{| class="wikitable"
! Case File Template
|-
| class="MainPageBG" |
{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5"
|-
! {{{name}}}
|-
|}
{| width="500px" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5"
|-
| '''{{{ type | Case }}} Number'''
| {{{number}}}
| width="50px" |  
| '''Date Opened'''
| {{{opened}}}
|-
| '''Client'''
| {{{client}}}
| width="50px" |  
| '''Status'''
| {{{status}}}
|-
|}
{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5"
|-
! Contact Information
|-
| {{{contact information}}}
|-
! References
|-
| {{{references}}}
|-
! Evidence
|-
| {{{evidence}}}
|-
! Personal Notes
|-
| {{{notes}}}
|-
! Conclusion
|-
| {{{conclusion}}}
|-
|}
|-
|}

Coda/Cases/Template

2021-08-13T02:47:27Z

{| class="wikitable"
! Case File Template
|-
| class="MainPageBG" |
{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5"
|-
! {{{name}}}
|-
|}
{| width="500px" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5"
|-
| '''{{{ type | Case }}} Number'''
| {{{number}}}
| width="50px" |  
| '''Date Opened'''
| {{{opened}}}
|-
| '''Client'''
| {{{client}}}
| width="50px" |  
| '''Status'''
| {{{status}}}
|-
|}
{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5"
|-
! Contact Information
|-
| {{{contact information}}}
|-
! References
|-
| {{{references}}}
|-
! Evidence
|-
| {{{evidence}}}
|-
! Personal Notes
|-
| {{{notes}}}
|-
! Conclusion
|-
| {{{conclusion}}}
|-
|}
|-
|}

Rune

2021-08-08T05:41:55Z

Rune:

{| width="90%" vertical-align="top" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style=" border:10px solid black" font="color: Pink; font-family:Palatino Linotype; font-size:10pt"
|-
| style="vertical-align:top; text-align:left; font-family:Palatino Linotype; font-size:10pt; padding:0px; border-right:5px solid black " |
<div style="background-color: black>[[Image:Rune2.jpg|top|700px]]</div>
<div style="background-color: black; line-height:300%"><font style="color:White; font-size:14pt; font-variant:small-caps">'''Info'''</font></div>

<div style="text-align:justify; padding:25px;"><font style="color:Black; font-family:Palatino Linotype; font-size:10pt"><br>
<center>'''''<div class="character-page_quote">Our little lives are kept in equipoise<br>By opposite attractions and desires;<br>The struggle of the instinct that enjoys,<br>And the more noble instinct that aspires.</div>.'''''<br />
'''– [https://poets.org/poem/haunted-houses Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - Haunted Houses]'''</center>

<center><hr width="50%" color=black style="background-color: black"></center>

== The Man ==
You can uphold your OOC masquerade or you can gallagher that shit and tell the world that you're secretly the evil Dr. Tzimisce. We don't care. Just don't out other people who haven't outed themselves.

== The ... Legend? ==

Noah was born in 1991, and lost his parents young -- his dad was a cop, killed in the line of duty. Mom to cancer a few years later. In and out of foster homes, life wasn't easy for the headstrong teenager always pushing the boundaries, bending rules to the breaking point, trying to find his own path in a world that barely made sense, full of mad correspondences and symbols only barely made out, much less made sense of.

The next part is exactly what one might expect. Boy meets boy. Boy follows boy out to the woods for a Beltane ritual, and gets high out of his mind, half lost to the throes of passion next to the fire -- and why not? It was his birthday, after all. But the symbols finally came to coherence, showing him a glimpse of the hidden truths of the world and the levers of metaphysical power.

Turns out that it was a Verbena rite, in a sense. Carefully constructed, divinations for this Awakening planned. Noah is inducted into the Verbena -- or something like it. Rune falls deeply into the practices, awed by the power, feeling a connection with the other apprentices, a mother-figure in the mentor, Cerridwen. A place of belonging, even if the magics are strange, ancient, and a bit bloody at times.

And he might have gone on being happy like that, sliding further down a hole he didn't realize he was sliding into. Until Cerridwen was outed as an Infernalist, leading young mages astray. Or maybe a Marauder, wrapped up in her own dangerous quiet. Rune isn't really sure. Nobody else is, either. (Diabolic Mentor)

What he *is* sure of is that his life dissolved overnight. Thunder, one of the other apprentices -- the boy he shared that night in the woods with during his awakening -- apparently already knew. He helped Cerridwen flee. The other apprentices? Well. They turned on each other in no time, each believing the lies that Cerridwen spun -- save for Rune, who hadn't had time to get that fully indoctrinated. Heartbroken, having lost lover and family both, he fled, attempting to stay one step ahead of the people he once would have given his life for. (Enemy, Old Flame)

Rune has always had a good sense of when to keep his head down and when to move. (Danger Sense) And it isn't hard for him to find allies willing to help, or just overlook the fact that he doesn't fit in entirely. (Friendly Face). But even he can only keep ahead of dedicated magi for so long.

The confrontation might have gone either way, really, both of the apprentices evenly matched, both of them wielding magics so close in power and technique that it was hard to tell who was casting what. It certainly made it hard for Coda to tell, given that he was tracking the other apprentice (Morrigan), but mistook Rune's magic for the target he was seeking. A mistake that almost cost both of them, had Coda not made the realization in time to deflect what might have been a crippling spell.

Morrigan was killed in the fight. And Rune? Rune was taken to the magical authorities for questioning. Weeks turned into months as they debated what to do. Here is this man, the apprentice of a known dangerous lunatic, and potentially a danger to all of them. But also young, and just barely past his initiation. Redeemable, and having committed no crime that anyone could prove. Some wanted his Avatar branded. Others wanted him banished. In the end, a comprmise was reached -- a mystic brand, but not on his avatar. On his flesh, in the middle of his back, resistant to methods meant to conceal it from Awakened eyes and simply reforming if removed through more -- manual techniques. A warning, of sorts -- a probationary mark, one that doesn't come with the stigmas of an Avatar branding, but carrying with it social stigmas all its own. Not a complete outcast from his tradition, but hard for him to find help until he proves himself. (Twisted Apprenticeship) The fact that nobody could accuse him of lying, or read poor intentions in him, helped, mistaking his quiet, curious nature and ability to remain small in the mind's eye for demure humility. (Poker Face, Inner Strength, Unobtrusive)

And yet he made a friend. Coda, the man who brought him in, having grown close in the weeks and months it took the Wise to make their decision. A man secretly tasked to keep an eye on the young mage as well. A secret probation officer. Together, the pair left New York behind, moving to the opposite coast -- and, naturally, announcing their presence formally to the Wise, warts and all, Rune even displaying the brand he was given.

Five years later, and Rune has made progress. Taking the name Rune for himself, a defiant mark embracing his puinishment and acknowledging one of the practices he is most skilled with (Symbols), he's managed to carve out a few Allies -- younger mages who don't know his story, or older mages who are sympathetic. yet everyone still risks censure and negative consequences by helping him more than is absolutely necessary. Yet he works tirelessly to redeem himself, offering his services wherever he can. A skilled investigator, he has proven himself a valuable asset among the wise -- when they deem him trustworthy enough to employ.

Ascension, the Sphinx, the warring ideologies of a thousand different cults full of men and women and Others who can literally live in their own reality, with no one to tell them boo? Sure, it's a great conversation. For someone else. Rune is by no means a novice, and has his own theories on how the world works. There's a little bit of truth in all of them, and nobody has the One True Right and Only Answer, no matter how much power they have. But by exploring the nature of the world, he gets closer -- and he's no slouch already, having been Awakened nearly a decade. And since he moved here, he hasn't even caused any trouble.

Ok. He hasn't caused *much* trouble. Tempers sometimes flare, and his curiosity has gotten the better of him on occasion, bending the rules almost to the breaking point in his pursuit of whatever piqued his curiosity.

Today, though, he acknowledges a simple truth -- that the world is pretty fucked. But maybe it's not too late to un-fuck it. And himself.

</font></div>
<div style="background-color:black; line-height:300%"><font style="color:White; font-size:14pt; font-variant:small-caps">'''RP Hooks'''</font></div>

<div style="text-align:justify; padding:25px;"><font style="color:Black; font-family:Palatino Linotype; font-size:10pt"><br>
<center><br>'''There are plenty of things to RP with Rune about. Just because it's not on the list below, doesn't mean that we can't find a reason to RP. If you're curious, just drop me a page and ask if I can come up with some ideas. I really don't mind, I promise! Together, we can find a way.'''</center>

<center><hr width="50%" color=black style="background-color: black "></center>

<center>'''General Roleplay Hooks'''</center>

<br>
*'''Hook1''': Stuff.
*'''Hook2''': Stuff.

<center><hr width="50%" color=black style="background-color: black "></center>

<center>'''Specific Roleplay Hooks'''</center>

<br>

*'''Hook1''': Stuff.
*'''Hook2''': Stuff.

</font></div>

<div style="background-color:black; line-height:300%"><font style="color:White; font-size:14pt; font-variant:small-caps">'''Contacts'''</font></div>

<div style="text-align:justify; padding:25px;"><font style="color:Black; font-family:Palatino Linotype; font-size:10pt"><br>
<center>'''It's not what you know, it's who you know...'''</center>

<center><hr width="50%" color=black style="background-color: black "></center>

<div class="character-page_contact">
[[File:Coda.jpg]]
'''[[Coda]]''' Rune's best friend. Roommate. Confidant. Partner in crime. Anchor. Advocate. Secretly, his overseer.
</div>

<div class="character-page_contact">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
'''[[Jambo]]''' Jambo's not very OK.
</div>

</font></div>

<div style="background-color:black; line-height:300%"><font style="color:White; font-size:14pt; font-variant:small-caps">'''Logs'''</font></div>

<div style="text-align:justify; padding:25px"><font style="color:Black; font-family:Palatino Linotype; font-size:10pt"><br>

<center><hr width="50%" color=black style="background-color: black "></center>

{|
| colspan="2" | {{ RP Logs | name = {{PAGENAME}} | columns = 2 | ordermethod = gamedate }}
|}

| width="300px" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; color:black ; text-align:left; vertical-align:top; font-family:Palatino Linotype; font-size:10pt; padding:0px; border-left:5px solid black" |
{| align="center" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5"
</font></div>
|-
| class="right" | <font style="color: black; font-size:25pt; font-variant:small-caps align:center">'''Rune'''</font><br>
<div style="line-height:300%; align:right"><font style="color: black; font-size:14pt; font-variant:small-caps">'''Noah Michael Foster-Martinez'''</font></div>
|-
| style="border:2px solid black "|[[Image:Rune1.jpg|100%]]
|-
|}

<div style="background-color:black; line-height:300% text-align:right "><font style="color:White; font-size:14pt; font-variant:small-caps">'''Bio'''</font></div>

{| width="100%" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" class="infobox" style="color: Black; font-family:Palatino Linotype; font-size:10pt"
|-
| class="left" | <font style="color: black ">'''Played By:'''</font>
| Marlon Teixeira
|-
| colspan="2" | <center><hr width="250px" style="background-color: black "></center>
|-
| class="left" | <font style="color: black ">'''Apparent Age:'''</font>
| Late twenties
|-
| class="left" | <font style="color: black ">'''Height:'''</font>
| 6'2"
|-
| class="left" | <font style="color: black">'''Hair/Eyes:'''</font>
| Brown/Grey
|-
| colspan="2" | <center><hr width="250px" style="background-color: black"></center>
|-
| class="left" | <font style="color: black:>'''Date of Birth:'''</font>
| April 30, 1991
|-
| class="left" | <font style="color: black">'''Occupation:'''</font>
| Wizard. Waiter. Neither pays the bills really.
|-
| class="left" | '''Nature:'''
|Benefactor
| class="left" | '''Demeanor:'''
| Innovator
|-
| colspan="2" | <hr />
|-
| class="left" | '''Faction:'''
| [[Verbena]]
|-
| class="left" | '''Subfaction:'''
| TBD
|-
| class="left" | '''Chantry:'''
| TBD
|-
| class="left" | '''Cabal:'''
| TBD
|-
|}

<div style="background-color:black; line-height:300% text-align:right "><font style="color:White; font-size:14pt; font-variant:small-caps">'''Gallery'''</font></div>
{| width="100%" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="5" class="infobox" style="color:black; font-family:Palatino Linotype; font-size:10pt"

[[Image:Rune3.png|center|280px]]

[[image:Rune4.jpg|center|280px]]

[[image:Rune5.jpg|center|280px]]

[[Image:Rune6.jpg|center|280px]]

[[Image:Rune7.jpg|center|280px]]

|}

|-
|-
|}

[[Category:Active Characters]][[Category:Mage]][[Category:Verbena]]

2021-08-07T05:18:35Z

Seekings

2021-08-07T03:53:31Z

Rune: Because tables, that's why!

Seekings are available to Mages after a number of months have passed equal to twice the pursued Arete level (2 months from 0 to 1, 4 months from 1 to 2, etc).

{| class="wikitable"
!colspan="4"|Wait Times Between Seekings
|-
|Current Arete || First Attempt* || Second Attempt || Third Attempt
|-
| 0† || 2 months || 2 weeks from First || 1 Month after Second
|-
| 1 || 4 months || 1 Month after First || 2 months after Second
|-
| 2 || 6 months || 2 months after First || 4 months after Second
|-
| 3 || 8 months || 3 months after First || 6 months after Second
|-
| 4 || 10 months || 4 months after First || 8 months after Second
|-
| 5 || 12 months || 5 months after First || 10 months after Second
|-
| 6 || 14 months || 6 months after First || 12 months after Second
|-
| 7 || 16 months || 7 months after First || 14 months after Second
|-
| 8 || 18 months || 8 months after First || 16 months after Second
|-
| 9 || 20 months || 9 months after First || 18 months after Second
|-
|}

* Number of months that must be waited since the prior raise.
† Minimum time after approval for IC Awakening. Arete 0 is treated as 1/2 Arete for purposes of wait times after the Awakening attempt.

Request a Seeking through +request. At this time, you may add to (but not contradict) your Avatar +note to give the ST more to work with and deepen the development of your Avatar. The Storyteller will then devise a challenge, place a staff-only note on your sheet for reference and internal consistency among STs regarding the details of the challenge, and then use your Avatar +note to have your Avatar communicate with you and push you towards the challenge. Until the Seeking +request is resolved, your character's actions are evaluated regardless of whether you are in an obviously scheduled seeking scene.

Seeking challenges are designed around the concept that your Avatar embodies. You will be expected to become more in harmony with your Avatar's ideals, and your character will be pushed with a challenge that comes with significant risk. This risk may be psychological, physical, social, or a combination. Seekings to achieve Arete 3 or higher will inherently include permanent ones, such as death and deep psychological scarring.

The price of success may also include significant consequences such as loss and ostracization and war wounds both physical and psychological. It's pocket change to pay for heightened understanding of the truth of the universe. If your character fails their Seeking, you may apply again after a number of months have passed equal to your Arete rating times the number of times you've failed. So, if you have Arete 3 and failed your Seeking, you can apply again after 3 months, then after 6 if you fail a second time, then after 9 if you fail a third time, and so on.

[[Category:House Rules]]

Rune

2021-08-04T18:11:42Z

Rune:

__NOTOC__

<div class="character-page">
<div class="character-page_panel">

<div class="character-page_heading">
Rune
</div>

<div class="character-page_quote">Our little lives are kept in equipoise<br>By opposite attractions and desires;<br>The struggle of the instinct that enjoys,<br>And the more noble instinct that aspires.</div>

<div class="character-page_section">
== The Man ==
You can uphold your OOC masquerade or you can gallagher that shit and tell the world that you're secretly the evil Dr. Tzimisce. We don't care. Just don't out other people who haven't outed themselves.

== The ... Legend? ==

Noah was born in 1991, and lost his parents young -- his dad was a cop, killed in the line of duty. Mom to cancer a few years later. In and out of foster homes, life wasn't easy for the headstrong teenager always pushing the boundaries, bending rules to the breaking point, trying to find his own path in a world that barely made sense, full of mad correspondences and symbols only barely made out, much less made sense of.

The next part is exactly what one might expect. Boy meets boy. Boy follows boy out to the woods for a Beltane ritual, and gets high out of his mind, half lost to the throes of passion next to the fire -- and why not? It was his birthday, after all. But the symbols finally came to coherence, showing him a glimpse of the hidden truths of the world and the levers of metaphysical power.

Turns out that it was a Verbena rite, in a sense. Carefully constructed, divinations for this Awakening planned. Noah is inducted into the Verbena -- or something like it. Rune falls deeply into the practices, awed by the power, feeling a connection with the other apprentices, a mother-figure in the mentor, Cerridwen. A place of belonging, even if the magics are strange, ancient, and a bit bloody at times.

And he might have gone on being happy like that, sliding further down a hole he didn't realize he was sliding into. Until Cerridwen was outed as an Infernalist, leading young mages astray. Or maybe a Marauder, wrapped up in her own dangerous quiet. Rune isn't really sure. Nobody else is, either. (Diabolic Mentor)

What he *is* sure of is that his life dissolved overnight. Thunder, one of the other apprentices -- the boy he shared that night in the woods with during his awakening -- apparently already knew. He helped Cerridwen flee. The other apprentices? Well. They turned on each other in no time, each believing the lies that Cerridwen spun -- save for Rune, who hadn't had time to get that fully indoctrinated. Heartbroken, having lost lover and family both, he fled, attempting to stay one step ahead of the people he once would have given his life for. (Enemy, Old Flame)

Rune has always had a good sense of when to keep his head down and when to move. (Danger Sense) And it isn't hard for him to find allies willing to help, or just overlook the fact that he doesn't fit in entirely. (Friendly Face). But even he can only keep ahead of dedicated magi for so long.

The confrontation might have gone either way, really, both of the apprentices evenly matched, both of them wielding magics so close in power and technique that it was hard to tell who was casting what. It certainly made it hard for Coda to tell, given that he was tracking the other apprentice (Morrigan), but mistook Rune's magic for the target he was seeking. A mistake that almost cost both of them, had Coda not made the realization in time to deflect what might have been a crippling spell.

Morrigan was killed in the fight. And Rune? Rune was taken to the magical authorities for questioning. Weeks turned into months as they debated what to do. Here is this man, the apprentice of a known dangerous lunatic, and potentially a danger to all of them. But also young, and just barely past his initiation. Redeemable, and having committed no crime that anyone could prove. Some wanted his Avatar branded. Others wanted him banished. In the end, a comprmise was reached -- a mystic brand, but not on his avatar. On his flesh, in the middle of his back, resistant to methods meant to conceal it from Awakened eyes and simply reforming if removed through more -- manual techniques. A warning, of sorts -- a probationary mark, one that doesn't come with the stigmas of an Avatar branding, but carrying with it social stigmas all its own. Not a complete outcast from his tradition, but hard for him to find help until he proves himself. (Twisted Apprenticeship) The fact that nobody could accuse him of lying, or read poor intentions in him, helped, mistaking his quiet, curious nature and ability to remain small in the mind's eye for demure humility. (Poker Face, Inner Strength, Unobtrusive)

And yet he made a friend. Coda, the man who brought him in, having grown close in the weeks and months it took the Wise to make their decision. A man secretly tasked to keep an eye on the young mage as well. A secret probation officer. Together, the pair left New York behind, moving to the opposite coast -- and, naturally, announcing their presence formally to the Wise, warts and all, Rune even displaying the brand he was given.

Five years later, and Rune has made progress. Taking the name Rune for himself, a defiant mark embracing his puinishment and acknowledging one of the practices he is most skilled with (Symbols), he's managed to carve out a few Allies -- younger mages who don't know his story, or older mages who are sympathetic. yet everyone still risks censure and negative consequences by helping him more than is absolutely necessary. Yet he works tirelessly to redeem himself, offering his services wherever he can. A skilled investigator, he has proven himself a valuable asset among the wise -- when they deem him trustworthy enough to employ.

Ascension, the Sphinx, the warring ideologies of a thousand different cults full of men and women and Others who can literally live in their own reality, with no one to tell them boo? Sure, it's a great conversation. For someone else. Rune is by no means a novice, and has his own theories on how the world works. There's a little bit of truth in all of them, and nobody has the One True Right and Only Answer, no matter how much power they have. But by exploring the nature of the world, he gets closer -- and he's no slouch already, having been Awakened nearly a decade. And since he moved here, he hasn't even caused any trouble.

Ok. He hasn't caused *much* trouble. Tempers sometimes flare, and his curiosity has gotten the better of him on occasion, bending the rules almost to the breaking point in his pursuit of whatever piqued his curiosity.

Today, though, he acknowledges a simple truth -- that the world is pretty fucked. But maybe it's not too late to un-fuck it. And himself.

== T-F#@king-L;DR ==

* Rune is a Verbena Mage from New York.
* Before he got here, Rune got into trouble because his batshit crazy mentor taught him fucked up magic.
* Rune was spared a brand to his Avatar, but bears a brand in the form of a mystic tattoo on his back, marking him as a potential danger and deviant. This brand is readily visible to Awakened eyes, and is difficult to conceal or remove. If you're a Mage, assume you can just see it. It glows or something.
* Rune is working to redeem himself.
* Rune lives with Coda.
* Rune has been in SF for about five years.
* People helping Rune are likely to get the side-eye from the Orthodox Mages. It's a gamble.
* Rune is working to prove himself trustworthy. It's been a mixed bag. He's been in some minor trouble, but is often helpful.

<h2 class="character-page_heading">
Contacts
</h2>
<div class="character-page_contact">
[[File:Coda.jpg]]
'''[[Coda]]''' Rune's best friend. Roommate. Confidant. Partner in crime. Anchor. Advocate. Secretly, his overseer.
</div>

<div class="character-page_contact">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
'''[[Jambo]]''' Jambo's not very OK.
</div>

<h2 class="character-page_heading">
Gallery
</h2>
<div class="character-page_gallery-set Row">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
</div>
<div class="character-page_gallery-set Row">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
</div>

</div>
</div>
<div class="character-page_panel">
<div class="character-page_section">
[[File:Rune1.jpg]]
{| width="100%" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"
|-
| class="left" | '''Name:'''
| Jane Doe
|-
| class="left" |'''Apparent Age:'''
| Young adult
|-
| class="left" | '''Nationality:'''
| English
|-
| class="left" | '''Nature:'''
| Conniver
|-
| class="left" | '''Demeanor:'''
| Autocrat

|}
</div>

<div class="character-page_heading">
Sick Tunes
</div>
<div class="character-page_quote">
:My daughter died in a rowboat
:And I never told anyone
:Until now!
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWIhM6T09g Trixie Mattel, My Daughter Died In A Rowboat]
</div>
<hr>
<div class="character-page_quote">
:My daughter died in a rowboat
:And I never told anyone
:Until now!
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWIhM6T09g Trixie Mattel, My Daughter Died In A Rowboat]
</div>
<hr>
<div class="character-page_quote">
:My daughter died in a rowboat
:And I never told anyone
:Until now!
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWIhM6T09g Trixie Mattel, My Daughter Died In A Rowboat]
</div>

</div>
</div>
</div>

[[Category:Active Characters]]

Rune

2021-08-04T17:53:00Z

Rune: /* T-F#@king-L;DR */

__NOTOC__

<div class="character-page">
<div class="character-page_panel">

<div class="character-page_heading">
Rune
</div>

<div class="character-page_quote">Our little lives are kept in equipoise<br>By opposite attractions and desires;<br>The struggle of the instinct that enjoys,<br>And the more noble instinct that aspires.</div>

<div class="character-page_section">
== The Man ==
You can uphold your OOC masquerade or you can gallagher that shit and tell the world that you're secretly the evil Dr. Tzimisce. We don't care. Just don't out other people who haven't outed themselves.

== The ... Legend? ==

Noah was born in 1991, and lost his parents young -- his dad was a cop, killed in the line of duty. Mom to cancer a few years later. In and out of foster homes, life wasn't easy for the headstrong teenager always pushing the boundaries, bending rules to the breaking point, trying to find his own path in a world that barely made sense, full of mad correspondences and symbols only barely made out, much less made sense of.

The next part is exactly what one might expect. Boy meets boy. Boy follows boy out to the woods for a Beltane ritual, and gets high out of his mind, half lost to the throes of passion next to the fire -- and why not? It was his birthday, after all. But the symbols finally came to coherence, showing him a glimpse of the hidden truths of the world and the levers of metaphysical power.

Turns out that it was a Verbena rite, in a sense. Carefully constructed, divinations for this Awakening planned. Noah is inducted into the Verbena -- or something like it. Rune falls deeply into the practices, awed by the power, feeling a connection with the other apprentices, a mother-figure in the mentor, Cerridwen. A place of belonging, even if the magics are strange, ancient, and a bit bloody at times.

And he might have gone on being happy like that, sliding further down a hole he didn't realize he was sliding into. Until Cerridwen was outed as an Infernalist, leading young mages astray. Or maybe a Marauder, wrapped up in her own dangerous quiet. Rune isn't really sure. Nobody else is, either. (Diabolic Mentor)

What he *is* sure of is that his life dissolved overnight. Thunder, one of the other apprentices -- the boy he shared that night in the woods with during his awakening -- apparently already knew. He helped Cerridwen flee. The other apprentices? Well. They turned on each other in no time, each believing the lies that Cerridwen spun -- save for Rune, who hadn't had time to get that fully indoctrinated. Heartbroken, having lost lover and family both, he fled, attempting to stay one step ahead of the people he once would have given his life for. (Enemy, Old Flame)

Rune has always had a good sense of when to keep his head down and when to move. (Danger Sense) And it isn't hard for him to find allies willing to help, or just overlook the fact that he doesn't fit in entirely. (Friendly Face). But even he can only keep ahead of dedicated magi for so long.

The confrontation might have gone either way, really, both of the apprentices evenly matched, both of them wielding magics so close in power and technique that it was hard to tell who was casting what. It certainly made it hard for Coda to tell, given that he was tracking the other apprentice (Morrigan), but mistook Rune's magic for the target he was seeking. A mistake that almost cost both of them, had Coda not made the realization in time to deflect what might have been a crippling spell.

Morrigan was killed in the fight. And Rune? Rune was taken to the magical authorities for questioning. Weeks turned into months as they debated what to do. Here is this man, the apprentice of a known dangerous lunatic, and potentially a danger to all of them. But also young, and just barely past his initiation. Redeemable, and having committed no crime that anyone could prove. Some wanted his Avatar branded. Others wanted him banished. In the end, a comprmise was reached -- a mystic brand, but not on his avatar. On his flesh, in the middle of his back, resistant to methods meant to conceal it from Awakened eyes and simply reforming if removed through more -- manual techniques. A warning, of sorts -- a probationary mark, one that doesn't come with the stigmas of an Avatar branding, but carrying with it social stigmas all its own. Not a complete outcast from his tradition, but hard for him to find help until he proves himself. (Twisted Apprenticeship) The fact that nobody could accuse him of lying, or read poor intentions in him, helped, mistaking his quiet, curious nature and ability to remain small in the mind's eye for demure humility. (Poker Face, Inner Strength, Unobtrusive)

And yet he made a friend. Coda, the man who brought him in, having grown close in the weeks and months it took the Wise to make their decision. A man secretly tasked to keep an eye on the young mage as well. A secret probation officer. Together, the pair left New York behind, moving to the opposite coast -- and, naturally, announcing their presence formally to the Wise, warts and all, Rune even displaying the brand he was given.

Five years later, and Rune has made progress. Taking the name Rune for himself, a defiant mark embracing his puinishment and acknowledging one of the practices he is most skilled with (Symbols), he's managed to carve out a few Allies -- younger mages who don't know his story, or older mages who are sympathetic. yet everyone still risks censure and negative consequences by helping him more than is absolutely necessary. Yet he works tirelessly to redeem himself, offering his services wherever he can. A skilled investigator, he has proven himself a valuable asset among the wise -- when they deem him trustworthy enough to employ.

Ascension, the Sphinx, the warring ideologies of a thousand different cults full of men and women and Others who can literally live in their own reality, with no one to tell them boo? Sure, it's a great conversation. For someone else. Rune is by no means a novice, and has his own theories on how the world works. There's a little bit of truth in all of them, and nobody has the One True Right and Only Answer, no matter how much power they have. But by exploring the nature of the world, he gets closer -- and he's no slouch already, having been Awakened nearly a decade. And since he moved here, he hasn't even caused any trouble.

Ok. He hasn't caused *much* trouble. Tempers sometimes flare, and his curiosity has gotten the better of him on occasion, bending the rules almost to the breaking point in his pursuit of whatever piqued his curiosity.

Today, though, he acknowledges a simple truth -- that the world is pretty fucked. But maybe it's not too late to un-fuck it. And himself.

== T-F#@king-L;DR ==

* Rune is a Verbena Mage from New York.
* Before he got here, Rune got into trouble because his batshit crazy mentor taught him fucked up magic.
* Rune was spared a brand to his Avatar, but bears a brand in the form of a mystic tattoo on his back, marking him as a potential danger and deviant. This brand is readily visible to Awakened eyes, and is difficult to conceal or remove. If you're a Mage, assume you can just see it. It glows or something.
* Rune is working to redeem himself.
* Rune lives with Coda.
* Rune has been in SF for about five years.
* People helping Rune are likely to get the side-eye from the Orthodox Mages. It's a gamble.
* Rune is working to prove himself trustworthy. It's been a mixed bag. He's been in some minor trouble, but is often helpful.

<h2 class="character-page_heading">
Contacts
</h2>
<div class="character-page_contact">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
'''[[Jimbo]]''' Jimbo's very OK.
</div>

<div class="character-page_contact">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
'''[[Jambo]]''' Jambo's not very OK.
</div>

<h2 class="character-page_heading">
Gallery
</h2>
<div class="character-page_gallery-set Row">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
</div>
<div class="character-page_gallery-set Row">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
</div>

</div>
</div>
<div class="character-page_panel">
<div class="character-page_section">
[[File:Rune1.jpg]]
{| width="100%" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"
|-
| class="left" | '''Name:'''
| Jane Doe
|-
| class="left" |'''Apparent Age:'''
| Young adult
|-
| class="left" | '''Nationality:'''
| English
|-
| class="left" | '''Nature:'''
| Conniver
|-
| class="left" | '''Demeanor:'''
| Autocrat

|}
</div>

<div class="character-page_heading">
Sick Tunes
</div>
<div class="character-page_quote">
:My daughter died in a rowboat
:And I never told anyone
:Until now!
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWIhM6T09g Trixie Mattel, My Daughter Died In A Rowboat]
</div>
<hr>
<div class="character-page_quote">
:My daughter died in a rowboat
:And I never told anyone
:Until now!
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWIhM6T09g Trixie Mattel, My Daughter Died In A Rowboat]
</div>
<hr>
<div class="character-page_quote">
:My daughter died in a rowboat
:And I never told anyone
:Until now!
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWIhM6T09g Trixie Mattel, My Daughter Died In A Rowboat]
</div>

</div>
</div>
</div>

[[Category:Active Characters]]

Rune

2021-08-04T16:51:02Z

Rune:

__NOTOC__

<div class="character-page">
<div class="character-page_panel">

<div class="character-page_heading">
Rune
</div>

<div class="character-page_quote">Our little lives are kept in equipoise<br>By opposite attractions and desires;<br>The struggle of the instinct that enjoys,<br>And the more noble instinct that aspires.</div>

<div class="character-page_section">
== The Man ==
You can uphold your OOC masquerade or you can gallagher that shit and tell the world that you're secretly the evil Dr. Tzimisce. We don't care. Just don't out other people who haven't outed themselves.

== The ... Legend? ==

Noah was born in 1991, and lost his parents young -- his dad was a cop, killed in the line of duty. Mom to cancer a few years later. In and out of foster homes, life wasn't easy for the headstrong teenager always pushing the boundaries, bending rules to the breaking point, trying to find his own path in a world that barely made sense, full of mad correspondences and symbols only barely made out, much less made sense of.

The next part is exactly what one might expect. Boy meets boy. Boy follows boy out to the woods for a Beltane ritual, and gets high out of his mind, half lost to the throes of passion next to the fire -- and why not? It was his birthday, after all. But the symbols finally came to coherence, showing him a glimpse of the hidden truths of the world and the levers of metaphysical power.

Turns out that it was a Verbena rite, in a sense. Carefully constructed, divinations for this Awakening planned. Noah is inducted into the Verbena -- or something like it. Rune falls deeply into the practices, awed by the power, feeling a connection with the other apprentices, a mother-figure in the mentor, Cerridwen. A place of belonging, even if the magics are strange, ancient, and a bit bloody at times.

And he might have gone on being happy like that, sliding further down a hole he didn't realize he was sliding into. Until Cerridwen was outed as an Infernalist, leading young mages astray. Or maybe a Marauder, wrapped up in her own dangerous quiet. Rune isn't really sure. Nobody else is, either. (Diabolic Mentor)

What he *is* sure of is that his life dissolved overnight. Thunder, one of the other apprentices -- the boy he shared that night in the woods with during his awakening -- apparently already knew. He helped Cerridwen flee. The other apprentices? Well. They turned on each other in no time, each believing the lies that Cerridwen spun -- save for Rune, who hadn't had time to get that fully indoctrinated. Heartbroken, having lost lover and family both, he fled, attempting to stay one step ahead of the people he once would have given his life for. (Enemy, Old Flame)

Rune has always had a good sense of when to keep his head down and when to move. (Danger Sense) And it isn't hard for him to find allies willing to help, or just overlook the fact that he doesn't fit in entirely. (Friendly Face). But even he can only keep ahead of dedicated magi for so long.

The confrontation might have gone either way, really, both of the apprentices evenly matched, both of them wielding magics so close in power and technique that it was hard to tell who was casting what. It certainly made it hard for Coda to tell, given that he was tracking the other apprentice (Morrigan), but mistook Rune's magic for the target he was seeking. A mistake that almost cost both of them, had Coda not made the realization in time to deflect what might have been a crippling spell.

Morrigan was killed in the fight. And Rune? Rune was taken to the magical authorities for questioning. Weeks turned into months as they debated what to do. Here is this man, the apprentice of a known dangerous lunatic, and potentially a danger to all of them. But also young, and just barely past his initiation. Redeemable, and having committed no crime that anyone could prove. Some wanted his Avatar branded. Others wanted him banished. In the end, a comprmise was reached -- a mystic brand, but not on his avatar. On his flesh, in the middle of his back, resistant to methods meant to conceal it from Awakened eyes and simply reforming if removed through more -- manual techniques. A warning, of sorts -- a probationary mark, one that doesn't come with the stigmas of an Avatar branding, but carrying with it social stigmas all its own. Not a complete outcast from his tradition, but hard for him to find help until he proves himself. (Twisted Apprenticeship) The fact that nobody could accuse him of lying, or read poor intentions in him, helped, mistaking his quiet, curious nature and ability to remain small in the mind's eye for demure humility. (Poker Face, Inner Strength, Unobtrusive)

And yet he made a friend. Coda, the man who brought him in, having grown close in the weeks and months it took the Wise to make their decision. A man secretly tasked to keep an eye on the young mage as well. A secret probation officer. Together, the pair left New York behind, moving to the opposite coast -- and, naturally, announcing their presence formally to the Wise, warts and all, Rune even displaying the brand he was given.

Five years later, and Rune has made progress. Taking the name Rune for himself, a defiant mark embracing his puinishment and acknowledging one of the practices he is most skilled with (Symbols), he's managed to carve out a few Allies -- younger mages who don't know his story, or older mages who are sympathetic. yet everyone still risks censure and negative consequences by helping him more than is absolutely necessary. Yet he works tirelessly to redeem himself, offering his services wherever he can. A skilled investigator, he has proven himself a valuable asset among the wise -- when they deem him trustworthy enough to employ.

Ascension, the Sphinx, the warring ideologies of a thousand different cults full of men and women and Others who can literally live in their own reality, with no one to tell them boo? Sure, it's a great conversation. For someone else. Rune is by no means a novice, and has his own theories on how the world works. There's a little bit of truth in all of them, and nobody has the One True Right and Only Answer, no matter how much power they have. But by exploring the nature of the world, he gets closer -- and he's no slouch already, having been Awakened nearly a decade. And since he moved here, he hasn't even caused any trouble.

Ok. He hasn't caused *much* trouble. Tempers sometimes flare, and his curiosity has gotten the better of him on occasion, bending the rules almost to the breaking point in his pursuit of whatever piqued his curiosity.

Today, though, he acknowledges a simple truth -- that the world is pretty fucked. But maybe it's not too late to un-fuck it. And himself.

== T-F#@king-L;DR ==

* Rune is a Verbena Mage from New York.
* Before he got here, Rune got into trouble because his batshit crazy mentor taught him fucked up magic.
* Rune was spared a brand to his Avatar, but bears a brand marking him as a potential danger and deviant.
* Rune is working to redeem himself.
* Rune lives with Coda.
* Rune has been in SF for about five years.
* People helping Rune are likely to get the side-eye from the Orthodox Mages. It's a gamble.
* Rune is working to prove himself trustworthy. It's been a mixed bag. He's been in some minor trouble, but is often helpful.

<h2 class="character-page_heading">
Contacts
</h2>
<div class="character-page_contact">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
'''[[Jimbo]]''' Jimbo's very OK.
</div>

<div class="character-page_contact">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
'''[[Jambo]]''' Jambo's not very OK.
</div>

<h2 class="character-page_heading">
Gallery
</h2>
<div class="character-page_gallery-set Row">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
</div>
<div class="character-page_gallery-set Row">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
</div>

</div>
</div>
<div class="character-page_panel">
<div class="character-page_section">
[[File:Rune1.jpg]]
{| width="100%" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"
|-
| class="left" | '''Name:'''
| Jane Doe
|-
| class="left" |'''Apparent Age:'''
| Young adult
|-
| class="left" | '''Nationality:'''
| English
|-
| class="left" | '''Nature:'''
| Conniver
|-
| class="left" | '''Demeanor:'''
| Autocrat

|}
</div>

<div class="character-page_heading">
Sick Tunes
</div>
<div class="character-page_quote">
:My daughter died in a rowboat
:And I never told anyone
:Until now!
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWIhM6T09g Trixie Mattel, My Daughter Died In A Rowboat]
</div>
<hr>
<div class="character-page_quote">
:My daughter died in a rowboat
:And I never told anyone
:Until now!
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWIhM6T09g Trixie Mattel, My Daughter Died In A Rowboat]
</div>
<hr>
<div class="character-page_quote">
:My daughter died in a rowboat
:And I never told anyone
:Until now!
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWIhM6T09g Trixie Mattel, My Daughter Died In A Rowboat]
</div>

</div>
</div>
</div>

[[Category:Active Characters]]

File:Rune1.jpg

2021-08-04T04:26:24Z

Rune:

Rune

2021-08-04T04:26:05Z

Rune:

__NOTOC__

<div class="character-page">
<div class="character-page_panel">

<div class="character-page_heading">
Rune
</div>

<div class="character-page_quote">Our little lives are kept in equipoise<br>By opposite attractions and desires;<br>The struggle of the instinct that enjoys,<br>And the more noble instinct that aspires.</div>

<div class="character-page_section">
== The Man ==
You can uphold your OOC masquerade or you can gallagher that shit and tell the world that you're secretly the evil Dr. Tzimisce. We don't care. Just don't out other people who haven't outed themselves.

== The ... Legend? ==

Noah was born in 1991, and lost his parents young -- his dad was a cop, killed in the line of duty. Mom to cancer a few years later. In and out of foster homes, life wasn't easy for the headstrong teenager always pushing the boundaries, bending rules to the breaking point, trying to find his own path in a world that barely made sense, full of mad correspondences and symbols only barely made out, much less made sense of.

The next part is exactly what one might expect. Boy meets boy. Boy follows boy out to the woods for a Beltane ritual, and gets high out of his mind, half lost to the throes of passion next to the fire -- and why not? It was his birthday, after all. But the symbols finally came to coherence, showing him a glimpse of the hidden truths of the world and the levers of metaphysical power.

Turns out that it was a Verbena rite, in a sense. Carefully constructed, divinations for this Awakening planned. Noah is inducted into the Verbena -- or something like it. Rune falls deeply into the practices, awed by the power, feeling a connection with the other apprentices, a mother-figure in the mentor, Cerridwen. A place of belonging, even if the magics are strange, ancient, and a bit bloody at times.

And he might have gone on being happy like that, sliding further down a hole he didn't realize he was sliding into. Until Cerridwen was outed as an Infernalist, leading young mages astray. Or maybe a Marauder, wrapped up in her own dangerous quiet. Rune isn't really sure. Nobody else is, either. (Diabolic Mentor)

What he *is* sure of is that his life dissolved overnight. Thunder, one of the other apprentices -- the boy he shared that night in the woods with during his awakening -- apparently already knew. He helped Cerridwen flee. The other apprentices? Well. They turned on each other in no time, each believing the lies that Cerridwen spun -- save for Rune, who hadn't had time to get that fully indoctrinated. Heartbroken, having lost lover and family both, he fled, attempting to stay one step ahead of the people he once would have given his life for. (Enemy, Old Flame)

Rune has always had a good sense of when to keep his head down and when to move. (Danger Sense) And it isn't hard for him to find allies willing to help, or just overlook the fact that he doesn't fit in entirely. (Friendly Face). But even he can only keep ahead of dedicated magi for so long.

The confrontation might have gone either way, really, both of the apprentices evenly matched, both of them wielding magics so close in power and technique that it was hard to tell who was casting what. It certainly made it hard for Coda to tell, given that he was tracking the other apprentice (Morrigan), but mistook Rune's magic for the target he was seeking. A mistake that almost cost both of them, had Coda not made the realization in time to deflect what might have been a crippling spell.

Morrigan was killed in the fight. And Rune? Rune was taken to the magical authorities for questioning. Weeks turned into months as they debated what to do. Here is this man, the apprentice of a known dangerous lunatic, and potentially a danger to all of them. But also young, and just barely past his initiation. Redeemable, and having committed no crime that anyone could prove. Some wanted his Avatar branded. Others wanted him banished. In the end, a comprmise was reached -- a mystic brand, but not on his avatar. On his flesh, in the middle of his back, resistant to methods meant to conceal it from Awakened eyes and simply reforming if removed through more -- manual techniques. A warning, of sorts -- a probationary mark, one that doesn't come with the stigmas of an Avatar branding, but carrying with it social stigmas all its own. Not a complete outcast from his tradition, but hard for him to find help until he proves himself. (Twisted Apprenticeship) The fact that nobody could accuse him of lying, or read poor intentions in him, helped, mistaking his quiet, curious nature and ability to remain small in the mind's eye for demure humility. (Poker Face, Inner Strength, Unobtrusive)

And yet he made a friend. Coda, the man who brought him in, having grown close in the weeks and months it took the Wise to make their decision. A man secretly tasked to keep an eye on the young mage as well. A secret probation officer. Together, the pair left New York behind, moving to the opposite coast -- and, naturally, announcing their presence formally to the Wise, warts and all, Rune even displaying the brand he was given.

Five years later, and Rune has made progress. Taking the name Rune for himself, a defiant mark embracing his puinishment and acknowledging one of the practices he is most skilled with (Symbols), he's managed to carve out a few Allies -- younger mages who don't know his story, or older mages who are sympathetic. yet everyone still risks censure and negative consequences by helping him more than is absolutely necessary. Yet he works tirelessly to redeem himself, offering his services wherever he can. A skilled investigator, he has proven himself a valuable asset among the wise -- when they deem him trustworthy enough to employ.

Ascension, the Sphinx, the warring ideologies of a thousand different cults full of men and women and Others who can literally live in their own reality, with no one to tell them boo? Sure, it's a great conversation. For someone else. Rune is by no means a novice, and has his own theories on how the world works. There's a little bit of truth in all of them, and nobody has the One True Right and Only Answer, no matter how much power they have. But by exploring the nature of the world, he gets closer -- and he's no slouch already, having been Awakened nearly a decade. And since he moved here, he hasn't even caused any trouble.

Ok. He hasn't caused *much* trouble. Tempers sometimes flare, and his curiosity has gotten the better of him on occasion, bending the rules almost to the breaking point in his pursuit of whatever piqued his curiosity.

Today, though, he acknowledges a simple truth -- that the world is pretty fucked. But maybe it's not too late to un-fuck it. And himself.

<h2 class="character-page_heading">
Contacts
</h2>
<div class="character-page_contact">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
'''[[Jimbo]]''' Jimbo's very OK.
</div>

<div class="character-page_contact">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
'''[[Jambo]]''' Jambo's not very OK.
</div>

<h2 class="character-page_heading">
Gallery
</h2>
<div class="character-page_gallery-set Row">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
</div>
<div class="character-page_gallery-set Row">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
</div>

</div>
</div>
<div class="character-page_panel">
<div class="character-page_section">
[[File:Rune1.jpg]]
{| width="100%" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"
|-
| class="left" | '''Name:'''
| Jane Doe
|-
| class="left" |'''Apparent Age:'''
| Young adult
|-
| class="left" | '''Nationality:'''
| English
|-
| class="left" | '''Nature:'''
| Conniver
|-
| class="left" | '''Demeanor:'''
| Autocrat

|}
</div>

<div class="character-page_heading">
Sick Tunes
</div>
<div class="character-page_quote">
:My daughter died in a rowboat
:And I never told anyone
:Until now!
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWIhM6T09g Trixie Mattel, My Daughter Died In A Rowboat]
</div>
<hr>
<div class="character-page_quote">
:My daughter died in a rowboat
:And I never told anyone
:Until now!
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWIhM6T09g Trixie Mattel, My Daughter Died In A Rowboat]
</div>
<hr>
<div class="character-page_quote">
:My daughter died in a rowboat
:And I never told anyone
:Until now!
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWIhM6T09g Trixie Mattel, My Daughter Died In A Rowboat]
</div>

</div>
</div>
</div>

[[Category:Active Characters]]

Rune

2021-08-04T04:22:06Z

Rune: Created page with "__NOTOC__ <div class="character-page"> <div class="character-page_panel"> <div class="character-page_heading"> Rune </div> <div class="character-page_quote">Our little liv..."

__NOTOC__

<div class="character-page">
<div class="character-page_panel">

<div class="character-page_heading">
Rune
</div>

<div class="character-page_quote">Our little lives are kept in equipoise<br>By opposite attractions and desires;<br>The struggle of the instinct that enjoys,<br>And the more noble instinct that aspires.</div>

<div class="character-page_section">
== The Man ==
You can uphold your OOC masquerade or you can gallagher that shit and tell the world that you're secretly the evil Dr. Tzimisce. We don't care. Just don't out other people who haven't outed themselves.

== The ... Legend? ==

Noah was born in 1991, and lost his parents young -- his dad was a cop, killed in the line of duty. Mom to cancer a few years later. In and out of foster homes, life wasn't easy for the headstrong teenager always pushing the boundaries, bending rules to the breaking point, trying to find his own path in a world that barely made sense, full of mad correspondences and symbols only barely made out, much less made sense of.

The next part is exactly what one might expect. Boy meets boy. Boy follows boy out to the woods for a Beltane ritual, and gets high out of his mind, half lost to the throes of passion next to the fire -- and why not? It was his birthday, after all. But the symbols finally came to coherence, showing him a glimpse of the hidden truths of the world and the levers of metaphysical power.

Turns out that it was a Verbena rite, in a sense. Carefully constructed, divinations for this Awakening planned. Noah is inducted into the Verbena -- or something like it. Rune falls deeply into the practices, awed by the power, feeling a connection with the other apprentices, a mother-figure in the mentor, Cerridwen. A place of belonging, even if the magics are strange, ancient, and a bit bloody at times.

And he might have gone on being happy like that, sliding further down a hole he didn't realize he was sliding into. Until Cerridwen was outed as an Infernalist, leading young mages astray. Or maybe a Marauder, wrapped up in her own dangerous quiet. Rune isn't really sure. Nobody else is, either. (Diabolic Mentor)

What he *is* sure of is that his life dissolved overnight. Thunder, one of the other apprentices -- the boy he shared that night in the woods with during his awakening -- apparently already knew. He helped Cerridwen flee. The other apprentices? Well. They turned on each other in no time, each believing the lies that Cerridwen spun -- save for Rune, who hadn't had time to get that fully indoctrinated. Heartbroken, having lost lover and family both, he fled, attempting to stay one step ahead of the people he once would have given his life for. (Enemy, Old Flame)

Rune has always had a good sense of when to keep his head down and when to move. (Danger Sense) And it isn't hard for him to find allies willing to help, or just overlook the fact that he doesn't fit in entirely. (Friendly Face). But even he can only keep ahead of dedicated magi for so long.

The confrontation might have gone either way, really, both of the apprentices evenly matched, both of them wielding magics so close in power and technique that it was hard to tell who was casting what. It certainly made it hard for Coda to tell, given that he was tracking the other apprentice (Morrigan), but mistook Rune's magic for the target he was seeking. A mistake that almost cost both of them, had Coda not made the realization in time to deflect what might have been a crippling spell.

Morrigan was killed in the fight. And Rune? Rune was taken to the magical authorities for questioning. Weeks turned into months as they debated what to do. Here is this man, the apprentice of a known dangerous lunatic, and potentially a danger to all of them. But also young, and just barely past his initiation. Redeemable, and having committed no crime that anyone could prove. Some wanted his Avatar branded. Others wanted him banished. In the end, a comprmise was reached -- a mystic brand, but not on his avatar. On his flesh, in the middle of his back, resistant to methods meant to conceal it from Awakened eyes and simply reforming if removed through more -- manual techniques. A warning, of sorts -- a probationary mark, one that doesn't come with the stigmas of an Avatar branding, but carrying with it social stigmas all its own. Not a complete outcast from his tradition, but hard for him to find help until he proves himself. (Twisted Apprenticeship) The fact that nobody could accuse him of lying, or read poor intentions in him, helped, mistaking his quiet, curious nature and ability to remain small in the mind's eye for demure humility. (Poker Face, Inner Strength, Unobtrusive)

And yet he made a friend. Coda, the man who brought him in, having grown close in the weeks and months it took the Wise to make their decision. A man secretly tasked to keep an eye on the young mage as well. A secret probation officer. Together, the pair left New York behind, moving to the opposite coast -- and, naturally, announcing their presence formally to the Wise, warts and all, Rune even displaying the brand he was given.

Five years later, and Rune has made progress. Taking the name Rune for himself, a defiant mark embracing his puinishment and acknowledging one of the practices he is most skilled with (Symbols), he's managed to carve out a few Allies -- younger mages who don't know his story, or older mages who are sympathetic. yet everyone still risks censure and negative consequences by helping him more than is absolutely necessary. Yet he works tirelessly to redeem himself, offering his services wherever he can. A skilled investigator, he has proven himself a valuable asset among the wise -- when they deem him trustworthy enough to employ.

Ascension, the Sphinx, the warring ideologies of a thousand different cults full of men and women and Others who can literally live in their own reality, with no one to tell them boo? Sure, it's a great conversation. For someone else. Rune is by no means a novice, and has his own theories on how the world works. There's a little bit of truth in all of them, and nobody has the One True Right and Only Answer, no matter how much power they have. But by exploring the nature of the world, he gets closer -- and he's no slouch already, having been Awakened nearly a decade. And since he moved here, he hasn't even caused any trouble.

Ok. He hasn't caused *much* trouble. Tempers sometimes flare, and his curiosity has gotten the better of him on occasion, bending the rules almost to the breaking point in his pursuit of whatever piqued his curiosity.

Today, though, he acknowledges a simple truth -- that the world is pretty fucked. But maybe it's not too late to un-fuck it. And himself.

<h2 class="character-page_heading">
Contacts
</h2>
<div class="character-page_contact">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
'''[[Jimbo]]''' Jimbo's very OK.
</div>

<div class="character-page_contact">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
'''[[Jambo]]''' Jambo's not very OK.
</div>

<h2 class="character-page_heading">
Gallery
</h2>
<div class="character-page_gallery-set Row">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
</div>
<div class="character-page_gallery-set Row">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
</div>

</div>
</div>
<div class="character-page_panel">
<div class="character-page_section">
[[File:officer-bork-bork.jpg]]
{| width="100%" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"
|-
| class="left" | '''Name:'''
| Jane Doe
|-
| class="left" |'''Apparent Age:'''
| Young adult
|-
| class="left" | '''Nationality:'''
| English
|-
| class="left" | '''Nature:'''
| Conniver
|-
| class="left" | '''Demeanor:'''
| Autocrat

|}
</div>

<div class="character-page_heading">
Sick Tunes
</div>
<div class="character-page_quote">
:My daughter died in a rowboat
:And I never told anyone
:Until now!
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWIhM6T09g Trixie Mattel, My Daughter Died In A Rowboat]
</div>
<hr>
<div class="character-page_quote">
:My daughter died in a rowboat
:And I never told anyone
:Until now!
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWIhM6T09g Trixie Mattel, My Daughter Died In A Rowboat]
</div>
<hr>
<div class="character-page_quote">
:My daughter died in a rowboat
:And I never told anyone
:Until now!
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MWIhM6T09g Trixie Mattel, My Daughter Died In A Rowboat]
</div>

</div>
</div>
</div>

[[Category:Active Characters]]

Played Bys

2021-08-04T04:10:02Z

Rune:

If you are the sort of player to want to have your character look strangely like Chris Hemsworth, here's where you tell everybody that Chris Hemsworth is taken.

* '''[[Coda]]:''' Aarón Díaz
* '''[[Rune]]:''' Marlon Teixeira
* '''[[Tyler]]:''' Only Tyler may use sweaty thirst trap photos of Chris Hemsworth.
* '''[[Willow]]:''' Marina Laswick
* '''[[Winder|Sarah Anne Winder]]:''' Vera Brezhneva