Spoken like a student of Entropy

Sasha Black

The weather in Morrison was summer-warm and breezy. Above the Chantry house, the sky stretched out in a blanket of veiled blue with just enough cloud-cover to block the worst of the early evening sun. Annie was in the kitchen working on something for dinner, while Leah lay stretched out on her bed with an open book. One could not really blame Alexander for feeling as though he might be intruding. It was, after all, their home (at least so long as they chose to remain.) The property had traces of their resonance in it, and anyone entering the long, winding driveway, would feel the touch of Sasha's protective Ban - the illusive whispering of her Will ghosting over the minds of all who entered the property. But Alex had nothing to fear from that protective measure. Hopefully, none of the mages ever would.

As for Sasha herself, she was sitting out back beside the node, eyes closed and legs folded into a lotus position. She was dressed in jeans and a pale blue button-down with rolled sleeves (the same clothes she'd worn to work,) but her feet were bare and her hair was left loose. The kind of work she did, one could understand the need for a bit of meditation at the end of the day.

Alexander Brandt

[Awareness?]

Dice: 4 d10 TN6 (1, 6, 6, 9) ( success x 3 )

Alexander Brandt

In truth, this is the first time that Alexander has really ventured up to the house since Annie, Sasha and Leah had arrived. He hadn’t known any of them from the time that some of them had been in the city before. Had there been any kind of history, then he’d have been much more likely to stop by. But it just seemed too awkard to randomly appear, unannounced, and say hi. Given the Awakened propensity to just randomly bump into each other, it hadn’t seemed like any great hardship in staying away. He certainly hadn’t missed the library. The fourth, always present, occupier of the land? Ok, maybe he’d missed watching her. Not that she’d ever shown much interest in return.

But back to the present. There had been an invitation extended and accepted. There were things to talk about, in places more suited to such conversations than a relatively open shooting range. Somewhere without CCTV coverage and the recently increased risk of someone watching. The peace of the evening is temporarily broken by the arrival of a motorbike. Something sporty, with a powerful engine, judging by the sound. It pulls up onto the driveway, parking to the side to let others in and out if they need to pass by. The engine sound dies away and a man, masked in leathers and helmet, swings a leg off. The helmet comes off quickly, as do the gloves, and the jacket is unzipped to reveal a tshirt underneath. It’s far too hot to stay wrapped up without the air flow of a fast ride to act as air conditioning.

Alexander is pretty sensitive to things this evening. Two unfamiliar resonances linger over the house, their sources inside. The one he’s encountered before, though, is around the back. Rather than passing through the house, he follows the side of the building round to the back. Finding Sasha occupied, he finishes shrugging out of his jacket, quietly setting it on the ground along with the helmet. He keeps his distance until she notices that he’s there. Others had found that he wasn’t always the best of people to sneak up on. He respects that Sasha may be another.

Sasha Black

[Awareness]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6) ( success x 1 )

Sasha Black

[Alertness]

Dice: 6 d10 TN6 (3, 3, 4, 6, 7, 7) ( success x 3 )

Sasha Black

It took a few moments for Sasha to react to Alexander's presence. If either of the others noticed he'd arrived (likely they heard the sound of his bike,) they didn't appear to check on him. This place may have been their home, but in many ways it still belonged to everyone. There was the node; the library... resources that had been freely offered to all who needed them. More than that, they needed a safe place to call their own. Perhaps Annie would wander out later to say hello, but for now Alexander's presence seemed neither unwelcome or especially remarkable. People came and went, here. Sometimes they stopped to be sociable. Sometimes they didn't.

As Alex hovered in the periphery of her awareness, Sasha opened her eyes and turned to look at him. Her smile was a little tired, but no less genuine for that. Slowly, she unfolded her legs and got to her feet, pacing toward him through the grass. "I had a feeling you might come today. The wind was telling me not to fall asleep." There was an edge of wry humor to her voice, so perhaps she was joking - though it was difficult to tell.

Alexander Brandt

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything. I wasn’t sure when would be a good time to swing by.” Now that Alexander had been noticed and recognised – hopefully as something other than a threat, but then would a threat have passed through the defences of the house with as little attention as he’d garnered – he moves a little closer to Sasha and the node. “I guess all the small talk about the house is a bit redundant, given that I’d spent time here before you guys came back into town.” He smiles, hopefully adding a little humour and warmth into the statement. It was intended as a joke, if not a particularly good one.

Alexander cocked his head a little, trying to work out how serious Sasha was being about the wind. “You almost sound like a Dreamspeaker. Not that I have a massive amount of experience with them. Were you really listening to it?”

Sasha Black

Alexander's admission didn't seem to phase Sasha. She laughed at his question, though for more reasons than he would likely suspect. "In a way. Fate reveals itself through many mediums. But no... not the way that you mean. At least not today." Sasha stretched her arms up and ran her fingers back slowly through her hair, brushing it behind her ears.

"Not all Natives are Dreamspeakers. Occasionally one of us breaks ranks. Though I do respect them - spiritual connections are important. As for the house... I figured you had. But one works with what one has when trying to speak in code." Sasha smirked at that. "Here, let's sit." She gestured toward the patio chairs nearby, heading across the grass. When she reached her destination, she plopped down into one of the chairs and let out a long sigh. Looking out across the back yard, the land stretched out in a verdant blanket of grass and wildflowers and carefully tended gardens. In the middle of it all lay the spring, this calming beacon of rejuvenating energy. It really was a beautiful sight.

"I'm with the Chakravanti. More commonly know as the Euthanatos."

Alexander Brandt

“Oh, I didn’t mean... I wasn’t assuming that you were because of that. I meant that it’s not a common thing for people to talk about listening to the wind. Usually it’s just something to be ignored or put up with.” Alexander shrugs, smiling again. “Worship the kitchen mop as the ruler of all creation if you like. Although I might start backing away slowly if you do. There are limits before the weirdness starts getting a little too weird.”

Alexander joins Sasha, pulling a chair away from the table and angling it to look out at the land while keeping a reasonable angle with Sasha to maintain the conversation. He sits carefully, leaning back and relaxing into the chair. There’s a sigh as he starts to relax, the magic and the Magick of the location and the view weaving its effect.

He looks puzzled for a moment, when Sasha gives her allegiance to the Chakravanti. It’s not a name he’s familiar with. The puzzlement passes, though, as the more common name is given. “Ahh, I’ve heard of you. But I’ve spent even less time with your Tradition than I have with Dreamspeakers. There was one in town – Eleanor – that I only met once. It wasn’t exactly a great time for long introductions and explanations and handing out of pamphlets. I haven’t run into her again since. I don’t even know if she’s still in the city, to be honest. So many of us just fade away without much of a trace.” There’s a sadness in that last sentence. He’d often wondered what had happened to some of those who had passed through the city. Where they were now, whether or not they were ok.

Sasha Black

Alexander's rush to clarify his assumption (that it wasn't based on the color of her skin) resulted in a low, tumbling laugh from Sasha - though for what it was worth, she didn't seem offended.

There are limits before the weirdness starts getting a little too weird.

"Oh, I've seen far weirder things than that."

But whatever bizarre stories she might have buried in her memory, she seemed inclined to keep them to herself for now. The two of them watched the wind trace a path over the flower garden, bending stalks and rustling leaves. The bright orange blossom of a tiger lily bobbed back and forth in its wake.

When Alexander mentioned Eleanor, there didn't seem to be any flash of recognition in Sasha's eyes.

"Life gets easier when you learn how to let things go," Sasha offered, quietly. "People. Places. All things end. Doesn't make what you have with them any less meaningful. More, I would say." Her expression here was gentle - registering some measure of empathy. "You mentioned that the Traditions haven't appealed to you. Why is that?"

Alexander Brandt

Oh, I’ve seen weirder things than that.

There’s a quiet chuckle of agreement. “If we had any to hand, I’d drink to that. If you’d told me 18 months ago that I’d be dealing with half the stuff that’s come along since I woke up, I’d have thought you were insane.” He closes his eyes for a few moments as the breeze streams over them, enjoying the feeling of the warm air.

The smile returns to his lips, although tinged with wistfulness rather than humour. “Oh, I don’t pine for them or wish we were all back in the good old days. Assuming that there really are such things. I just wonder how they are and what they’re doing. I like to think of them happy and well, wherever they’ve ended up. We’ll meet again, some day. We all sleep in the same river in the end.” Warmth, and more certainty that might be expected from someone so new to the Awakened life, reinforce the last sentence. But when you’ve seen the river and the spirits sleeping in it, and those who tend to them? That tends to make you believe.

Why is that?

“Maybe I just haven’t met the right Tradition yet. Or the right member, anyway. I don’t get the way that the VA’s work. I couldn’t work out what the only Etherite I’ve met was saying most of the time. I don’t believe that we’re here because of an all-powerful being, or that anything remotely resembling God exists, so I think that pretty much rules out the Chorus. Despite Kalen’s efforts to persuade me that I’d fit in with his ideal image of the Order, I have no intention of being seen as something less than I am just because I woke up without them.” Alexander counts off the Traditions on his fingers as he runs through them. “I know there are other versions of Cultists than the drug-clouded junkies, but I’ve yet to meet one. I don’t think I’ve met an Akashic to speak to, which pretty much sums up my knowledge of the Euthanatos too. I don’t know enough about the Verbena either, but I think that might come back to not believing in deities.” He pauses, thinking. “Have I missed any?

So it’s not exactly that I’ve chosen not to sign up. More that I’m not doing too badly without signing up to something that doesn’t sit right, just for the sake of joining. It might happen one day. Or it might not.” There’s another shrug. “Whatever happens, happens.”

Sasha Black

Whatever happens, happens.

"Mm.." Sasha smiled. "Spoken like a student of Entropy."

She resettled a little in her chair, lengthening her spine as she shifted to give Alex her full attention. "The Verbena are an interesting bunch. There's more variation among them than I think most people realize. But I'll admit... I have a hard time picturing you dancing naked by firelight. Though I hardly know you, so perhaps you'll surprise me." She paused to consider something for a moment. "The Akashics and the Euthanatos are not exactly the best of friends, so I may not be the best source of unbiased opinion where they're concerned. But if you like discipline, reflection and asceticism... they have a lot to teach. If you're attuned to the spirit world, the Dreamspeakers might be a good fit. Personally I've... always found their outlook a bit too narrow. Does it really matter if this world is a dream? Life, Spirits, Old Gods, Technology..."

Sasha shrugged. "It's all true, in its way. And we're all part of something much bigger than we are. The Great Wheel doesn't distinguish between humans and spirits." She smiled. "I promise I'm not trying to convert you. My Tradition isn't for the faint of heart. You join if you're called to it. Anyone else... they wouldn't last."

Alexander Brandt

Spoken like a true student of Entropy.

“Funny you should say that. I think that was the first aspect of magic that I had the misfortune to meet. Unless you count a completely screwed up dream that might have been my Avatar making its presence known.” Alexander shifts in his own chair, sliding down a little more so that the back of his head rests on the top of the chair back. It may only be the second time that he’s met Sasha, and maybe the surroundings are having more of an effect on him than he realises, but he’s relaxing. It’s good to get to talk to someone else about these things, especially the ones where he just doesn’t know enough one way or another to decide.

There’s a laugh, uncontrolled for a moment, before he settles back again. “No. I don’t think I’ll be dancing around fires like that. Not unless heroic amounts of alcohol are involved first, and probably not even then. “ There’s another quiet chuckle before the humour fades. Alex settles again, looking out over the land behind the house. Idly wondering where Callisto is. Maybe later he’ll look. Not now, though.

“I don’t know. I don’t think this is a dream, but I think the Umbra and everything past it is just as real as the physical. But, then, I think that spirits and the living both deserve the same respect. I know that the Trads aren’t full of clones with the same beliefs, but does that push me away from fitting in with the ‘Speakers?

“Don’t worry, I didn’t think you were trying to get me to sign on. If anything, I am curious to know more about it so I can work out if it’s we’re likely to match up at all.”

You join if you’re called to it.

“Isn’t that why we carry the badge?”

Alexander turns his head a little to look at Sasha, considering her when he adds a question of his own. “Do you believe in fate?”

Sasha Black

Isn't that why we carry the badge?

Sasha tipped her head in acknowledgment. It was the kind of thing only another cop - a good one, anyway - would understand. When Alex asked her if she believed in fate, she laughed. The sound of it grew bright for a moment, almost exultant.

"Believe in it? I am fate's instrument."

Perhaps, in their way, the Chakravanti were not so different from the Chorus. Both believed they were in service of a vast cosmic force. But for Sasha, that force was no deity. No singular personified entity. It was the threads of time, chaos and destiny. The cycle of life, death and rebirth that powered all of existence.

"I suppose in its way, it's another kind of badge. You shouldn't call it misfortune - however your eyes were opened. Painful, perhaps. But here you are, Awake. It's who you were meant to be. That is not a misfortune." Sasha regarded Alex seriously for a moment, considering his request for further information.

"The Chakravanti are students of fate. We learn to listen to it, to see its threads and to help guide them. Death is a part of that. Sometimes for us, it's a big part. Too big, some might say. I do not entirely disagree with that. There comes a point where it takes its toll, no matter how strong you are. We are still alive, and too much death can turn the living into ghosts. But it's important work. It helps us understand the wheel, and our place on it. Are you afraid of death, Alexander?"

Alexander Brandt

“I don’t. Believe in fate, I mean. I don’t like the idea that there’s already some great cosmic plan for things. It just feels like that takes away any kind of meaningful choice. If something is fated to happen, does it really matter if someone tears the world apart to make sure it does or doesn’t happen? It’s seems like it’s giving up control, whether it’s because some god or other decided on it or because it’s just the way the universe happens to be headed.” There’s a sad smile, almost wistful. “Have I found another Tradition I don’t quite fit with, or are there others who don’t follow fate?”

Alex takes a breath, letting it out slowly. “I say misfortune, simply because the whole day was one massive run of Murphy’s Law. At least I think that’s the one that says if it can go wrong, it will do? Either way, I agree with some of what that. It is part of what got me here, and I wouldn’t wish any of my life away. The crap makes what we are just as much as the good.”

Are you afraid of death, Alexander?

This question gets a much longer pause than any of the others before there’s an answer. Time slices away, second by second, as he thinks. “There are so many ways to answer that one. I don’t fear the dead, I’ve seen more than enough bodies for that to be a problem. Do I fear dying? Honestly? I try not to think about it. I know it will come in the end, same as it does to everyone. But I don’t want to freeze up when it matters because I’m scared of it. I only hope that I'm fortunate enough for it to be quick and painless. Death, as in what happens after? That doesn’t scare me, but I know that I’ve got a lot to learn about what happens between the point of dying and the spirit finding its rest. I know that something of what we are carries on, though, so I guess I’m happier that death isn’t the end of everything.

“Does that answer your question at all?”

Sasha Black

"It does."

Sasha didn't seem disappointed (or offended) when Alexander voiced his opinions on fate. Perhaps he was right, and he had found another ideology that didn't quite fit.

"Not everyone calls it fate. It isn't quite so simple as a matter of predetermination. More of a principle of how the Tellurian functions. You say you don't believe in a cosmic plan... and yet you know you will die. Knowing that fate doesn't take away your ability to choose how you live." Sasha stood up from her chair, glancing back through the glass doors into the living room. Behind them, Annie was setting the table for dinner.

"Would you like to stay and eat with us?"

Alexander Brandt

“I know I will die, because even if nothing else happens my body will fail. We’re living longer than we used to, but in the end the body will wear out. Maybe this is getting into what we mean when we say the word, but that doesn’t strike me as fate. Sitting here, talking to you? I think that I’m here because of the choices I’ve made, because of the choices people around me made, and because of blind, random chance. I could have picked a time when you weren’t here, or I could have had a blow out, or the traffic could have held me up. I think there’s just so much... I dunno, chaos, I guess, that I’m not sure that I can see how ‘fated’ things ever come to happen. Or I may be getting too caught up on the idea that fate really is the same as predestination, but I’m having trouble separating the two.”

Would you like to stay and eat with us?

Alexander pushes up in the chair, sitting on it more properly than he was with his earlier slouching, and looks back through the glass of the doors to see Annie working. “I hadn’t realised that it was that late.” He considers, although it doesn’t take long. It still feels a little awkward, almost like intruding on a family. But he’d been invited, and it had been a long day.

“Does this kind of conversation sit up there with politics and religion for things never to talk about when there are spoons of vegetables that can be flung across the room?” He smiles as he speaks, not in any way seriously contemplating food fights. “Sure. If you can put up with an Orphan making the place look untidy, it’ll be good to meet the others.”

Sasha Black

"Oh, you can talk about whatever you like. We're not that waspy." Sasha grinned as she slid open the door, calling out to Annie. "I invited him in. I hope you made enough for four."

Annie seemed completely unphased by the information. "I made a stew. I think there's enough in there for eight." She glanced up and nodded to Alex, gesturing for the two of them to come inside. It wasn't long before Leah joined them, trotting down the stairs with a sleepy look in her eyes that melted away as soon as she looked at the food. Introductions were made all around, and the four of them sat down at the table to eat.

The evening passed, and Annie proved a generous host - if perhaps a bit rough around the edges. Her cooking was genuinely delicious, and there was both wine and beer for anyone who wanted them. Leah was mostly aloof through the conversation, occasionally injecting little barbs of opinion (as teenagers were wont to do.) All in all, it wasn't a bad way to spend an evening. Perhaps by the time Alex left, he might feel a little less awkward about returning.