Chapter I - Sword and Shield

Plot, scheme, devise, tinker and ruminate all you want in this forum. This space is chiefly reserved for any out-of-character discussions still pertaining to the game or storyline that might need to take place. If it fits the game but none of our characters, voice it here!
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IamLEAM1983
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Chapter I - Sword and Shield

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The year is 2025. Twelve years into the future and in a universe where things aren't quite the same as in ours, the world is in the early throes of a Transhumanist revolution and has already weathered through the biggest Eugenics-related trial and debate in its history, with the re-creation of ancient Wyldfae species through scientific means. Sentient, bipedal animals have lived among us since the dawn of time, and dragons, vampires and the Sidhe have all been mingling with the base strata of Humanity since the seventies. Throw in a healthy smattering of space aliens both landing in the eighteen-hundreds and more reaching us in the seventies, and you get some sort of idea of what to expect.

Hope is like a lot of other metropolises in this strange, Eldritch take on America and the world. People live in it, work in it, love and grow within its confines - and some die in it, too. On the surface, apart from near-future evolutions in technology, everything resembles what we're familiar with. Except, perhaps, the importance of dryads in areas where strong convergence points for arcane forces have justified protective measures being placed.

The world generates many resources we're familiar with, some of which are beginning to grow rarer. Fuel is growing more expensive, but cheaper, more environmentally friendly alternatives have surfaced. Food distribution is still plagued with the same problems we're familiar with. For eight billion people on the planet, only one billion is lucky enough to eat three meals a day and to receive a balanced diet. Excess is still a problem. War, crime, poverty and disease are all still problems - moreso now that cyborgs sometimes show contempt for their own nature and species, now that all vampires and dragons are held accountable - especially those among them who were happy enough pulling our strings in secret, up to a few decades ago. The longest-lived of all species all fear change, and mortals - especially humans - have proven their ability to provoke, harness and spur change. If anything, History isn't written by individuals blessed with an immunity to old age; it's still written by doggedly persistent people who are blessed if they live a hundred and twenty years on average.

The most powerful and precious resource of all has several names. In the Western world, most people have taken to calling it Mana. The Eastern world gives us Chi, tribal populations have their own inventive names for it. Some Native American tribes call it the World's Breath - and the scientific term is Via. Those imperceptible currents run through the earth and through us, through all living things, bringing magic into the world via its wielders - hence the name. Pull enough power from the world, channel it through you, and you become a mage - a relative immunity to time being just a few decades of gruelling work away. Your life becomes bolstered, you're preserved even as those around you grow old and die - but the mundanes, those without arcane power, have always had means to level the playing field...

A lucky few aren't quite mages or theriomorphs, but they've been born with a sliver of the World's Breath, coiled in their DNA strands. Time and stimulation often springs that dormant power loose, triggering the onset of mutations of either an unsurprising or downright wondrous nature. We used to call these Heroes or Demigods - but nowadays, we call them superheroes.

A universe like this is brimming with power, with potency for those with an agenda or simply an unrestrained appetite for control to claim. Unfortunately, there's things in all segments of society, all stratas and all levels of power, with the means and goals to tap into the Centennial Tree - Hope's crown jewel and its first and last line of defence against the misuse of its tremendous amount of occult potency. Some wish to claim it to protect the lesser beings in town, others have no such cares and only want to use it to save their skin. Others have grand plans for the world as a whole, and are foolish enough to think they alone hold the keys to peace and prosperity.

Others - quite simply don't care. Bringing the world to ruin is what they seek. Why? Because they aren't us. Because we hurt Them.

Regardless, the Tree is stirring to life autonomously for the first time since 1975's Battle of Hope. Nobody knows why; not even the eldest dryad in town. This is irregular, as the Tree's awakening typically served as a call to arms for all gifted individuals in town. Now, however, the call is unrestrained - unspecific. The city authorities aren't prepared for this, and the local criminals know it. Even the highest local echelons among Faerie are perplexed. Difficult years are ahead for the law-abiding ones, but profit stands to be made by anyone willing to bend the chaos, the fear, the mistrust and paranoia that's sure to follow to suit their needs.

So - what's out there? Why did the Tree wake up? With an entire mortal lifetime separating 1975's veterans and the new generations of peacekeeping officers, there's a gap to fill. Hundreds of people across the city will now awaken to their powers or to their nature as Mages - and fifty years is a long time. More than long enough to forget old reflexes, to remember that there's more to walking the beat in Hope than mundane crime.

If anything, Evergloam, Hope's sister city on the other side of the Nexus, is experiencing a mass exodus of its marine species as they all beach on the shores. New selkie arrivals in Mertown sometimes claim to have been driven to leave their ancestral home and come to America out of a deep-seated fear they can't explain. Belugas and baleen whales have beached on Pickman Sound's shores in the past four months. Marine biologists can't explain it.

What's troubling, however, is that War's horn has sounded in Heaven. He rode into the Kingdom not too long ago by angel time, telling of the Pit's denizens being seized by a great and terrible fear. One of their leaders, Leonard, has already taken steps to leave what suddenly seems like a cursed realm. Demons are, quite simply, abandoning the ship. Official word from Pandemonium says nothing other than the usual rash of possessions is to be expected - but something else is amiss. Leonard doesn't move randomly. All angels know this. All demons know this.

Something's coming. What, and how? Nobody knows. The first order of business, however, involves figuring out why some of the Commission's smallest units have been arranging for artifact thefts and deliveries from around the world. Private collections in Hope are booming, the practitioners are wondering why, and the paper trail is leading some investigators to assume that the least notable elements of Weasel Biggs, Sarvin and Jimmy Winters' respective outfits are being handsomely paid to carry out unassigned work...

What especially worries the HPD is that insofar, there's only so much gumshoes of either a Fae or mechanical nature can do, so much even the most well-meaning of all vampire DTs can accomplish. The stakes are getting higher, resources are getting tight, and Mayor Wallace Doherty is looking for a way out...

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This is, obviously, the first planning thread for the new iteration of Streets of Hope's serial role-play. If you've got any ideas or questions concerning that, feel free to voice them here.
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Karl the Mad
 

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Re: Chapter I - Sword and Shield

Post by Karl the Mad »

With the old general games put away, I'd like to keep Mary at least somewhat active. Is it possible she could at least get a cameo in the serial, sooner or later?
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IamLEAM1983
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Re: Chapter I - Sword and Shield

Post by IamLEAM1983 »

We're pretty much done, honestly. I'd consider myself ready for the Epilogue post, after which we'd just elude to the stuff that obviously will have happened between the two chapters. I think I few months could pass, so we could assume that Crystal and Archie actually started dating, for reference.
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TennyoCeres84
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Re: Chapter I - Sword and Shield

Post by TennyoCeres84 »

That works for me! Oh, could you look at Nami's bio and give me your opinion, please?
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