Of old dead things.

Thirty years ago, when I was still a sleep walker, a great ritual was enacted.  I was not part of this ritual, nor do I fully understand what the ritual did, other than keep our city safe.  And it has remained relatively safe for thirty years... with a few annoyances along the way.

But I fear that safety ended today.

Because all those who took part in the ritual, save one, died today.  One died right in front of me.  No.  It appeared that his soul had been ripped from his body.

And what, young mage, do you think the difference between simply dying and having one's soul removed from one's body is?  If you think that they are the same, you are gravely mistaken.  When a body dies, the soul is released and, I hope and pray, goes to the Almighty.  And there are still links to the living world as well - friends, relatives, possessions.  But a soul ripped from one's body is not only murder, but it can be assumed that the one who has ripped the soul out of the body has possession of that soul, perhaps stuck in a soul jar or bound to serve the one who has taken the soul. 

Never do such a thing.

What should have been a day of celebration turned into a day of panic as everyone attempted to find out what, exactly, went wrong.  The term "chickens with their heads cut off" is an apt description.  (And if you've never seen a chicken with its head cut off, head to the Farm.)  It took time, but finally people began to talk, compare notes, and figure out what exactly happened.

It turns out, a political opponent of mine was involved and is now in self-exile, trying to keep an unexpected factor (a great deal of energy coming into his body) from leaking out, perhaps with explosive consequences!

Oh these young mages!  No respect for the bodies of their elders!  No respect for the bodies of their elders!  Not one prayer for them.  And, I will admit, in the excitement, I had forgotten to pray to God for mercy as well.

None the less, what happened has happened and that is all there is to it.    I gave Mel a blessing when she offered to watch over my opponent's home.

The deaths were not the only thing that had happened.  Our city has been home to several strange things - the Oppression being the least of them - but these things were beyond ordinary.

A woman with a split personality was discovered.  One personality was a sleeper, and the other, Awakened.  But apparently - for I was not involved in this until the end - her Awakening had gone wrong, and she wished to destroy all magic.  She wished to banish it away and block the gates to magic. 

Our leader was decisive in what to do in this situation.  Indeed, I doubt that everyone else in council understood just how decisive he was.  I heard this from our leader himself - so take this with a grain of salt young one - that when he decreed that the woman must die, everyone remained silent.  And there were no protests nor debate until after the decision had been made and the orders given.  The only reason I give this story a hint of creditability was when - after the orders were given - our leader came to where the woman was.  By chance, I was there.  And when he had told me the decree, and I had offered an alternative... The statement about not respecting one's elders held true in life as in death.

 All of this is interesting... but there was a discovery that goes beyond even what I had described.  Someone had found the remains of a Thing.  It appeared to be a Lizard Man, with weapons from the stone age!  Most of the Mysterium had been working on this, including dealing with the man who had discovered it.  I fear that I had misspoken when I said there was no need to destroy the corps.  (Three people yelling at me is more than what my hearing aid can take!)  Of course there was no need to destroy it!  But there was a need to hide it.  For now, the Myserium's food is in my freezer and the Lizard Man is in hers. 

I wonder if they will respect this old body any more than how the bodies of the ritualists were respected.

-SD

OOC: Other things that happened: minor mentoring of Marie Eve's character about life as a mage in general, and aspects of being a Guardian.

About this blog...

This blog belongs to a fictional character in a Mage the Awakening LARP game named Bram "Grandfather" Strachan.  The situations in this blog are not real.  The people in this blog are either not real, or are fictional representations of real people.  The things discussed in this blog have never happened in real life.

If anyone is interested in this larp, please see the Canada at Midnight website, or the Mind's Eye Society website.

It is meant to be read as an in-character journal.  I am assuming that the book will be read, some time after this character's death by a new member of the Guardians of the Veil.  As such, it will be filled with "grandfatherly" advice as well as outline the adventures that have occurred in the game.

With this warning out of the way, enjoy reading.