Dark Wysteria: Samantha Westmoreland

Canticle Van Darq

Storyteller
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
Posting Speed
  1. Multiple posts per day
  2. 1-3 posts per day
  3. One post per day
  4. 1-3 posts per week
  5. One post per week
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
  2. Adept
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Primarily Prefer Male
Genres
Fantasy and Fantasy Romance. Some Space Scifi.
[OOC This One-On-One is for @SGHawkins09 ]

The year is 2018... again. The future you saw was not so bright that you had to wear shades. However, to be outside you DID have to wear a hazmat suit. You and the others sometimes wondered if it would have been better to stay sleeping in the belly of the Woodbine somewhere beyond the Hedge for 300 years instead.

Luckily, your stay in the apocalyptic 24th century was brief. Lady Mariam Wyst performed the Great Revoking of all Fae contracts that bound Dark Wysteria to a myriad of protocols, policies, and stances with the Four Courts as well as the Far Courts in the mortal realm. Your association with Dark Wysteria was part of that cluster-fuck of Contracts, Pledges, and Agreements and suddenly you (and the others) were pulled violently back in time to pre-contract status. The rescinding Fae power worked its magic to restore you all, fighting long and hard against millions of paradoxes, and eventually plunked everyone down in the year 2018. Frankly, most of you would have not cared if you hadn't been plunked back in New Wysteria in the year 2018. Anything other than the dim future of Wysteria in 2318 would have been better. Maybe.

Nonetheless, you are home. Mostly. However, this timeline is NOT the original timeline. The Fae Contracts went back hundreds upon hundreds of years in the past and when they were revoked, the entire timeline changed. New Wysteria has changed. Dark Wysteria has changed. Lady Rutharian Wyst (the original Wyst when you first came to Dark Wysteria) has changed. Some of those you knew are missing. Some of those you are encountering now weren't here before. This isn't the nightmare many would think it was, though. It's more of a game getting back into the New Wysteria v2.0, if you will. You've been handed a city full of puzzles and riddles and as an investigative reporter you are more than up to the challenge.

But speaking of changes, you have changed too. Dealing with Dark Wysteria and the Fae does that. It changes you. When you first came to New Wysteria in the old timeline under the magical pull of Dark Wysteria you were a mere mortal. But the supernatural power of the Wysterias began to remake you. You awoke. You felt the power of the Supernal. You awoke. You became a mage -- but a slightly tainted mage because your association with Dark Wysteria gave you extreme exposure to Fae magic. Your 300 years beyond the Hedge sleeping in the belly of a Woodbine saturated you with Fae magic. It didn't stop there, though, did it? In the future, you fell in with Inkers. Their magic intrigued you as much as the Inker you became friends with... close friends. And you became a greatly tainted mage as you embraced the Inker magic and began receiving your first magical tattoos.

So here you are... back in Dark Wysteria in the year 2018. You are reclaiming what you previously had in the old timeline. Three hundred years came and then were rescinded. Three hundred years later and you're still in the same decade. Try to wrap your head around that. Or don't. Regardless, you are back at the Dark Wysteria estate. You are settled into your suite and Margo, Chakra, Grady, and Bronson are settled into theirs. Simone is with Bendigo. Joshua appears to be with the Raggedy Man. Everyone you can account for appears to be in their proper places except for Hunter and Jack Hastings who have not checked in yet.

No matter. It's time to move forward. With your Fae affinity, your ever-expanding Supernal knowledge and powers, and your Inker tattoo magic abilities you have both magical feet planted firmly on the ground and the re-acquisition of the Wysterias will be a sparkly cake walk. Or, will it...?

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Dark Wysteria
 
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It had been a long day. You spent a lot of time running around with your fellow team members attempting to reconnect with known allies and discovering what all had changed in New Wysteria.

One of those who had been an ally in the old timeline was still an ally in the new timeline, albeit one with a broken relationship. Officer Penny Potts, Changeling and superb Investigator. In the old timeline she had become the Records Analysis Expert for Precinct #13; working first under Captain Omyr until his untimely murder and then under Captain Hunter. In the old timeline, Officer Potts had extreme respect for Dark Wysteria and a begrudging respect for Officer Hunter and his Dark Wysteria-assigned team. In this timeline, Officer Potts is now Captain Potts in charge of Precinct #13. Although she still has extreme respect for Dark Wysteria, she knew none of you until you walked into her office with not only a Dark Wysteria recommendation but a high recommendation from Police Commissioner Brown, too.

The recommendations were more than enough to acquire complete cooperation with Captain Potts and her Precinct -- she's always been a stickler for following rules and regulations. However, Penny Potts has a Curiosity that can never be sated. When you called her and asked to meet with her to answer some of her questions, she was more than happy to do so. She agreed to meet you after work to talk about "things". So you met at Froster's.

Froster was part of the whole time travel / timeline swap thing and remembered you through the entire centuries-spanning incident thanks to the Fae magic provided by Siabra. It was only natural that the two of you began a banter about the future past... or the past future... would it ever NOT be confusing? And the more Potts heard the more her Curiosity was prowling around Froster's Ice Cream Parlor and roaring for resolutions. By the end of the evening, you and Potts were well on your way to becoming good friends and confidants.

You returned to your suite in Dark Wysteria exhausted but pleased with the productivity of the day. You were barely able to get out of your clothes and into bed before you began dropping into the blissful darkness of a good night's sleep. But... you didn't quite make it. Just before you fully drifted into actual sleep, you began to realize that you weren't drifting. You seemed to actually be dropping. You also seemed to be paralyzed. Laying there you realized that you were neither fully asleep nor fully awake. A soft droning sound began that became louder and louder. And then you began to hear chanting -- a deep nasal chanting. Instead of frightening you, however, it actually seemed to intrigue you in a weird surreal sort of way. However, that didn't stop you from still attempting to wake up or stop falling.

Eventually, a loud sound like a slamming door seemed to break the trance you were in. The music and chanting faded away as if it had been blown away. You realized that there was some kind of netting around you. As you found the ability to move again and began tearing at the netting to break free you were suddenly spun over and dropped to the ground. As you quickly looked up, you saw something like a hammock shimmer and fade away above you.

Dazed you began to look around. You were laying on a grassy knoll in the center of clearing. It seemed to be late morning, but... the sun seemed significantly larger yet dimmer then normal. And rising above the tall redwoods that encircled the clearing was a moon that also seemed larger than it should... and it was a pale green. Fluffy cotton ball clouds drifted in front of the sun and moon driven by a balmy pleasant breeze. At the bottom of the knoll was a cobblestone pathway that ran across the length of the clearing, disappearing into the trees on each side. A second cobblestone path led out from the main path at the foot of the knoll and curved off into a different part of the forest.

Where the two paths met two young women stood staring up at you. They looked to be about your height and practically identical to each other except that one had long blue hair and the other short black hair with blueish tips. Both girls had unnatural snow-white skin and blue lips and wore identical white dresses with blue and white stripped knee-high socks. Their shoes resembled hush puppies painted with metallic blue paint. Apparently surprised and startled by your sudden loud appearance, they grabbed each other's hand and ran as fast as they could down the second pathway disappearing into the forest before you could react.

You don't know where you are. You don't know how you have gotten here. But one thing you do know as your hands press into the grass and you feel the faint heat of the dim sun on your face and the breeze tugging at your pajamas... you are awake and this is real.

[OOC You rolled a 2 for perception at our preparation session.]

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Dark Wysteria
 
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Samantha mumbles under her breath “Damn Fae shit. Good thing I don’t sleep in the nude.” She walks down to the pathway and then calls out, “Hello! Anyone there?”
 
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Your call went unanswered -- not that you expected much. The two girls had disappeared to what you decided to call "the South" since you had no real point of reference other than a very suspect sun and moon.

Looking South, then, over the thick woods that swallowed the cobblestone path as it approached, the sky looked an odd shade of sea-green instead of sensible blue. Surreal clouds in the sky seemed to glow and shimmer with a light all their own.

To the (possible) East the cobblestone path that basically cut this large clearing in half also disappeared into the thick wall of trees. Towards this direction, the sky seemed to be a pale golden color. The clouds towards the East were silvery with tinged bronze highlights from the off-color sun.

To the (probable) West the sky was Indigo as if the evening had decided to dwell there and no place else. Clouds were nonexistent to the West, or so it seemed. The cobblestone path rolled into the dark forest and disappeared. Your attention was drawn to a brief flash of copper light by a tree near where the cobblestone path became lost in shadow. A man stood there, leaning against the tree smoking a pipe. Something on his head had caused the brief flash of light. He was watching you.
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Dark Wysteria
 
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Samantha starts cautiously walking towards the man, making sure to stay on the path and keeps an eye out for anyone or anything else. When she gets to about ten feet from him, she stops and asks, “Come here often?”
 
A look of pleasant surprise passes over the man. He laughs, "Brilliant! Most Dreamers coming here for the first time can only whine and ask incoherent questions." He pauses and steps away from the tree brushing things off his shoulder and rump.

He looks towards the rim of the forest where the path leads that the two girls took. "Each of the factions usually send runners out to 'guide' the new Dreamers to a focus point. I don't know why those of the Fae keep sending Flow and Flux. They think if they look all mysterious and run off that you'll follow them -- like Alice did with the White Rabbit. But no one ever does."

He stops and looks at you, "I'm sorry... the name's Palmer. I'm an Inker... who woke up one day... got curious and also started meddling with Fae lore and such. And now my soul is out of balance and conflicted. That's all I'm allowed to tell you about myself right now. Sorry."

He points, "Where Flow and Flux came in are those who can help you with understanding more of your relationship to the Fae and Fae magic."

Over there...", he points towards the opposite end of the path that Flow and Flux took, "that's where you will find the 'enlightened' who can help you with understanding of yourself and your 'position' within the Supernal."

"And here...", he jabs a thumb over his shoulder to the path leading into the forest behind him, "you can find people who can help you with understanding why you might be having issues with the ways of the Inkers."

"As to the who, what, when, where, why, and how of you being in Dreamtime; unfortunately, you must discuss that with one of the prophets you will find at the end of each of these paths. Me, and silly Flow and Flux -- if they did their job right, are just here to point you in the right direction." As he finishes speaking, he pulls down the sunglasses he had perched on his head, pulls a vape stick out of his pocket, and settles back against the tree."

You are not sure whether he expects you to go down the path behind him, choose a different path, ask him questions (which he may or may not answer), or maybe he's just waiting for the next new Dreamer to arrive in Dreamtime.
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Dark Wysteria
 
Samantha walks up closer. “Yeah, I am not the whining, incoherent questions type. Besides this is nothing compared to waking up 300 years in the future. I am Samantha, but maybe you know that already. Apostate Mage with Fae influence who just started dabbling with Inker magic."

“So, my choices are the Fae, the Supernal, and the Inkers. What if I just want to walk back up that hill, wake up, and not return? Yeah, probably not an option. So, the Fae, yeah right, like I really wanted to deal with more Fae after the last few days I have had. The Supernal I notice did not send a runner, don’t really want to deal with them now either. That leaves the Inkers and while I did not think I was having issues with Inker magic, it would be interesting to see if anything has changed from what I was taught. I guess I have my direction and onward I go but quick question before I head off. Is all this supposed to be kept secret or may I discuss it with others in the waking world?”
 
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Palmer laughs, "And... THAT is why you are here. You are an apostate Mage, and an Inker... and Fae-touched. And you are right about just going back and sitting on the hill until you wake up. However, you would be wrong about never coming back. Once you come here, you will keep returning. So don't bother. As for talking about it in your waking moments, I won't answer that for you. I don't want to misspeak. That's a question you need to ask one of the Prophets. Either Himabindu or Nicola -- they'll both be at the end of this path." He gives you one final smile and then settles back, sucking on his vape stick and gazing towards the top of the hill.

[OOC Please do a wits and composure roll when you end your next reply.]
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Dark Wysteria
 
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W&C: 3

“Well, I guess it’s off to see the Wizard. See you around Glinda.” Samantha starts down the path to the Inkers, whistling “follow the yellow brick road” as she goes.
 
Your walk through the forest is actually very pleasant. Although the path curves back and forth between large trees and copses, rises up over small hillocks and descends down where the ground has formed shallow sunken bowls; overall the path is smooth and easy to walk. From time to time beams of sunlight make it past the thick leafy canopy above. Where the sun hits the undergrowth, you note that the leaves and flowers it falls upon are the colors you have come to associate with tattoo inks.

Eventually the forest ends and the path descends onto a sandy beach that holds back the continuous onslaught of gray-green frothy waves created by an ocean that frankly looks a little bored.

To your left is a cluster of metallic ruins covered with graffiti and rising up out of the sand. A group of people seem to be gathered around one of the metallic structures. To your right at a somewhat further distance is an odd tower-like building. You can see a few people standing on the balconies talking and smoking.
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Dark Wysteria
 
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Samantha will head to the left and the group of people gathered there. When she gets close enough to hear what they are discussing, if anything, she will stop and listen for a bit.
 
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You approach the metallic structures. A small group of about fifteen or so people stand around one of the structures that appears to be a sort of balcony or pulpit, if you will. You can tell that these must be Inkers because those you can see have tattoos covering their arms, chests (where exposed), and in some cases their faces.

On the balcony, a man looks down on the crowd. While his face only has one or two tattoos, his hands are covered in tattoos as is his arms going up as far as his rolled up sleeves reveal. His steel-gray eyes, his serene smile, and purposeful stance indicate a man who is well-balanced. He has just finished speaking as you walk up.

One of the women in the group speaks to him, calling up in a clear voice. "And that is something I do not understand. I try so hard and yet my tattoos do not channel the power as I expect them to. The symbolism doesn't seem to work for me as I have witnessed it manifested in others."

A man standing a few people away from her calls out supporting her question. "Nor for me, Prophet Nicola! What are we doing wrong? Or are we just not true Inkers?"

Some of the people gasp and you can hear many remarks such as "Oh, no!" ot "You are too harsh on yourself, my friend!"

The man in the "pulpit", the Prophet Nicola? He ducks his head briefly --a bemused, friendly smile plays across his face. As he begins to speak, you notice that he has a definite accent that is somehow familiar to you.

"My brother. There are only Inkers and Non-Inkers. If you are an Inker at all, then you are a true Inker -- each and every one of you.

To understand why our Inker magic might not be as strong as we feel it should be, we must look into what an Inker tattoo represents. Our tattoos represent our grasp of, and affinity for, particular concepts. Our spirits have the ability to focus these concepts through our Inker tattoo constructs to produce magics -- great magics. The key thing to understand is that it is OUR grasp of, and affinity for, a particular concept and its construct -- not what others think and feel.

For instance, an emerald-green four-leaf clover is considered very lucky by many countries such as Canada, the US, and the UK. But is it actually considered lucky by any of you? Any one? Probably not. I mean... how many of you have ever actually found a four-leaf clover? How would you know what luck it generates? If you have no practical association with that symbol in real life it's not going to have much power for you in spirit when you place it as an Inker tattoo construct on your body."

"Look at this." The Prophet reaches up and pulls the neckline of his sweater down exposing the tattoos on his chest. He points to a vivid purple dahlia with bright golden yellow leaves and stem.

"My Grandmother was in an horrific accident. The doctor said that she was probably not going to survive. My Dad and I went to the Hospital and sat with her -- not planning to leave until she was out of danger or had, indeed, succumbed. I had brought her a bouquet of purple double-dahlias. They were her favorite flower. As we sat there, at one point she opened her eyes briefly, saw the flowers, and began to cry. I took one and placed it in her hand. We patted her hand and comforted her and eventually she went back to sleep. To the doctor's amazement, shortly thereafter her vital signs began to steadily improve. Many, many hours later the doctor made the determination that she was going to make it against all odds and despite his earlier indication that she surely would not.

The purple dahlia became MY personal luck symbol, and so I had a Inker tattoo placed over my heart to represent it. The golden yellow is because on the day we took my Grandmother home was the day she would have celebrated her golden anniversary with my Grandfather, had he still been alive that day. It seemed fitting that golden yellow be used in the Inker tattoo to also represent luck. And I placed it over my heart as a reminder of how luck and love helped save my Grandmother.

If you have an Inker tattoo created that represents other people's idea of a concept, your Inker magic is going to be weak. Have Inker tattoos created that are unique to YOUR personal concepts and spirit!"

When the Prophet Nicola finishes, the people all call out, thanking him for his insight. Some begin earnestly talking to each other and pointing to various tattoos on each others arms, face, or chest. The Prophet Nicola hears some of the conversations and nods in agreement as many of the group begin to draw personal conclusions as to how to improve their tattoos.

As the discussions continue, the Prophet Nicola looks up and sees you standing there. He very gently touches a tattoo located next to his left eye and his face lights up. "Sister! Welcome! Everyone, look! A new Sister is joining... I believe this may very well be her first Dreamtime!" He leaps down from the platform and walks towards you. The crowd turns toward you and some begin to clap while others call out "Hello" to you and motion you over.

He stops at the edge of where the people were gathered, as if he does not wish to feel threatening to you. "In my waking moments, I am Nicola Durzovich -- currently living in Switzerland. Here, in Dreamtime, they call me the Prophet Nicola. I and those you see here are Inkers just like you -- your brothers and sisters. We all are traveling the same road as you; yet each in our own way and at our own speed."

He pauses noting your hesitation and slight look of distrust. "Sister, you are here because the "you" that is an Inker is conflicted. So here you are although some day you might come here simply because you wish to as I do. Each of us...", he gestures around him, "... each of us and I especially can help you be less conflicted and maybe not conflicted at all."

He hesitates very briefly before adding "Or, if you would prefer, the Prophetess HimaBindu may also guide you. She spends most of her time here in Ostheim." He nods towards the large building you see in the distance.
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Dark Wysteria
 
“Personally, I would not say I am conflicted more that I am . . .” Samantha thinks for a moment. “Damn, can’t think of the word. Let’s just say I was just starting to learn about Inker magic when everything abruptly changed. Since then I have been too busy dealing with problems that belong in the past to think about anything else. I guess that is part of why I came here first instead of going to the others. Besides the Inkers made a better first impression.”
 
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"Well, there might be a personal truth in what you say" he responds, "for it is often the magicks that are conflicted -- not the person."

He studies you for a minute as if he is reading your soul. Then he suggests "It may be that the conflict is that all the magic you have begun to embrace is... too new? Fae, Supernal, Ink, and a number of other supernatural magicks are overwhelming when first embraced. But multiple magicks in a relative short time? Pandemonium!

And that is why you are here in Dreamtime. Your subconscious is raising red flags. If you are to be balanced, then you must decide for each of the magicks just how far you will go with them. Draw a line in the sand, so to speak. Resist any other alternative. That is how you will achieve and maintain balance. And Dreamtime is just the place for you to get the extra guidance you may need to do this."

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Dark Wysteria
 
“Ah, that makes more sense. In my experience Mages and Fae are not the most cooperative types so it would reason their magics are the same. Pandemonium definitely sums up my life in recent years. It seems like each time I have thought I was settled, my whole world gets uprooted. I spent the most time actively learning about Supernal magic but even that was informal. Surprisingly due to the amount of time I have been affected by it, I still know very little about Fae magic. And I thought I had found a home likeminded others, those that embrace all types of magic including the Inkers, when that community was lost to me and I have not had the time to see if exists now.”
 
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" 'If it exists now'... a curious phrase. ... Intriguing... In the Waking World, in our time, there is a community of many who accept and embrace those of a myriad different systems of magic even now. They are scattered all over the globe in small groups -- having only really materialized within the last few decades."

The Prophet reaches underneath the collar of his shirt and rubs his shoulder in the manner that you recognize as invoking a tattoo. When he pulls his hand out, it is glowing with a deep violet light and he traces a complex pattern of purple in the air. "This is a symbol of the union that now exists. I cannot tell you where in your city they may be -- if they are even in your city yet. But that is how you may find them."

You memorize the pattern. You see a part that is obviously Supernal as well as the Inker's symbol and what is probably Fae all intertwined with other symbols. The only other symbol that you recognize for sure is a cross, which both surprises you and amuses you. Religion in bed with supernatural magics? Won't Margo have a conniption!

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Dark Wysteria
 
“Yeah, my past is complicated but it’s nice to know that a piece of it that was good survived. As I would like to track them down, I will probably need help. Am I able to discuss my time here with others in the Waking World?”
 
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Without hesitation, the Prophet assures you that Dreamtime was a mystery, but not too much of a secret among supernaturals, "By all means, although few have experienced it. There are also different Dreamtimes for different peoples and conflicts."

Putting his hands together in front of him as if in prayer, he smiles and bows his head towards you. "I believe that the Prophetess can counsel you better than I. Her wisdom, in fact, surpasses mine in many things."

You feel a gentle breeze buffet you and a feeling of physical movement and suddenly find yourself standing on the raised patio in front of the odd jumbled tower you had noticed when you first came out of the woods. Ostheim, is the name you remember him giving it. You notice that there doesn't seem to be any doorways into the large building -- at least not off of the patio. The only entrance you note is a doorway letting out onto a balcony on the floor above you.

You think to yourself, "I wish he had at least put me near a door." only to immediately discover that you are now standing in front of the door on the balcony. "Oh, right." you finish your thought, "It's Dreamtime." And you realize that all along, this "dream" has been lucid and you can control many aspects of it.

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Dark Wysteria
 
Samantha quietly opens the door and cautiously steps through. Once through, she pauses for a moment to adjust to the interior and listen for any nearby conversations. While it is Dreamtime, it doesn't hurt to be cautious.
 
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Stepping through the door, you enter a fairly large foyer which also seems to be doubling as a lounge. Scattered around the foyer haphazardly are many sofas and chairs and there are about a dozen or so people sitting or standing each of them engaged in conversation in groups of two or three. You hear many different languages and note that the dress code for the room seems to be quite culturally diverse.

A young woman dressed in blue jeans and tank-top with long black hair cascading down over her bare shoulders stands just a few feet away from you engaged in a conversation with a tall black man dressed in military garb from a country you do not recognize. Upon noticing you, the woman turns to you and says "Salut! Je m'appelle Yvette. Tu as l'air perdu."

The man smiles and adds "Na jina langu ni Veramu. Habari yako?".

At that moment, you realize two things. The woman is speaking French, although you don't know what language the man is speaking. However, you understood exactly what each was saying. You were starting to understand Dreamtime more and more.

She had said to you "Hi! My name is Yvette. You look lost."

And the man had added "And my name is Veram. How are you?"
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Dark Wysteria