convince Lee that he got everything wrong and he should stop. This plunged St. Portwell into chaos while eroding Lee's sanity while claiming to be the hero that would liberate St. Portwell from the evil Coven. He finally faced Ashley, Auri, and Daisy and prepared for an epic final battle. They chucked him through a portal, and he ended up in Shimmer. Lost, scared, and alone, he eventually found Emily G. Reed, a member of Mercy's Vanguard in his home dimension. He told her everything and... Emily essentially manipulated him into joining 8th Street under promises of helping him defeat the alternate Coven if she helps him. Since then, Lee has been a member of 8th Street who quickly found himself abhorring Emily but swallowed his pride because she is familiar to him and out of hopes that she does help him. Lee is a skinny, somewhat well-built caucasian guy due to hitting the gym, and stands at five-eleven. Due to his experiences with his universe's Coven, his perception of the Sycamore Tree Coven is permanently marred. Abstraction: Agent - The Hero's Gauntlet. The Hero's Gauntlet is an artifact created in an alternate dimension that changed hands quite often until it fell into Mercy Evan's hands... then Lee Evan's. The Gauntlet, at its basest, raises Lee's strength, speed, reflexes, durability, and healing to slightly above peak... not quite superhuman, but he's going to give an average person a challenge hand to hand. However, the artifact can allow its wielder to summon several magical weapons wielded by the first heroes to defeat Babylon The Great and stop her from destroying the All-Verse. The weapons and their abilities are below: The Valiant Blades: The go-to weapon for Lee, and it is essentially a glowing-gold sword that has no supernatural properties in particular... other than the fact that the blades are functionally indestructible. He can create the blades from regular-sized swords to comically large claymores straight out of a videogame. The Blazing Arrow: A flaming bow and arrow that Lee can use to fire explosive arrows... upon contact, the arrows will create an explosion of fire. The Zephyr Dagger: A glowing dagger that Lee can use to summon powerful gusts of wind by swinging the short blade. He can create a tornado by spinning it around as long as he keeps spinning it. The Quake Hammer: A mighty hammer made of stone, he can slam the hammer on the ground and create powerful earthquakes that could potentially knock down an entire building. At the very least, he can disorient and slow down foes. Aegis Reflector: A transparent, triangle-shaped shield made of glowing purple energy that will reflect any magical projectiles that make contact with it.
Nadine.King
38 | Nadine Shaniya King | She/Her "The Baron wants you in his army... I want you out of my face."	Description: Not a native of St. Portwell like many others, Nadine was born and raised in New Orleans... where clashing necromancer families rule the city from the shadows. Nadine has no connection to this and grew up in the poorer parts of New Orleans to parents who were getting by. However, they were a victim of the feuding magical families, and they were killed, leaving Nadine a bitter child who was kicked around the system while desperately searching for a cause of all of this. However, this attracted the Baron, an ancient necromancer Apparition, to Nadine, and he adjoined himself to her. He became Nadine's magical mentor and explained to her everything that had happened... and helped Nadine discover a new purpose in life. She vowed to destroy the magical families that ruled New Orleans, but that was easier said than done - while the Baron was powerful, they were powerful and numerous, so the young Nadine had to get creative. She acted as a double agent, spy, information broker, mercenary, and so forth, constantly pitting the families against one another until she managed to evoke a fatal war between the factions. Eventually, all the families were destroyed, and she developed a sense of nothingness... this didn't make her feel any better, and eventually, other factions moved into New Orleans. So, with the Baron, Nadine left New Orleans to fall into chaos and traveled the West Coast, acting as a "supernatural expert" con woman. She traveled, deceiving people out of their well-earned funds by casting curses on people and engineering Paranormal phenomenon (that she could conveniently solve). Eventually, however, she ended up in St. Portwell right after the defeat of the Stygian Snake, and the city was rife with marks... However, Nadine was confronted by the Sycamore Tree Coven, who were investigating her. After a brief confrontation, Nadine was run out of the city by the Coven. Humiliated, Nadine went back to drifting from place to place... until she was reached out by Emily G. Reed, one of the people previously a part of the Coven that defeated her. Emily knew that there was more to Nadine than what met the eye, and the Baron and Babylon the Great were old friends. Emily wanted Nadine to be part of her new 8th Street Coven as her supernatural expert - it wasn't a gig that Nadine was used to. Still, Nadine was tired of wandering around scamming and saw some potential in Emily's plans. If not, then Nadine King didn't exist. Nadine is a tall (at six-two) African-American woman who usually has a handful of different rings and vibrant earrings. She usually keeps a scowl on her face and is silent, but when she speaks, 8th Street listens. She is the most quiet and mysterious of the 8th Street Coven - to the joy of Emily. Abstraction: Adjoined - The Baron. One of the many apparitions that spawned from the legend of Baron Samedi... the Baron himself is more inspired by what Baron Samedi was not. Where Baron Samedi was a peaceful Loa that welcomed people to the other side, the Baron is a more malicious and villainous Apparition that seeks power. The Baron is a necromancer Apparition deeply intertwined with human emotions, particularly those associated with life and death. The Baron can tap into the leftover emotional residue left behind by grieving hearts and tragic and tumultuous events - creating a bridge between the human realm and the realm of the undead. Through this link, the Baron can summon various undead minions that are typical Necromancer feats. The Baron can summon hordes of zombies, skeletons, wraiths, and whatnot - and he can somewhat manipulate these minions' forms. He can create massive rolling blobs of flesh and even towering monstrosities, even given enough time. The Baron is naturally connected to grieving hearts and can sense the auras of people grieving their loved ones from over a hundred meters through solid objects.
Malik.Jakane
26 | Malik Wyatt Jakane Jr. | He/Him "I am Malik... of the soaring wind! Of the raging sea!"	Description: The theatrical and hammy Malik Jakane (Jr)! A resident and native of Miami, Florida, and son and the only child (that we know of!) of Shayton. Malik grew up utterly oblivious to what his father was doing to give the boy what he wanted; after all, Shayton was a very distant person, making him a distant father. He would appear now and then, mainly for important events and to see his son, and then disappear. Which... did not bode well for Malik's development. However, the boy was naturally personable and outgoing, surrounded by friends constantly, and Florida was the place to be for summer activities. So, Malik didn't grow up unhappy, and he grew up with aspirations to become an actor (and was naturally drawn to theater) and travel the world - to be there on the world stage. However, when Malik turned 18, Shayton felt it was time for him to come clean to his son about what he was doing and that somehow pushed Malik further away from Shayton. It was an emotional moment that caused Malik to undergo his kindling event, and it was a secret that he kept from his father (who could have helped him a great deal). Once Malik graduated, he went to college to make a man for himself and pursue his dreams! He first went to Miami University for a bachelor's in Computer Science. However, this was merely a fallback plan to gain some extra skills. His true calling was acting, and after applying, applying, and applying... he managed to get into the prestigious St. Portwell School of Acting! Since then, he has been working to become the actor of his dreams. Malik was very well-rounded and outgoing in different places was his thing - his favorite restaurant was the one that Pearl Cho's parents owned. He became very close to the girl that moonlit as some nature-based superhero! The two dated briefly, where she revealed the world of magic, and Malik thought that was crazy... because he, too, had magic. She roped him into the Greenwood Coven (Where he was the Knight Storm for a stint), where he acted as the sole male member for a time. However, in the war against Emily, Malik came up with a genius idea: practice his acting by acting as a spy for Greenwood. Ruby approved the idea, and Malik put on the guise of a ruthless thug while transmitting all the information he could back to Greenwood. However, Malik is not built for this and is miserable in 8th Street and wants to go back to smoking weed with Greenwood. Malik is a second-generation African immigrant; his father was Liberian, and his mother is Nigerian. However, Malik identifies as American while taking in his parent's culture. He is tall, at six-three, and very thin and lanky due to years of exercise (he doesn't want to be a fat actor!). While with 8th Street, he usually has a scowl and puts on the facade of a violent thug who is a massive softie behind closed doors. He has no clue that Shayton is in St. Portwell and would rather not know. Abstraction: Adept - Red Lux. Channeler: Aeromancy: The first spell that Malik devised was an Aeromancy spell! Reflecting his peaceful nature, he can summon gusts of wind, tornadoes, and whatnot that gelled well with the Spring and Fall Maiden's Aeromancy. What was essential to the spell was that Malik had developed a form of flight by riding the wind, baby! However, apart from his guise as a member of 8th Street, he has temporarily retired the spell, only using the flight aspect. Storm-Cloud: One of the Spells that Malik had developed as the Knight Storm, Malik can summon a telepathically-controlled storm cloud that can be used to create any weather phenomena. Whether it be rain, snow, hail, lightning, fog, wind, etc. However, while in 8th Street, he does not use this spell lest he gets outted as the Knight Storm. Starsailor: The primary spell that Malik uses as an 8th Street spy... Malik can shoot miniature stars out of his hands that appear as they would if they were in the night sky. These stars are hot and can burn anything they come in contact with, but they dissipate on contact with an object or after a few moments. He can manipulate their direction somewhat and do something similar to the ol Hellzone Grenade.
Flora.Benard
31 | Flora Sydney Benard | She/Her "I was just trying to have a sister! I didn't deserve this!"	Description: Flora is a native of St. Portwell who grew up in an idyllic little suburb only a stone's throw away from the coast! She grew up playing with friends and cousins and idolizing her older sister, Geneva. Geneva was everything Flora was not; she was tall, dazzling, personable, and talented! Flora was... just there for the most part, and her accomplishments were typically passed over in favor of her sister. To the point where she used to claim that she has been "sixteen, clumsy, and shy, for over fifteen years now!" Geneva went to college, and Flora was stuck as a receptionist for an accounting company. She spent several years dodging her boss's "offer for promotion" while miserable, only watching the fantastic life that Geneva was living through social media! Things changed once Geneva got a boyfriend... it was a gradual change. She started posting dog whistles that went over Flora's head to outright posting fascist propaganda. However, the most significant change was that Geneva was finally paying Flora attention and treating her like a sister instead of a prop! However, it wasn't long until Flora realized just why her sister was treating her nicely all of a sudden. To recruit her into Das Sonnenrad. You see, Geneva's boyfriend crept into her life, corrupted her mind and worldview, and made her perfect for the Das Sonnenrad cult. Using his abstraction, he deduced that she had Adept lineage, forced her to undergo a Kindling Event, and made her one of Kaiser Draeger's Chosen alongside himself. Geneva roped her sister into the cult only to gain favor with Kaiser Draeger, and she gave her sister the Aegis Piercer to act as one of Kaiser's footsoldiers on the streets of St. Portwell. Flora knew it was wrong, but the high she got from finally getting attention and approval from her sister was none other. So she happily cut down men, women, and children alike to keep that high. However, it wasn't long until she came down and what had happened to her: she was love-bombed into becoming a soldier for a Neo-Nazi cult only so her sister could get the approval of a Hitler-wannabe. She wanted to shoot Geneva with the Aegis Piercer... but she knew that Das Sonnenrad didn't take kindly to deserters (as in they were typically made an example of), so she had to play the part until Flora saw the writing on the wall: Kaiser Draeger had made some serious enemies and they were systematically tearing the cult apart, stronghold by stronghold. Flora knew this was her chance to get out of this: she contacted Emily G. Reed of 8th Street. She allied with 8th Street and told her where the remaining Das Sonnenrad strongholds were and, most crucially, where Kaiser Draeger was. During the final battle, Flora tried to get through to her sister, but she was too far gone and was willing to die for the Cult. The Winter Maiden killed her, and the Specter Knight claimed her soul. She escaped the Das Sonnenrad sanctuary, and it didn't take a genius for the Das Sonnenrad remnants to figure out that she had betrayed the cult. Naturally, they came for her neck, and Flora barely made it out alive. She went to the PRA's new Regional Commander, Meifeng Liao, and she told Flora to pound sand, that she had zero sympathy for Nazis, and to go accept the consequences of her actions. Flora falls into 8th Street with no other choice, who utterly hates her guts but finds her too valuable to get rid of. It was the only way to keep the leftover Nazis off of her, as they were afraid of 8th Street wiping out the rest of them. So, Flora acts as the begrudging punching bag and foot for Emily G. Reed's 8th Street Coven. Flora is an average-height Caucasian woman who is skinny with a face full of freckles and reddish-brown hair. Abstraction: Agent - The Aegis Piercer. A magical artifact and weapon used by the famed Amazon tribe to protect their home island. The Amazons had an array of magical weaponry that would be fantastic by the outside world's standards, but the standard issue to them. They used The Aegis Piercer to defend their island, but several were smuggled off the island and sold to the various black market groups... and one ended up in Flora's hands. The Aegis Piercer takes the appearance of a crossbow made out of stone marble... and despite looking too heavy to wield, it can easily be wielded by the scrawny Flora. It is a devastating and helpful weapon that is standard-issue for a reason. It essentially has a limitless supply of arrows; just by pulling the trigger, an arrow will always appear and fire at the enemy. Interestingly, the arrows can bypass any defenses and end up in the target. These arrows are imbued with dimensional traveling ability and can temporarily phase in between different dimensions to bypass any defenses and end up in the target - bypasses any defenses, laws of physics, or common sense. This has different levels, as the Aegis Piercer is mentally linked to Flora, as it can either bypass a wall to get to the target on the other side or pierce through the armor of an individual... or even go through one person to get to the one on the other side. However, these arrows have no supernatural properties beyond being supernaturally armor-piercing and are just functionally regular arrows.
George.Nelson
26 | George Nicholas Nelson | He/Him "You can't put this rush into words!"	Description: A member of the Old Coven... he was famous in St. Portwell High as one of its biggest bullies, who used his incredible size to intimidate others. He was famous in the wrestling ring as George the Juggernaut! However, one day, after beating some nerds at the old arcade, George was attacked by the Stygian Snake's minions, who nearly killed him. Until he was saved by the old Coven and discovered that he suddenly had an Abstraction, he was roped into the Coven by Britney Williams, primarily comprised of the people he bullies! Working with the people he intimidated was difficult, but he felt a rush like no other when fighting the Stygian Snake and its minions! This abstraction he had made him cocky and even bolder in his bullying and bullying members of the old Coven during the campaign against the Stygian Snake. This all culminated in the final battle, where he rushed in, took a fatal blow, and was left for dead by the members he had scorned! If it wasn't for the kindness and compassion of Jade West, he wouldn't have made it. He was mad, and instead of reflecting on himself, he blamed the Coven. He eventually became one of their enemies, a persistent nail in their side that acted as dumb muscle for various factions. He was defeated time and time again, and this made him no different as he loved the rush he got from these magical fights! The collapse of the old Coven didn't stir George at all... as he fell into the hands of Emily G. Reed. Emily told him the truth: that Britney forcibly adjoined him to his Apparition under hopes that he would die fighting the Stygian Snake. This made George feel no way or the other, except that Britney wanted him to die before her little secret got out. Emily knew that George liked to fight, just for the thrill of it all, and invited him to a Coven where he would get all the fights he wanted... and he gladly accepted, becoming 8th Street's enforcer and strongman. George is notable for being freakishly tall at seven-five (like they made News articles about the guy!) and very well-built due to his abstraction. Abstraction: Adjoined - The Strongman. The Apparition born from the ideations of what strength can do, and human power! The Strongman was one of the few useful Apparitions in Britney's possession... to put it simply, it's a simple abstraction (Shocker!): George is strong. Like, really, really, strong. He can perform ridiculous feats of super strength, such as throwing trucks, punching through concrete, and tanking bullets like it was nothing. It's unknown where the upper limits of this Abstraction land. Still, they come with a subtle telekinetic aspect that allows George to defy the laws of physics with some of his feats, such as pulling a chunk out of the ground, throwing it at someone, and throwing a car without falling apart when he swings it. George is also durable to boot, but only to physical attacks - you can still burn, electrocute, and whatnot.
Aaron.Sawyer
30 | Aaron Elijah Sawyer | He/Him "Whatever. Take the deal or get the fuck out of my face."	Description: A native of Chi-town... he grew up in the mean southside alongside his younger sister, Kenya. Chicago wasn't a safe place to raise kids, but their parents did their best to give their children a better life than them. However, Aaron, despite it all, found himself drawn to the bad crowd, the kids who idolized the gangster lifestyle. By high school, Aaron was selling drugs and illegally had a gun that was given to him by an older friend... and he eventually ended up getting arrested for possessing drugs and possession of a stolen firearm (that gun he was given? Reported stolen). Given that he was a black youth already committing crimes, he was tried as an adult and sentenced to over twenty years in prison before he got out of high school. The stress triggered his Kindling Event, and with his White Lux, he navigated the prison system more easily than others. He developed a sharp edge and cunning that helped him survive these twenty years that he had to look forward to... however, when he was in his early twenties, his sister, Kenya, visited him in prison in a private room with some people in suits. These people turned out to be Meifeng Liao and Cindy Keagan, who guessed correctly that he had an abstraction and gave him a choice: Get released out of prison now and join the PRA, or rot there. Naturally, he chose the former, underwent training, and had his sister as his partner. It was a culture shock, but Aaron would rather be in a suit than a cell. However, old habits die hard, and it wasn't long until he was making under-the-table deals with Paranormal organizations, tampering with evidence, and skimming drugs and money. He knew it was a great way to get thrown back in jail (or worse, "accidentally" fall out of a window), but this was all that Aaron knew. However, his sister Kenya caught onto this and demanded that Aaron stop, and at the request of his loving sister, Aaron ceased and went clean... ... Until the Lighthouse incident. Like many other agents, it was a traumatic event that he doesn't like to talk about. What is significant about the whole thing was that his sister Kenya was the one to end it all... and then she went missing. No one in the PRA cared about her and brushed him aside when he demanded that they search for his sister, but they already declared her dead. Out of frustration, Aaron left the PRA, and Director Alcott allowed him to do so without throwing him back in prison, as the Director felt that wasn't right. So, Aaron went from place to place, working for different crime-lords across the states (including Dollhouse, briefly), and sometimes being an informant for the Police and/or PRA. Until he ended up in St. Portwell... where he came across the lovely Emily G. Reed; dealing with her was like rubbing his nuts against sandpaper until they go raw, but she had potential (and she fought Nazis), and she needed someone who was used to working in the criminal underground in her ranks. So, Aaron is a defacto member of the 8th Street Coven (only because he detests Emily G. Reed too much to call himself one of her people), acting as a bridge between 8th Street and the criminal underworld - allowing them to make deals with different factions and finding artifacts for them. Aaron is an African-American man who is skinny but stands at five-eleven. Abstraction: Adept - Pink & White Lux. Channeler: His trusty lighter. Identity Creation: A spell that subtly alters people's memories on touch, and he can implant false memories of a person in their mind. Creating any number of fake identities for Aaron to use at will. Threat Assessment: Aaron can instinctively sense when someone is plotting against him (threatening, betraying, etc, etc) and easily act against them. Profiling: Aaron can analyze people and situations to deduce intent, motivations, and potential actions. This makes him highly effective at anticipating the moves of both friend and foe alike. Knowledge Absorption: Aaron can enter a place and absorb knowledge from his surroundings in a five-meter radius, enabling him to quickly learn about new operations, secret plans, or valuable information within his vicinity. Lie Detection: It's simple: Aaron can see someone's aura when they are lying. Rumor Manipulation: Using his Pink Lux, he can easily alter people's perceptions and create and spread rumors to serve his interests. Abstraction Intuition: A spell his sister taught him helps him learn about the paranormal and their abstractions. He can see the Paranormal by their aura and gains intuitive knowledge about Abstractions when used.
Carol.Doyle
Chronologically: 24. Biologically: 14. | Carol Heaven Doyle | She/Her. "I'll turn you into a fucking baby if you do that ever again!"	Description: The spicy member of the Old Coven and current member of the 8th Street Coven. Carol was a native of LA but moved to St. Portwell when she was young because her parents thought it would be a better environment for her (and they have family there!). There wasn't anything of note about Carol's past; she was just a regular ass girl. However, the Stygian Snake's rampage was where it all began, and her entire house was knocked over by the Stygian Snake, which killed her entire family. She was barely alive... and she saw Britney Williams. Suddenly, she was brought back to life, and... she looked down and saw a fucking hourglass fused to her stomach. She was confused about all of this, but Britney brought her back to her cult, and they explained everything - about how magic was real, and now she had magic too (which Britney was oddly knowledgeable about). She was still confused but honestly went along to stop the Stygian Snake and avenge her family! The Stygian Snake tore her in half during the final battle. However, at this point, Carol began returning to the same spot where it all started: her destroyed house. She checked the hourglass in her stomach, and it would gradually drop sand from the second the day started, ending at midnight, where it would teleport her back to the exact spot where her old house where her family was killed. It would also revert her to her exact appearance, preventing her from aging alone while triggering her to see her old house. Carol went to Britney, who explained that the hourglass resets Carol back in time to the moment she received it, with its ability to restore anyone or anything she touches merely being a sub ability. Then, it came out that Britney did this to her and others without their permission. Naturally, Carol was pissed off about this, and this naturally drew her to the likes of Emily and Vashti. When those two left, Carol was right behind them, given that the Old Coven had more interest in arguing and fighting each other than getting this damn thing out of her. Thus, Carol was one of the founding members of the 8th Street Coven and wholly supports Emily's dream of magical supremacy only so she can stop assholes with God-complexes like Britney. However, her goal is to get rid of the hourglass and gain a new abstraction, which Emily claims she's working on (she's not). When she was fourteen years old, Carol appeared to be herself, a small girl at four-eleven with very short blonde hair. Despite her aggressive and firey attitude, she doesn't look intimidating or assuming. Abstraction: Agent - The Hourglass. The Hourglass is a valuable and potent artifact that Britney forcibly fused to Carol to force her into the fight with the Stygian Snake. Carol admits it is a powerful artifact, but she wants nothing to do with it. Its most notable ability is to gradually revert anything she touches in time (reverting it to a previous state), and the longer she touches it, the further back in time it goes. This can reach a point where she can do things such as reverting materials to their raw form and turning people back into fetuses (and yes, she has done this before). She can exert more energy to make this process faster, and this abstraction can work on the Paranormal, but Emotional-Fields make it work four times as hard. If someone consents, she can pierce through their emotional field; using it offensively on the Paranormal is impractical. With this abstraction, she can easily repair damage and heal wounds - even resurrect the dead. However, this isn't the true ability of this abstraction and is merely a sub-ability. The primary aspect of the Hourglass is, essentially, immortality. Upon her first death, it created a fixed point (a checkpoint) in time that she automatically returns to once the clock strikes midnight. Once midnight hits, she will be teleported to where Britney gave her the hourglass - her parent's house that the Stygian Snake destroyed - and reverting her physically back to that point. So, any alterations made to her body will be restored, any aging, any wounds, and it will even bring her back from the dead. While it is a powerful abstraction, Carol wants to be normal!
Maya.Choi
28 | Myeong-Suk “Maya” Choi | She/Her "Just try telling me to shut up again." @FernStone	Description: Maya likes to claim that the 8th Street Coven has no leader, or if asked will say its her, but in reality she’s more like the gum on the bottom of Emily's shoe that she can't get rid of no matter how hard she tries. Maya grew up in Seoul, Korea in an incredibly strict household where the only fun she had was educational games. She got into St. Portwell college for Chemical Physics, and immediately moved (just after the Stygian Snake was seeled). She fell in with a bad group, then a bad relationship that turned incredibly abusive. This triggered her kindling event, and the aftermath led her to losing all her friends… Then she heard about the little coven Emily was putting together. Maya was one of the early members, joining pretty much as soon as it was created. She was looking for companionship and a way to explore her newfound magic - but she was quite happy when the coven’s focus shifted. Taking over the city's magical scene seemed pretty good. While with the 8th Street Maya has graduated and gotten a very well paid job at a company run by one of the cities Elite (literally, they’re a member of this group). This means she can help 8th a bit with information gathering on one of their enemies... At least the little she finds out and overhears at work. It’s hard to tell why Maya is still in the 8th Street Coven. Her and Emily are constantly at each other's throats - Maya just can’t help making snide comments towards her, which leads to arguments and threats, but ultimately the two of them agree with each other more often than not (which neither would admit to). She also doesn’t really have anything to gain. Maya doesn’t take any issue with Emily’s brutality, she’s glad to go along with that, she just takes issue with how controlling she is and her constant slut shaming. And she will not shut up about those issues she has. But 8th are also the only people she knows in the city, so she’s chosen to stick there. Maya is an incredibly loud, abrasive person. She doesn’t deal very well at being told what to do, which just adds to her constant clashing with Emily, and is very stubborn. Maya can be good company when she’s enjoying herself - she’s incredibly flirty, which definitely never causes problems for 8th street. Maya is a short (five-one), slim Korean woman with dyed red-brown hair. She often dresses in a cuter style, which completely clashes with her bitchy personality. Abstraction: Adept - Red Lux. Channeler: A helix hoop earring Sound Manipulation: Maya’s main spell, she can create sound waves and manipulate already existent sounds. She primarily uses this to emit powerful waves of sound waves that cause physical damage, either in a burst of sound in a radius around her or a more directed but slightly weaker blast from her hands. These sound blasts knock people back and cause all sorts of damage. She also uses it distort already existing sounds. She can make a sound incredibly loud and grating to the point it causes auditory damage, mess up how something sounds so it's unrecognizable, and the like. Sand Blast: Similar to how she uses direct sound wave blasts, Maya can create and control sand and send out a powerful blast of it from her hands. This is only from her hands, and a limited amount of sand, but it’s strong enough to hurt - and blind if it hits the eyes.
Annabelle.Heart
24 | Annabelle Candy Heart | She/Her "Emily has to help me... I don't know how long I can hold back."	Description: A friend of Miranda and Jacqueline, whom they roped into the 8th Street Coven, Annabelle was originally a native of St. Portwell. She lived a lovely life with her younger sister Sophia and was an artist (She got paid handsomely for drawing pictures of people's specific... interests). After joining the 8th Street Coven, she was given an artifact that allowed her to psychically control birds. Annabelle had little issue with 8th Street's bullying of St. Portwell's magical scene as she was getting paid and wanted to dominate it to make it safer for her little sister. However, a marble urn she was carrying was broken during 8th Street's faithful battle with Greenwood in the temple underneath St. Portwell over the many artifacts. It exploded with a mysterious black mist that Annabelle inhaled. She was infected with a mysterious curse known as The Hunger. The Hunger transformed her from a regular gal to a freakishly tall creature (at eight feet tall) that is near skeletal with two horns on the side of her head, sunken yellow eyes and long spindly claws. Worst of all, Annabelle has fits of hunger for human flesh and will become increasingly rabid until she eats someone. Emily has been letting her out into other dimensions to let her eat a few people and return to keep her quelled - however, Annabelle desperately wants to be cured so she can return to normal. Annabelle stays in the 8th Street Mansion, but when Emily isn't aware, Annabelle sometimes ventures out at night, putting on a robe and a deer-skull mask. Paranormal Ability: Unknown.

and Queen Meifeng

Meifeng.Liào

42 | Liào Meifeng | She/Her "Even the oldest animal can put up one hell of a fight."

Description: Callsign: Iron-Dragon. Née Zhao. Meifeng is a decorated and skilled PRA agent who proved herself a capable leader during the Haunted Mansion incident, Werewolf Outbreak, Vampire Coven Wars, The Time Warp Anomaly, and, most recently, the infamous Lighthouse Incident (in which she doesn't like to talk about). Meifeng Liao is one of the top agents of the organization and holds the rank of Regional Commander - tasked with solving St. Portwell's supernatural war and recovering the Stygian Snake. The woman is incredibly stern, obstinate, efficient, and ruthless and will do what it takes to get the job done. On the job, the woman is stoic and professional, but behind the scenes, she's a fun-loving goofball who loves her two children dearly. Meifeng was born in Hong Kong, China, but was brought to America by her mother when she was a little girl after her father's death. She settled into LA, where she grew up with her friend Cindy Keagan and her other best friend, Jennifer Caspin. She was called the Zhao Flower for her beauty, but she hated that since she was a "short-tempered badass" in her own words. However, Cindy left for the Army, and Jennifer went to New York to attend college, which left Meifeng alone, but she met her future husband, Daniel Liao, in college. The woman places inner strength above all else; to her, it's the ability to keep fighting no matter what. Thus, Meifeng is all about her fitness and is in amazing shape due to spending hours upon hours in the gym despite having twins (she has a C-section scar down her midsection). Which makes her appear to be a little bit intimidating; what doesn't help is the fact that she stands at five-eleven but, to her chagrin, barely has any curves. Meifeng's best friend is Cindy Keagan, her partner in crime and childhood friend. Abstraction: Adept - Red-Lux. Channeler: Locket with a photo of her children. Ferromancy: Fueled by Meifeng's iron-hard resolve, fortitude, strength, obstinance, and fleeting prime, she developed spells revolving around manipulation metal. The core feature of this Spell is the ability to move metal in all its shapes and forms through sheer force of will (Aka. Telekinetically). She's capable of subtle effects, such as locking a door from the other side, to the more dramatic, such as shredding a car with a wave of her hand. It's linked to her body movements, so using this Spell requires some movement. Meifeng can also lift a large amount of metal at a time, up to three and a half thousand pounds worth of metal. She can't shape metal traditionally, whereas another metal manipulator could seamlessly shape metal like a liquid; Meifeng's metal shaping is more like an outside force attempting to force it into a shape. Any attempts of shaping else will cause the metal to be deformed and horrific screeching. And no, she will not be able to fix it. Through some practice, Meifeng has discovered that she can create clean cuts in metal or attach one piece of metal to another. Meifeng can, however, shape metal under one condition: she shapes it into a blade. Meifeng isn't sure why this limitation is in place (it likely has to do with a particular childhood incident), but it's a limiter that forces her to get creative.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

---

The 8th Street Coven

Interactions:

The Pendleton Manor.

---

Far on the outskirts of St. Portwell, there exists a mansion of a family known as the Pendletons… a family with long and deep roots in magic, one of the many to be blessed by the Ancient known as the Spider. They had aspirations, like many, of taking over St. Portwell’s magical scene, and to that end, they amassed a collection of different magical artifacts. They were making a museum in their mansion, where an artifact is on display at every corner of the mansion!

A silver fox of a man, wearing a robe, with his hands behind his back, inspected his artifacts. He systematically checked every one of them...

Until he noticed that one was missing.

“Huh?!” He leaned forward as he opened the case. “Where is my Amulet?!”

He shook his head and quickly dialed a number on his cellphone.

“Charlotte!” He shouted. “One of the artifacts is-”

An arrow came out of nowhere and dug itself directly into his forearm. He hissed in pain as he grabbed onto the arrow, then instinctively whipped his head around to see a Caucasian woman with reddish brown hair that held a particular crossbow made out of marble. She had it directly aimed at him.

“I would hang up that phone if I were you,” Another girl, a tall African-American girl with dyed yellow and green dreadlocks said as she walked up to him, waving an amulet around in her hands. “Your life may depend on it, Lucius.”

“Go to hell!” He shouted as he swung his hand and erected a green barrier between himself and the two girls.

“... That’s not going to work,” The girl said, shaking her head, then she turned towards the gal with the arrow and said, “Flora.”

Flora aimed her crossbow at Lucius and fired off another arrow…. The man expected the barrier to stop it, but it had wholly bypassed it and nailed him directly in the shoulder. He hissed in pain as he fell over on his display case.

“Hang up the phone,” Flora said, “Or the next one’s going in between your eyes.”

“Who the fuck are you two?”

“We’re…” The tall black girl said…

The wall behind the girl exploded, bursting into a mess of debris and dust as a horde of undead minions emerged. They shuffled their way through the mess as someone came out by the time the dust cleared…

… It was Emily G. Reed, with her two little sisters and Vashti behind her.

“... The fucking 8th Street Coven!”

Emily shouted.

“You bitches?”

“Yes,” Emily smiled, “Us bitches.”

A tall woman with an afro and plenty of jewelry coughed as she walked up, wearing a black sweater and bright blue jeans. However, floating over her shoulder was a Skeleton in a suit with a cane; he tipped his hat. With a wave of his hand, his undead minions were smashing open all the display cases and taking all the artifacts as Emily and the 8th Street leadership watched.

Lucius grits his teeth as he fights his way to his feet.

“So… Flora here can shoot through your little barrier,” Emily said, putting her hands on her hips and doing a little dance as she swayed them from left to right, “Are you going to be smart and drop the barrier, or she gonna have to turn you into a pin cushion?”

“Like hell...” Lucius said before he closed his eyes in pain. He could feel little bits of blood dripping down from the arrows. “This is my life’s work! I’m not going to let some cult take it from me!”

“And it’s about to be this cult’s life work!” Emily replied; she stopped swaying her hips, then looked at her fingernails as she said, “My little cultists are subduing the rest of your family… we’re going to put a tragic end to your little plans to join the Elite. So drop the barrier, and we can all make this quick.”

“I swear to God if you touch my family…”

Emily snapped her fingers. “Flora put an end to him.”

“Wait, Emily-” Jacqueline said as she reached forward towards Flora, who fired the Aegis Piercer shot that would have ended Lucius…

… A glowing pink barrier was launched and sent Lucius flying.

Emily whipped her head around to see two girls; one was an older girl with freckles and black hair, she had her hand outstretched. The other was a younger one, a teenager, who stood scared behind her wearing pajamas.

Emily narrowed her eyes, pointed a finger at them, and said,

“Vashti.”

Vashti glanced over at Jacqueline and produced a bouquet of heavy-duty zip ties and a roll of duct tape from her hoodie.

“Okay, dudes, read the room. Now’s the time to stop being stupid bitches. B-b-but it’s my life's work,” said Vashti, mocking Lucius by shifting her voice up into an annoying, sniveling whine. “You’re rich, idiot. Buy new shit.”

A loud tear ripped through the air as Vashti unwrapped a length of tape to use as a mouth gag and stepped toward the two girls.

“So get on your knees and put your hands behind your back. Who knows? Maybe you’ll earn Daddy a second chance.” Vashti shrugged casually before she took another step forward and bared her teeth in a cruel smile, swinging the duct tape like a Morningstar. “Orrrrrr don’t, and I burn down your entire family tree.”

They looked at each other…

They stuck their hands out and launched a thin, rectangle-shaped barrier out of their hands directly at Vashti.

“Oh, for fu—” Vashti bounced off the barrier as the zip ties and duct tape scattered to the floor.

A skeletal minion was kind enough to act as a cushion and got dusted as her body impacted it. The hit was accompanied by a loud clap of thunder that shook the house as Vashti tumbled through the shower of bone dust and did a handspring, the floor tiles splintering where her palms hit. She landed on her feet and scampered behind a display case, moving to flank the girls as the rest of the 8th Street Coven moved into action.

“Where in the fuck are Greta and the others?!” Emily facepalmed before raising her hands into the air. “God, it’s so hard to find good help around here!” She exploded into an aura of flames and aimed both hands at the two sisters. They quickly put another barrier together that completely blocked her hellfire from getting close.

However, a giant of a man that was easily over seven feet tall walked up to the barrier with a smile on his face. The girls launched the barrier at him, but the man stuck his hands down, dropped his weight, and managed to slow down the advance of the giant obstacles. They dug up the dirt as they pushed him back, and he barked, “This is boring! Make this fun!”

“It’s not supposed to be fun,” A short, Asian woman with long reddish-brown hair scoffed, appearing at the other side of the girls; she was definitely not meant to be keeping out of the way (or subdued; however, Emily had phrased it). She pushed out her hands, sending a blast of sand toward both their eyes - hopefully, they only had one barrier between them… “Let’s get this over with so we can go home.”

The girls shrieked and covered their eyes, the barrier they erected proving that it was impossible to prevent sand from getting everywhere. Temporarily blinded, the girls wouldn’t realize that a veiled figure had emerged on their six until the younger of the two was already in the process of being taken down as Vashti pounced on her back and knocked her out cold by bouncing her skull off of the floor.

The older sister reached her hands out only for Vashti to catch them with her own as she leaped to her feet, Vashti’s nails slowly piercing into the back of the woman’s hands as she began to hyperextend her wrists back. She made the woman buckle with a couple of kicks and forced her down to her knees, dragging her back so that they were closer to her sister. Vashti put her shoe on the unconscious girl’s head and smiled viciously at the restrained one. She leaned in to whisper so that only her captive could hear.

“Sorry about my ungrateful friends. Thank you. This was fun for me,” she hissed before pulling back out. She gave a couple of playful taps to the head of the knocked-out girl with her shoe and then, loud enough for the group to hear, added, “Remember, you’re the ones who made this choice.”

Vashti raised her foot.

“... Vashti, no!”

Jacqueline shouted as she stuck her hand out, then walked over. “We don’t need to kill anybody!”

Emily crossed her arms and scoffed as she said,

“... Jacqueline, these people are going to come after us,” She narrowed her eyes, “They’re trying to join the Elite.”

“I know, I know,” Jacqueline answered, “But we’re responsible for a lot of deaths, and I can’t take it anymore.”

Emily put a hand on her hip.

“Now you’re developing a conscience, after we killed… how many Nazis?”

Jacqueline narrowed her eyes,

”... You know what I’m talking about, Emily,”

“Yeah, let’s just take their artifacts and get out of here!” Miranda supported her sister as she walked over to Lucious, knelt, pulled the two arrows out of him, grabbed him, and transferred the wounds to her. She barely even felt pain as they were regenerated in mere moments.

Emily sighed,

“Fiiiiiiiiiiiine,” Then she spoke to the only conscious Pendleton sister while looking off to the side, “Look, you fuckers are going to forget this ever happened, and if you join the Elite…”

She pointed at her without even looking in her direction,

“We will come back, except we’re not going to steal everything; we’re going to come back and then burn this fucking mansion to the ground with all of you in it. Got it?”

She awkwardly nodded her head, then Emily whipped around and said,

“Nadine, grab ever-”

That was when a door to the side burst open, and tripping over each other were the other members of 8th St who were supposed to be handling everyone else and making sure they don’t get in the way. They fell on each other like a pile, and Emily couldn’t help but facepalm.

The first to get up was a [url=http://]well-built, blonde-haired guy[/url] who created a glowing sword made out of a mysterious energy and raised it in the air. “Emily! They snuck around us!”

“No shit,” Emily rolled her eyes.

However, a monstros four-legged beast with a mouth full of teeth, white leathery skin, and claws, lept over them, growling. It turned toward the two Pendleton sisters and raced like a savage animal, knocking over the display cases as it charged them. It lept on one of the display cases and hopped at them, jaws open and claws outstretched…

… Only to get bear-hugged by George.

“Heeeeeeey, easy there, girl!” George said, chuckling as the monster slashed its claws back and forth, snarling like crazy.

“Ugh,” Emily facepalmed before she said, “Cynthia, heel!l”

Then the monster exploded into a cloud of pink mist, and when it faded, it revealed an African-American girl with a blonde afro. Still waving her arms and legs forward like she was still in her… alternate form. At least briefly before she stopped and craned her head towards Emily.

“Pack leader,” Cynthia said, “Cynthia was told she could eat this time. Why is Cynthia not allowed to eat?”

“We changed plans!” Miranda shouted, “If you want to eat… I’ll give you one of my arms!”

“Cynthia wants variety,” Cynthia said as George put her gently on the ground, “Cynthia accepts these terms, but next time…”

She narrowed her eyes at Miranda,

“... Cynthia will eat.”

At this point, Nadine’s undead thralls had cleared the little museum of artifacts… of its artifacts. They all went back to where 8th St initially broke into the mansion, and standing there was a short, mousy girl with brown hair, holding her cellphone in hand. She nodded, put her hands together (with the cell phone in it), and stretched them outwards… creating a spinning portal back to the 8th St Manor. The undead minions went inside first, followed by Emily and her sisters, then the rest of 8th St, with Brianna being the last.

As fast as they appeared, they vanished.

The 8th St Manor, the very next day. 11:23, AM.

---

The next day, it was business as usual in the dining hall of the 8th St mansion… it was their usual hangout slash meeting location, and it was a massive wooden table with various wooden chairs pressed against it. At the head of the seat was Emily’s chair… a very particular throne that she took from Kaiser Draeger before they razed his “sanctuary” to the ground. Emily sat in it. And it was way too big for her, as she couldn’t comfortably put her arms on the armrest! She leaned back in the chair, put her fingers together, and observed her minions…. Chattering and talking as usual.

Greta had on massive oven mitts as she mixed various ingredients into mason jars and created her potions… with a smile that looked too excited. Carol was right next to her, complaining about how she was getting her ingredients on her. Nadine was sitting with her arms crossed, watching everyone else like Emily. Phoebe was looking over all the incredible supernatural artifacts they gained last night… Jacqueline and Miranda were quietly sitting beside her, across from each other. Talking about girl things…

“Hey bro!” said Vashti, striking from ambush as she suddenly emerged from behind Emily’schair and leaned against the armrest. “So I’ve been thinking—”

“... Ah, that was a great haul last night, wasn’t it?” Babylon said as she faded into existence.

“—that I’m just absolutely swamped and got just, like, so much to do today!” finished Vashti, visibly cringing at Babylon’s appearance. She vigorously waved her hands as she backed away towards an exit. “Love ya. Call me if a neck needs wrung!Byeeeeeeeee! ”

Babylon placed a hand on Emily’s shoulder and floated beside her. “Perhaps 8th Street will go further than the last cult I worked with!”

Then Babylon leaned back, shrugged, and said,

“If not, it’s not like I’ll end up with another group,”

“... And who are they?”

“Just a little group of nobodies!” Babylon started chuckling, “... That was coincidentally the biggest threat in the All-Verse!”

“... That doesn’t answer my question, Babylon,”

“Oh, just a little cult called The Inner-Circle… led by a supreme mad woman named Sunshine Jones. Their goal was to get to the very source of magic by any means necessary. And boy! Was Sunshine such a monster! I miss her…”

“Elaborate.”

“Sunshine killed so many people in her pursuit to “drink the blood of magic,” and created monsters that could threaten entire universes,” Babylon explained. “However, they were defeated by a man named James Vanburen.”

“... The rich manslut that knocked up every woman that bent over for him?” Emily raised an eyebrow as she gave Babylon the side-eye. “Probably died from all the STDs he probably got?”

“He is more than just the rich manwhore! Well, was, before you know he died,” Babylon chuckled, “Well, long before that, he was an adventurer, a king, a collector, a hero, and various other things… For whatever reason, he dismantled the Inner Circle piece by piece and defeated Sunshine in a climactic battle. However...”

“God damn it, Babylon!” Emily hissed, “Keep talking…”

“He didn’t kill Sunshine; he placed her before the multiversal council that was around at the time… The Accordance, they called it, and they stood around in robes and decided that the best thing to do was to throw her in The Pit for her list of sins so long that there was not enough paper in the All-Verse to list them all. However, I heard Sunshine escaped the Pit and killed James. Then I also heard that Sunshine died in the Pit, and her Apparition escaped… and killed James. Then I heard that she gave birth in the Pit and-”

“Babylon, that’s enough,” Emily interrupted. “You said James was a collector… of artifacts?”

“Yes, he had many,”

“Then, we’re going after the Vanbur-”

“No, no, no, no,.” Babylon quickly shut Emily down, then said, “James was a very cunning man. Very dangerous. Many allies. With our current situation, attacking the Vanburens would be…”

Babylon then trailed off,

“... Unwise.”

"Can't we take a fucking break anyway?" Maya walked into the dining hall in time to hear the tail end of Emily and Babylon's conversation… wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her chest, barely reaching her thighs. It covered everything it had to. Her hair was wrapped up in another. Obviously, she didn't live here, but the showers were much nicer than her apartment's. "Some of us have day jobs outside of theft."

Emily didn’t even look at Maya; she stared dead ahead as she responded.

“... Can’t you fucking go put some God damn clothes on?” She started, “I told you this before; don’t come out here naked. Nobody wants to see your sweaty vagina.” She rolled her eyes.

“... Speak for yourself!” Babylon said.

“Babylon, fuck off,” Emily replied, and her Apparition faded away.

“Your day job is 8th Street, we have much work to do to get ourselves out of our current predicament… and put some fucking clothes on already!”

She rolled her eyes at Emily, dumping a plastic bag she'd been carrying on the table. There was a whole bunch of Tupperware inside filled with misshapen cookies (definitely not practice for a stupid work thing). "I brought food." Then she glared at Greta. "Can you do that somewhere we don't eat?"

Greta lifted her welding mask and said, “You have plenty of room to sit elsewhere, my dear Maya. I have to finish these potions for the next mission.” Before lowering it and getting back to work.

Maya rolled her eyes and flipped Greta off as soon as her mask was lowered.

“... Food?” Cynthia heard and immediately came over with a grin on her face… which didn’t last long as she raised an eyebrow, looking at the bag. Then Maya. Then, back at the bag. Then at Maya. “Where is food? Cynthia heard food.”

While they were all distracted, a person entered their hall with a tray of desserts, sat down, placed their phone on the table, and began playing on it.

"Ohhhhh," Maya looked at Cynthia and then at the bag. Then back at Cynthia. Whoops should've remembered about the group's carnivore. This is what she got for being able to cook and bringing her food experiments to the coven to test (mostly meat dishes, incidentally). Completely deadpan, she said, "I must've forgotten the human meat cookies I'd made at home. If there's any meat around that isn't part of my body, I'll try to recreate them."

Cynthia looked at Emily, pointing at Maya,

“Pack leader, can Cynthia eat?”

“If she doesn’t go put some fucking clothes on,” Emily responded.

Nadine walked over, grabbed a cookie, then looked at it before taking a bite and silently walking back to where she was sitting and not reacting to Cynthia asking to eat Maya (she was curious if there was somebody that Cynthia didn’t want to eat).

"I know I look delectable, but I doubt I'll taste nice," Maya rolled her eyes. But she still walked out of the room to get dressed because the only thing worse than doing what Emily said was getting eaten alive.

Maya returned shortly after, appropriately dressed in a loose, blue-checked dress. She was still rubbing her hair with a towel and looked around to find a victim to talk to. She honed in on Phoebe and the ton of artifacts they'd gathered. "How much shit did we get this time? Was it worth the hassle?"

“You looked better in the towel.”

Phoebe chuckled.

“Heh, I know,” Maya snorted, shrugging. “But some people don’t appreciate it…”

“I think the Elite is going to pay top dollar for these… but there’s something I want to keep…” Phoebe smiled as she answered Maya, cradling a glowing potion. Then she lifted it by one hand, presenting it to Maya.

It was a glowing potion that pulsed with rainbow colors.

“… Wanna go pour this in the water supply?”

Maya took the potion, turning it over to get a good look. “What does it do, turn everyone gay when they drink it?” Probably something worse, but who cared as long as it didn’t affect them? “Let’s do it.”

Phoebe grabbed Maya’s hand (fingers interlocked), and the two skipped out of the dining hall… to the relief of Emily.

However, after they left, there was a groaning from one of the side halls… followed by slow footsteps as Emily’s head darted towards that hall. Stumbling out of the shadows was… a tall, spindly being almost as tall as the hall itself. She walked in, completely nude, one claw over her face as she walked into full view. She groaned as a line of drool came from her mouth, and she placed the other claw on the adjacent wall. She took in deep breaths as she stumbled forward, only to catch herself on one of her freakishly long limbs.

The second 8th Street saw her, they all dropped whatever they were doing and hopped up, staring at the woman.

Emily grits her teeth as she glances at Jacqueline and Miranda, and with a hint of worry, she says, “... Ge-get her back to her room! Hurry up! Before she does something!”

“On it!” The two twins said in unison as they quickly ran over to the creature. Miranda grabbed her hand, and the two coaxed her into the darkness of the halls. Emily sighed.

“... When are you going to help her?” Brianna asked with a raised eyebrow.

Emily was silent for a moment before she answered,

“I’m working on it.”

“Pack leader!” Cynthia shouted at Emily, then pointed at their mysterious guest they had not noticed until now. “We have an intruder.”

All eyes were brought upon the mysterious woman sitting at the end of their little dining table. She was wearing black jogging pants, a pink sports bra, and an armband that previously had her phone in it. Off her side, she had a nice metal tray of cupcakes covered in wax paper and plastic wrap. She continued playing on her phone for a few moments before she raised her head.

“... Oh?”

She said in a curious tone and faced Emily down.

“... Am I interrupting something?”

Emily narrowed her eyes as the woman continued.

“I’m just having a seat; I’ve just finished with a long jog and thought I’d stop by for the… atmosphere.”

The mysterious woman stood up and presented the tray of cupcakes. “I’ve brought you all cupcakes.”

All of 8th Street stared at her in shock, and Emily rolled her eyes as she sank back into her chair.

“... I thought you had your fill on bullying us, Agent Liao,”

The woman looked down, twisting her head slightly to the left and the right, then lifted her head to face Emily.

“‘Agent Liao’? Can’t you see I’m not on duty right now? Don’t call me Agent Liao, call me… Meifeng.’”

Emily rolled her eyes again,

“Whatever,” She started, “Can I help you with something? Can’t you see that I’m busy?”

Meifeng put a hand on her hip and scoffed as she said, “... Sitting on your little throne?” She playfully chuckled.

“Fuck this!” Carol shouted as she stood up, facing Emily but pointing at Meifeng, “Are we going to keep letting this asshole bully us! She’s by herself; we can take her!”

Meifeng was silent for a moment.

“... I imagine you can,” She started, raising her hands, “I left my gun in my car. And as you can probably tell, I’m not dressed for concealed carry. So…”

She let her words hang in the air.

“Do your worse, Emily.”

Emily stared Meifeng down before she sighed and sunk back into her chair.

“... Just get to the point, Meifeng.”

Meifeng crossed her arms before she spoke to the 8th Street Coven.

“I want to speak to your leader in private.”

There was a brief silence before Emily waved her hand in the air and said,

“Everyone go.”

“But I am working on my poti-” Greta injected.

“I said go!”

With that, the 8th Street Coven dispersed. Leaving the hall with only Meifeng and Emily, the former walked towards the latter. Not breaking eye contact for a moment until she finally spoke,

“Your follower attacked one of my agents.”

“Which one…?” Emily asked, putting her fingertips together.

“Everleigh Thorn,”

Upon hearing that name, Emily smiled.

“... She’s not one of us anymore,” Emily started, “She left us to go back to those Sycamore sluts. Go bark up that tree.” She rolled her eyes.

Meifeng did not so much as blink.

“Is that so?” Meifeng asked as she got closer to Emily until she was in her face. “Did you forget the deal?”

At this point, Jacqueline and Miranda returned, stopped, and looked around. Then, their gaze landed on the metal tray Meifeng left on the table.

“... Cupcakes!”

“Don’t eat those!” Emily shouted. “They might be poison!”

“Please,” Meifeng rolled her eyes, “Just what about me suggests that, if I planned on killing you all, I wouldn’t just come here and put a gun to your head?”

They were silent.

“Exactly,”

Emily slammed her hands on the handlebars of her throne and stood up. Putting her hands on her hips as she

“You keep coming over here to bully us! Don’t you remember just who got you your position?” Emily glanced at Jacqueline, who had helped herself to one of the cupcakes. Then Emily added, “Remember just who exposed Porter Johnson?”

Emily smiled and sunk back into her chair before she added,

“The PRA is just as responsible for Das Sonnenrad as Kaiser Draeger is…”

Meifeng sighed,

“While I am not responsible for the actions of my predecessor, and he has been taken care of, the PRA needs to take more action to weed out extremism in our ranks.”

“It goes high if Mr. Johnson was a Regional Commander!” Emily shouted, pointing at Meifeng before sinking back in her chair again. “You should be more appreciative, Meifeng…”

Meifeng scoffed as she walked up to Emily and jammed a finger into her chest.

“I am appreciative… I’m not putting a kill order on you and your cult as I should,” Meifeng started, fury in her eyes. “I am turning a blind eye to your antics only because I need that Stygian Snake and eyes in St. Portwell…”

Meifeng took a step back and walked towards the door; as she spoke,

“But if I find out that you’re still associated with Everleigh Thorn or had something to do with that shitshow last night…”

She paused right before she walked out of the door and finished with, “... It will be the end of you and everything you know.”

She closed the door, and Emily sighed in relief.

“... Isn’t Eve spying on Sycamore for us?” Miranda cut the silence with a knife.

“Yes, but Liao doesn't have to know that,” Emily chuckled. “It's good that Eve is causing trouble for them and not us… Oh!”

A lightbulb ignited in her head.

“The PRA is probably going to fuck those sluts up! Grab some popcorn, and grab some cameras!
We can not miss this!” Emily said as she got up.

“... Didn't they do the same thing to us?” Miranda raised an eye.

“Shut up about that; that never happened,” Emily said as she walked off to find some chairs, popcorn, and cameras!

She wasn’t going to miss those sluts getting theirs!