Panteni was the firstborn of a wealthy family living in a small village in the south of Spain.
His first years were the perfect live every child should have. He was surrounded by a
loving family, never pampered though he had everything he needed. Most of the time he
was a caring, gentle and lovable child. He was lively and polite, and his eyes always sparkled as if he knew a secret, that nobody else knew about. But at times he would have tantrums, the worst kind of tantrums. Sometimes triggered by a bit of pain, other times when he was treated unfair, but there were times (and these where the worst) at which nothing could be pointed out as a trigger. But his parents never worried, they would point out to other people that those were just some leftovers from the terrible two's.

By the year 2020, when he was just 7 years old, he had the worst tantrum of his life. An earthquake in the nearby village killed his grandmother, and as he heard the news he raged as he had never before. His mother saw ,for the first time, the pure hatred and vile that was in his eyes during these tantrums. Innocence and love seemed to have disappeard from his eyes, there was no sign of grief, no sign of humanity. Something inside of him had broken.

His mother didn't know what to do. Out of desperation she went to the Gipsy Queen, as no one could tell her what was wrong with her child. As soon as she walked into the chapel of Santa Maria, an old woman approached her. She told the mother to come with her to the chamber in the backroom of the chapel. She was told to sit down, and without any further interaction, the Queen started shuffling her tarot deck. As she layed out the cards her face started showing more and more signs of worry. She looked at the mother and said only: "get this child out of the country, no saint or God can cure him of the devil growing inside of him. Take him away, leave your family behind or you will both die. "

Her worries weren't taken away, but it couldn't possibly be as bad as the Gipsy Queen had said. She thought that it was just the Gipsy superstition and their religious views towards mental health. The more she thought about it on her way home, the more her worries slipped away. They were grieving, as was the rest of the family. But when she got home, something felt off. She aproached the half open door with an ice-cold knot in her stomach. And as she slowly opened the door, her youngest daughter came running towards her with teardrenched eyes. "mamá, something is wrong with Pan" and they both ran upstairs. She walked into the room, and in the middle of a ravaged bedroom sat Panteni. Almost as if he was meditating. He opened his eyes and with a voice that seemed to radiate peace he said to his mother: "Mamá, you know what to do".

And she did.

they left almost immediately, crossed the straight of Gibraltar and found a home in the City of Tetuan and tried to live a normal life. They had contact with their family back home and although things weren't ideal, Panteni didn't have a tantrum for may years. His mother even thought of going back home, but Panteni kept urging they should stay. And so they did.
Years of peaceful living, family members that would sometimes visit them, and Panteni going to school they heard more and more about civil unrest in the rest of the world. And then the CCD took over in Europe. In just a few years his father had lost everything they owned. They had to move out of Europe and they wanted to join Panteni and his mother. His mother was so happy the entire family would be reunited again albeit in poverty. Panteni seemed happy too and he got more and more excited with the idea of the entire family in one house once again. But the family never arrived. A week before he would turn 18 they heard the news: and entire boat filled with refugees had been swallowed by the sea.
Panteni exploded with anger and the demon seemed to have returned. He wreaked havoc in their small house, his mother was scared for her life and wanted to leave... she ran to the door. And as Panteni shouted: "Mamá, why are you leaving me as well?!" she fell to the floor. While her eyes filled up with tears of agony and pain, her spirit left her body.

This was the first time the terrible headache came upon him. He screamed as he never did before and collapsed to the floor, fainted.

He spend his 18th birhtday in an asylum. In the first weeks he had a terrible fever and the nurses took care of him as well as they could. His story wasn't the worst they'd heard in their workfield, so they weren't worried. All they knew was he had killed his mother in an act of rage. But as he seemed to be doing better and he opened his eyes more often they weren't so sure anymore. By the time the sickness had left completely, no nurse wanted to go near him. He could easily be treated, had no tantrums and was more apathic then anything else, but they all whispered the same "Shaitan is in his eyes". And when a doctor entered the room, with a huge feeling of unease, something in the eyes of the boy changed. He looked directly into the doctor's eyes and the doc had the feeling he should flee. As he took out a needle to give him his last shot before he would be send out to a juvi-prison the docter missed Panteni's vein and scraped the bone. Panteni screemed in pain and doctor dropped dead. The feeling of the sickness returned and he fainted, only to wake up tied down to a bed in a dark room. Here he would spend his 19th birthday, and his 20th.

but in that dark room something changed inside of him. He began to feel something... growing inside of him. Something pushing to come out. He started to believe the whispers about the devil inside of him. But then something happened, in a moment of clarity he understood. He was no devil, he was just special. That moment he decided not to be afraid of what was inside of him he tried to almost, catch that feeling. It didn't work. He got frustrated and kept trying. His frustration grew by the day and then came an almost magical moment. As his frustration changed into anger he was filled with power. He suddenly could see everything in his dark cell. He could see the tube going into his arm that fed him as he layed tied down in his bed. He could see another tube putting a strange transparent liquid into his arm. He could see clearly in the dark. And he felt a power surging through his body. And then, as anger made way for curiosity, the power was gone, the room was dark.

He started to get control of his anger and his power. He felt the power fighting back the medicine they gave him to cloud his mind. He started holding the power for longer times without really using it. But after a while, he would faint into a dreamless sleep. This cycle kept repeating itself. The medicine didn't have a grip on his mind anymore. His dreams returned and although he couldn't remember them, he felt they where important.

After having spend two years in complete darkness, there was one particular night something strange happened, he felt as if he wasn't dreaming, but knew he was asleep. He was lying on the bed and thought about how it was in the outside world. And suddenly, he was in the outside world. Still tight down to the bed he let his eyes explore the air. The sweet fresh and warm air filled his lungs. He hadn't sensed it in years, and his eyes filled with tears. He wanted more of the fresh air, wanted to fly through the air absorbing as much of the fresh air as he could. His bed took to the sky and he wondered... could he make the bed... and his bed was gone. For the first time in years he spread his arms, his legs and happiness overwhelmed him. He was free, and the devil that had been inside of him for all these years vanished for the first time. He soared through the air like a bird, filled with joy. He flew further and futher away. Where previously there had been a knot filled with anger, there now was a warm and soothing feeling. He flew to his old home in Tangiers, and when he came down... he noticed there were no people on the street. He flew higher again towards his village in spain. And when he got to the village, there was a large strange flag untop of city hall. He went on to his house and saw there were nothing but ruins... suddenly a hooded man appeared next to him. He only heard a whisper. "you shouldn't be here yet". He felt as if he was forced back into the chamber, locked up once again. And he woke up.

He tried going back every time he fell asleep. He couldn't. He tried to call upon his power. And he couldn't. And for the first time in his life, he felt lost. The medicine didn't have a grip on his mind anymore. Then grief struck. Never in his life had he felt sadness, and it overwhelmed him. Memories that had been pushed away by the medicine came back, he remembered his life more clearly than ever. And he just knew, that the power that had given him back his mind, had taken away his mother. The next year was filled with remorse, grief and the feeling of loss.
Another year passed and the doctors noticed the change inside of him. They were no longer filled with fright as they passed by his room. The monitors showed that he was still alive, he was still receiving medicine and that the feeding bot still gave him what he needed. But they also noticed something else, his bloodrate was low. His heart wasn't pounding anymore as it had been for years. The whispers started again. But for the first time in years they weren't about Patient S.(the name nurses had given Panteni). They where about a nurse. One nurse in particular.

Some nurses whispered the word "witch". Others the word "Saint". But most whispers where the rumors they'd heard about people with strange powers. Nurse Luna had worked in the asylum for almost a year and had only heard stories about Patient S. as they called him. Every patient in the asylum was doing better since she arrived. Every patient she nursed showed almost miraculous recovery. There was only one patient she wasn't allowed to see, Patient S.. She was aware of her influence as well, she couldn't really control it, but all she knew was it all happened after the sickness. Ever since she had known that she soothed and brought a feeling of peace to the people around her, she had worked here in the Asylum. She had the feeling she made this dark world a little bit better, and she wanted to help even the worst case this asylum had. Patient S. She awaited a good moment to go to him, and on the first nightwatch she was alone, she sneaked into solitary.

A bright light exploded in his eyes. Panteni didn't dare open his eyes again. He remembered what it was, he knew what it was. But his eyes just couldn't handle what suddenly struck them, the first ray of light that came into the room in years. And right at the moment the pain was at it's worse, he succumbed to a feeling of love.The agony had finally ended, he understood his grief, he understood his anger. He understand himself. And he understood the light. That light, was an angel.

She walked toward the room in the back. She whiped her pass and heard sound of the magnetic doors unlocking. She carefully opened the door, and as she saw the thin ray of light touching the face of patient S. he screamed in agony. She was a little bit scared but switched out the hallway lights and walked towards him. As soon as she touched him he calmed down. She was in complete darkness, but she had never felt safer in her life. And she just knew they looked each other in the eyes. She bend over and kissed him.

A sweet smell reached his nose, almost reminded him of home. He just knew he looked the angel in the eyes. And all he felt was the urge to kiss her. He reached up as much as his restraints would allow him to, and their lips touched each other.

They both didn't understand it, they didn't even know what the other one looked like. This Patient was different. She didn't feel the same darkness that was in the minds of the other patients. She only felt sadness and suffering inside of him. On that moment they knew they belonged together.

Panteni felt the restraints around him loosen up. This was no angel... this was a woman. His woman. Arms surrounded him and warmth overwhelmed him. Her arms lifted him up and put him in a wheelchair.
Nurse Luna sneeked him out of the Asylum. She knew she coulnd't work there anymore, she knew she had to flee the city. She knew, and she didn't care.

The next two years flew by. They where filled with love and joy. But one night something went horribly wrong. It started with a knock on the door. As Luna opened it up she saw two men wearing strange cloths. One of them had a strange tattoo on his arm, it looked like a snake in the form of an 8. She felt the darkness inside of them and she turned to the only defense she had. She tried to light their darkness. One of the men relaxed and calmed down.
"I'm sorry miss, that wont work on me". And a bag was pulled over her head.

"The other one must be upstairs" Was all Panteni needed to hear. They had come for him. He tried to open the window to jump out and escape, but he just coulnd't. The stranger came into the room. He manically tried to open the window but it still wouldn't give a budge. The moment he was struck by electricity the old demon returned. His powers had returned, and he lashed out with all he could. The stranger suddenly held his head and started screaming. Somehow Panteni knew he was overflowing the man with nightmares. The worst kind of nightmares, those that feel as real as life. That was his moment. The man kept on screaming as Panteni rushed down the stair to look for Luna. but all he could see was one van driving away in the distance, and another one still parked with the back door open. They had taken his moon, and he gave them the darkest night of their life.
He stole a horse and escaped the country and started his own pilgrimage. He travelled on horseback through as much nature as possible. Obtaining food and money by using his power he managed to survive. He travelled through the north of africa, followed the trail to jerusalem. The most believed speculations say he went on to the Himalayas. Others say that he had gone to the most southern tip of Africa, and there are whispers who talk about the south pole, Antarctica. Nothing is really known, and he doesn't answer any questions asked about those years. He seemed to have disappeared, only to reappeare in the outskirts of Moscow in the year 2043. He had changed, though his physical and mental scars were still visible, he looked like a man who had found the answer of life. Now searching for a way to help mankind and to find his moon. Starting in Moscow.

Continued from: A Blind Eye

It only took a few minutes to arrive at the building housing Mr Talanov's condo. By then, Hood had donned the jacket and coat again, so when they were let out by Koloman, he wasn't flashing a high-caliber revolver around for all to see. Not that there were many on the streets at so late an hour, but appearances were everything.

Koloman wished the pair a good night, and the Pervaya car pulled away in short order, disappearing into the night. Hood offered his arm and led the way in, passing by the pair of doormen who let them in without any issue. The building was not terribly unlike the one they had left, save that this was the sort that the rich and powerful considered more...modest.

Mr Talanov's suite wasn't the top floor penthouse. That was not what he required of the place. A few minutes later he opened the door to the room that had been lent to him for the night. The foyer led directly to a well appointed living room in earth tones and rich woods.

He took her coat and hung it properly, then his own, before making his way to the well stocked bar to pour a drink. "I think this is a bit more your style. The closest place I have to here smells like gun oil. Big surprise, right? Not often I actually try to cash in on an employer's good graces, but you're worth the headache I'm going to get when the boss chews me out tomorrow."

Jensen hid a yawn behind his hand. It was late afternoon, but he'd been awake less than an hour. He'd overslept the alarm that should have seen him arrive to the cafe on time. Instead, he'd scrambled about John's loft like a frantic college student and barely had time to shower before running out the door. The building doorman jumped none too pleased from the path of an extremely apologetic Jensen, who was more of a blurred blaze of an unbuttoned coat and flapping scarf.

Somehow, he made it to the cafe in the nick of time. God bless the Moscow metro system for operating with military precision. Once he gained his bearings after falling in the door, he realized nothing had changed about the place. It was on the same stop as where he hailed the bus that carried him to his old forklift job. Around the corner was a decent food market, too. The Tulskaya metro stop just shy of the third ring road in southern Moscow had some fantastic food carts, and his stomach rumbled just thinking about his usual fare on the way to work. One pirozhki stand in particular sold these individually sized baked buns stuffed with meats, mushrooms, rice and onions to die for, and were easy to eat and walk at the same time. On a cold winter's day like today, a steamy hot breakfast sounded fantastic. Tony probably was less enamored with them than Jensen, but when Jensen bought a biscuit from the counter, his stomach ached for pirozhki.

He went ahead and also purchased two cups of coffee for himself and Tony, who had been kind enough to meet him here, and was the reason Jensen hurried to arrive on time. His mother always said punctuality meant being early, but she would cringe to see her son arriving at the stroke of the clock as he had today.

Impolite as it appeared, he kept his coat on while seated. Not because he wanted to be prepared for the event of a quick getaway, but because the shop was rather drafty. The recent cold plunge seeped around the old windows and blew in his face every time the door opened.

Jensen was pushing disheveled hair from his eyes and nursing a creamy cup of coffee when he finally caught his breath at a table.


Edited by Jensen James, Jan 27 2014, 05:20 PM.

"Why do you watch this dribble, Ascendancy? You never gave the media much thought before."

Nikolai shifted his gaze from yet another report on Amira's death to the man that currently kept his company, Rameshwar Singh, and for about the tenth time, Nik considered asking the Privilege to leave. If the man had even an inkling of the Ascendancy's displeasure, he would trip over himself to get out the door. The problem was Nik wasn't sure whether he wanted to be alone or simply left alone. The Privileges were the closest things he had to friends - above ground anyway - but Nikolai was not ignorant. He knew their allegiance was purchased. Everything has a price, he thought bitterly. At least it simplified the world.

The grimace must have translated because the Privilege shifted in his seat. Otherwise he held his gaze. This man could stare down a charging bull without so much as a flinch. In fact, he had once. Half the man's skull had been caved in during the incident, though you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at the man's thick, black hair. Yet he was uncomfortable around Nikolai. Nik almost smiled at the reaction.

"These people spurn reason,"
he began. The interview was muted, but it was obvious the witness standing on the mosque steps was pointing out where he'd found the linen-shrouded body. "They want to turn back the wheel and live in the cesspool of the dark ages,"
he seethed.

He shook his head and looked to the ceiling. The aircraft was spacious, but despite warm walls, the interior could not fool him. He was trapped between the distant planet below and the eternal horizon above.

The Privilege replied, voice steady, "Will you release the Dominance if asked?"

Nikolai barely took a moment, "If I thought all they wanted was release from the Custody, I would consider it."
Then he shook his head, staring at the screen. The interview was over only to be replaced by the video of the murderers taken for arraignment. "But these people will never be content until this Hasan is what I am."
Disgust curled the back of his tongue. Even if the man was a brother-god, he could never be what Nikolai was. Nobody could.

The Privilege perked to the edged of his seat, hands folded on his lap. "What of this conference, then? You go to seek peace?"

His chest did not tighten; nor his stomach sink. He thought back to when he first saw the news of Amira's murder and he knew what must be done. In his mind, casualties blurred with sacrifice for the greater good. Nikolai would teach them what it meant to justify the honorable slaughter of a beloved innocent.

But he didnt answer the question. Instead, he signaled for the aid in the next room. A moment later, the young man entered.

"Get me General Grigori Devdas from MILSTAR command. Tell him I want an update on the SPACE-TRACK situation."


The aid nodded and the Privilege took his leave likely with his own guess for the Ascendancy's plan. He was likely to be wrong. Afterward, when the General was put through, Nikolai was already standing, hands tucked casually behind his back and in complete control of the anger billowing across his thoughts.

"Ascendancy,"
the General greeted. "I have an update for you."
Devdas was a slender man with broad shoulders that suited the gray and gold Custody Air Force uniform. Among his many accolades which were prominently pinned to the front of his uniform, the four-star general was the current commander of the Air Force's space agency: MILSTAR. It operated on defensive budgets rather than on research and so gave them more money and greater applicability. Nobody cared about Mars, especially Nikolai, but high-altitude rocketry and satellite weaponry on the other hand.

Prior to his current position, Devdas served in numerous states of leadership throughout Custody services. He was also an aeronautical engineer and an accomplished upper-atmospheric pilot.

He continued with his update of the situation as officially stated in the record. "In the past few hours STAR-TRACK Situational Awareness has begun monitoring an anomaly roughly two million kilometers from our atmosphere. We have been in contact with DARPA with the US-DOD. They are now aware of the anomaly, and I can confirm they have been in contact with Beijing for corroborating evidence."


Nikolai nodded thoughtfully, "And the anomaly will be ready as scheduled?"


The General straightened his posture, if that was even possible. "By current trajectory, will be ready at 2300 hours the night before."
The man was proud of the accomplishment. As well he should be.

Nikolai's consideration approved. "Very good, General. I want regular updates sent to my office every two hours until then."


"Of course, Ascendancy."
The General saluted. The screen returned to the muted coverage of Amira's murder.

Nik crossed to the window and looked out. A field of white clouds rolled beneath the plane, but unfurled above was the endless sky. An opaque crescent of the moon hung sentineled with the heavenly dusk. By week's end, the same peaceful horizon would rain fiery comets. The Atharim, Trano, Hasan: they should know not to push him too far, but Amira's murder was the last straw. Let them slaughter one another, but blame him for their butchery?

They sought God's favor.

It was time for God's answer.

It looks like another one is in the books. Anyone open for a thread?

Autumn (late) 2045.

<small>Related to a post in A Blind Eye</small>


Long into the night did Armande contemplate the Ascendancy's message.

He lost count how many times he replayed the video. Eager and straining for reinterpretation.

However, every time the ouroboros showed itself, Armande's stomach turned sick, but he made himself memorize its shape until the scars grew bright behind otherwise disbelieving eyes. Nikolai Brandon was once Atharim, but under who's reign? Where were the records of his initiation?

Sleep did not come that night. Nor the following day. He locked himself deep in this office, and rose only to savor a drink of water across parched lips. Everything upon which his task was built must be newly critiqued. It was like Michelangelo redesigning all of Saint Peter's just before the last stone was laid.

When he finally emerged, he was pale from the lack of sleep and drawn from the dizzying search for knowledge.

"I must go to the Vatican," he sent out the order to his staff and departed in preparation for the journey. In the meantime, he ordered an immediate stand-down of all Atharim against the Ascendancy until the truth of these matters became clear.

They were all in grave danger.

The hot new quiz floating around the book of faces lately is asking which star wars character you are.

Well, we decided to fill out the quiz as if our characters were answering! Let us know who you get! And what you think about the choice.

To start off.....


Nikolai Brandon is....


... YODA!



HELL yes! Nik is old and wise, indeed indeed, but whether he uses his power for good or for ill remains to be seen. Maybe if we give him another 850 years.



And just to make things extra fun. I am personally...

...THE EMPEROR!



And this one is accurate in ways that are a little bit disturbing.


So go take the quiz and let us know who you get!

Star Wars quiz

Just a suggestion, can we move the current date/time for the rpg someplace we can see while logged in.

Thanks in advance.

The past few months had been trying to say the least. The first few days were nothing but a blurred memory. And the days after weren't much better. To say Aria's faith had been shaken was not a misnomer, she wasn't sure the direction of her life was going to take. The business of the city was something Aria still wasn't completely used to. Her little apartment above the old book shop was barely adequate enough to get a good night sleep.

The couple upstairs was constantly fighting, their anger seeped into Aria's dreams and would wake her with a pounding heart and fury nearly as bad, the only solution was to drown herself into the solace of a water covered grave. Or so it felt at times. She really didn't want to kill herself, but the pain of it all was getting to her. The solitude of the Vatican city's Historical society buildings were something Aria never thought she would ever miss. She never even contemplated the need for that basement room shielded from the world, and now she longed for a quiet night.

But even worse was what they did when they weren't fighting. Their passion (and their noisy love making) was louder than their anger. It woke Aria in a flush and embarrassed by the things that entered her mind. But worse was that she could never touch another like that even if she did so in her dreams. The one fleeting moment of the possibility with a man raged through her body. One little kiss and Aria felt the mental barrier shatter and all she felt was him. Aria had collapsed from that one touch, and the boy had never returned her affection again. Though Aria suspected it was no fault of his, Father Dimitri strictness increased after that, that was when even he stopped touching Aria and use the confounded stick he had sent with her.

Aria sighed. The couple above had started their fighting again, early. She slipped out the door and started walking. It was cold. Snow falling from the sky as it did in the winter months. Aria thought it was a bit early to see the snow fall, at least in the Vatican City, but she was not there any longer. The solace of the churches near by were plagued with the same emotions of her apartment. She walked for hours until she saw Novodevichy Monastery. The river side view and the historical impact of the place drew her to it.

The buildings themselves told stories but that was not the final draw, once upon the grounds Aria felt at peace, as if she had been seeking the holy land the whole time. It was not quiet per-say, but the emotions surrounding her were the most pleasant she had had in the last few months.

The graveyard was one of the finest attractions the monastery had, and it was also one of the quietest places Aria knew. The dead don't feel anything - she hoped. Aria slowly walked through the rows, glancing at each marker and studying it. What had the person been like? Why had they died? Questions she couldn't answer and their emotions did not reveal. It was pleasant.


Edited by Aria, Jan 17 2014, 01:23 PM.