[Fractured Kingdom] Song of Silence

[Certified]

Currently the Fractured Kingdoms setting and design is still in development. However, I recently ran the first play test. I'll begin by posting the demo's set up and follow it with posts on each of the possible PCs.

The television flicked from images of war in Kosovo to a cartoon rat chasing a raven under a solder's helmet in the wastes. A lull had seeped through the apartment only to be ripped away by a wave force. The energies of the Grave Realm resonated like a beacon through the city.

Somewhere on the streets of Tiergarten a bridge between the Waking World and the supernatural had opened and every Lucid had felt it. The Enclaves would be coming. The wave was bordered on overwhelming there was no way at least one of them would take interest.

Was it the birth of another Lucid or a gateway to the Realm of the dead opening? There was little time to ask questions. If they did not move now whatever prize may be waiting would be lost.


The world has grown cold from the ashes of the Great War. Divided across political, industrial and religious lines, even the fabric of the world has begun to unravel. Through dreams or a gateway the characters have experienced one of four Outer Realms: the Dark, the Grave, the Slumber or the Verdant.

Known as Lucids, they are able to call upon the forces of their Realm. Trapped within mysteries and hidden truths, they have not stumbled into some plot. They have become the conspiracy.

Scene 1: Tracking The Source

The streets of Tiergarten are filled with the usual detritus. Wasteland scavengers clogging her arteries with tents that lined the streets as people drifted through the city. All framed under the glint of steel and glass cast from the towering buildings around them. A warm sticky rain teased the sky hinting at something larger.

Tiergarten

Before the Great War this city was one of the most powerful in the world. As a financial stronghold it was targeted early on along with London and Paris. Crippling the seats of economic power in Europe, the Bloc forces marched obtaining early victories in the chaos that followed. As the tide of war shifted a liberated Tiergarten served as a staging ground for Allied and NATO forces. Rekindling the once thriving economy the renewed flow of commerce led to the reemergence of Tiergarten as a major world power.

The modern Tiergarten is a manufacturing and export hub for almost all of Europe. In addition to manufacturing Tiergarten is home to large hydroponic farms and a notorious Red Light District. While the city itself is plagued by gang wars and other street violence this black market world seems to operate just below the surface of the city. The local news reporting only on the largest incidents of violence or danger, keeping most of the local citizenry and tourists safely insulated from the truth. 

Divided by the Corporate Wall the eastern half of the city is under the control of Thalberg-Koertig. The Arcology supports all lines of business for the company along with offices for a wide swath of other multinational corporations. Travel to and from the TK Arcology is regulated by a German and TK military cooperative.  Although many of Tiergarten's citizens hold positions within Thalberg-Koertig only those with executive level status live within the Arcology. This has insulated the eastern half of the city from much of the gang violence and poverty of Tiergarten proper.

One of the Coven members, Grigori had felt the direction of the wave, sending the others in that direction. The source of the energy becoming clear enough as the Outsiders cleared a small mall to a cliff railing. Built into the side of a crater the music-plex Bomb-Basin spread out below them. The depressed area had been cleared to make a parking lot for the venue. Off ramps spiraled down to deposit fans in a sea of cars. The venue was silent. A small crowd lay on top of each other beyond the doors, dead.

From across the basin the marquee reads:
TONIGHT:
AFTER THE FLESH TOUR
MIDNIGHT BURN
WASTED
AND FEATURING
INFECTED CHAOS

Getting closer, all the bodies seem to have been dead for years, even though the clothes on them seem new and clean for the most part. It requires no exertion of will to feel the presence of the Grave.

[Certified]

Chaz
Slumbering Lucid

Brief History:
   What is West Tiergarten? Ask a politician they'll tell you it's a beacon of pre-war society and a Mecca for trade. Mecha are those old statues that stand facing the ocean that some of the broadcasts say used to move and fight. On the streets: that is all you do, move and fight.
   Fight for your squat or fight for your mates, but really you were fighting to forget. Forget you and everyone you know is living in shite. Dug up and polished since the war. That's how you lived and that's how most people died, crawling in refuse, damned were those who fought for much more. Two in the brainpan will make you start to think about these things. The problem is you're not supposed to be thinking about them while you're still wired to a bed and comatose.
   Two months Chaz floated on the government dime locked away in slumber. Two months of fighting to figure out what he was doing with his life and what the point was. As they were going to pull the plug it comes to him, that moment when you realize running the streets isn't the half of it and there is something more out there. Something you've been starring at all your life and never knew. When they pulled the plug Chaz opened his eyes, sat up and asked for his jacket.
   It's hard to explain how he and Laila met. It was after the hospital, it's just not something they talk about but the two are almost inseparable. To watch them you would think she was his mother except they look like they're almost the same age. When he slips he calls her his mentor but it was his idea to put together the Outsiders. Laila told him they were a coven, Lucids who refused to sign up and send off their gifts. Although he's never asked, Chaz always knew there was more to that than she told.
   Over the years some stayed some went. A year ago there were seven of them. Dekker died in a shootout with the Keepers, that's when Rach left for the Commonwealth. Now there were only five of them, but five was better than one. Sometimes it hard to feel like you're not crawling in the shite still but everyone has their hang-ups and it's enough that sometimes despite everything else good things can happen.

- - -

Play Notes:
After meeting Laila Chaz traded in his switchblade for a Monoblade Katana. His years on the street have only supplemented his gifts as a Lucid studying with Laila. Quick and deadly accurate Chaz moves through the streets little fear these days.

- - -

Lost Boy
Growing up in a gang Chaz has learned his pack mentality. As a Lucid this has evolved. Through his own trials he is well aware of the hardships of Lucids without protection. Willing to give almost anyone a chance Chaz gives most new members of the Outsiders a wide berth letting them decide if Coven life is for them or if they would rather stake out on their own. To this, Chaz has a deep fear of the Enclaves and why they so desperately seek to acquire new Lucids.

[Certified]

Margaret 
Dark Lucid

Brief History:

   Looking back, most of Margaret's life was not that unusual.  Her parents met during the Great War. Her mother was sent home after becoming pregnant, thankfully surviving the worst of the Purge that heralded the end. Her childhood saw the rise and fall of the Reclamers and Germany's return to power. Married at twenty and widowed at seventy two it is here her life dove into chaos.
   James had been a good man, working his entire life in the auto plant. Plagued by nightmares of his death it was her turning to these horrid visions that lead to her Elucidation and waking to a radically different world. At first she thought it was dementia setting in, unable to explain the things she was feeling around her and the things she was seeing. Shadows growing long as she walked by whispers of a man's fate as she watched move through the market. Had the Harbingers not come for her she may never have learned the truth behind the growing oddity of her life.
   They came at night, they told her she was one of them and that she was a seer. She told them they were crazy and to get out of her apartment. They plucked the bloated nightmare image of her husband from her mind and made it real. Margaret ran. They followed, slipping through shadows cutting her off at every turn. In the alleyways along the Corporate Wall she was saved by Chaz, Laila and Nico. They had felt the Harbingers hunting Margaret and wanted to help. Seeing others like her the Harbingers fled choosing to avoid any conflict.
   They were Lucids, like her. Outsiders who refused to submit to the Enclaves. They brought her in, taught her how to control her powers, and how to avoid broadcasting them. Margaret has lived and studied and learned with them ever since, hiding from the Enclaves while trying to come to terms with the new world that has now opened to her.

- - -

Play Notes:
   Despite her advanced age, Margaret's link with the Dark Realm has somewhat rejuvenated her body. By no means is she as strong or fast as those who have trained their bodies but she has learned some tricks to defend herself. Channeling the Dark Realm she is able to strike with debilitating blasts of Dark Force and drain the life essence of others. 

- - -

The Little Old Lady
Refined and subtle in her actions Margaret rarely if ever rushes in a task. Preferring to watch TV or read she still wishes that she could have her normal life. Coping as best she can she is thankful to Chaz and the rest of the Coven for all that they've given her and has made a point of doing her best to keep up with the kids. When they have to run or have to defend themselves she hides the fact that it makes her feel young again. Sometimes the reality of surviving is enough to make her forget what she has lost in the process and even makes her feel young again.

[Certified]

Laila
Grave Lucid

Brief History:
   Indoctrination from inception, it is a phrase Laila knows well and never likes to hear. Many of the Others that refuse to join an Enclave do not know what it is truly like to belong to one of these twisted factions. There are nights when the flat's walls shake as Laila's fists pound against them. These are the nights she dreams she had been so fortunate.
   Laila doesn't talk about her past but she has a special kind of hated reserved for the Watchtower. At times her way of moving or manner of speech seems simply too polite for modern society. When they're not searching, Laila is training, always moving, fighting to get better. What the other Outsiders don't know is: the only way she can sleep more than a few hours at night. Release comes from the complete exhaustion of mind and body.
Where she learned her deadly fighting skills is also unknown but these she has done her best to impart on Chaz, another Lucid with the wisdom to avid the Enclaves. It's one of the few joys she has watching him brood and posture and dream of changing the world. In her heart of hearts Laila wonders if this is how all the Enclaves began: a handful of Lucids hoping to do the right thing.
She never shows it but this frightens her more than anything else. For this reason Laila has made a point to keep in touch with all the Others who they touch and drift apart from. Some are easier than others but it helps to keep her grounded. Helps her to make sure what they're doing is still the right thing to do and not to put too fine a point to it become wankers as Chaz would call them.

- - -

Play Notes:
   Despite the common perception of slow moving shambling dead, Laila moves with a finely honed speed and grace. Able to face down several opponents at once Laila uses link to the Grave to devastating effect, turning minor wounds into fatal ones.

- - -

Runaway
Unlike Chaz it's not high ideals that drive Laila to help Others but an underlying need to keep Lucids from the Enclaves. More than occasionally Laila can be mothering, not that she wants to be but her need to make sure any Lucid who has escaped so far never feels the need to turn to one of the Enclaves for aid. The Coven are not necessarily friends but others Laila hopes to shelter from the cruelty of the Enclaves.

[Certified]

Nico
Verdant Lucid

Brief History:
   When he thinks about it hard enough Nico can picture his father's face and what he sounded like. Remember him standing there in old war duds firing a big gun that had a smile under it screaming: Run Nico, you run and I'll find you. Blue eyes turning away from him as he braced the gun and fired, that is all Nico can remember.
    In the badlands, the wastes they found him. The men Nico's father had been shooting at; one of them was wearing his dad's old war duds. They took him so easy, said, he was a prize catch, going to fetch good money in Laska. Nico didn't know how long they wandered through the badlands, his father had killed their truck. They kept him tied up; they knew he didn't want to be a miner in Laska.
   A clear night, and moon was full.  They were passed out from drinking radiator fluid when  Nico slipped out of the ropes and ran. Ran until he thought his heart had exploded and his lungs were spitting hot grease in his mouth. What happened next is where it all starts to fade for him. There was a hill with nine big rocks, it looked like all the fighting and death of the badlands had just passed it by. Under the full moon, half starved that was where Nico laid his head. In his dreams he could hear the old voices and the rituals and the world waking up here and Nico wanted all these things he wanted to belong, he wanted to escape and he wanted the love that radiated from the earth mother. They were there for him and Nico embraced all these things.
   Their scent came to him on the wind; the Laska men were tracking him. Nico felt the earth whispering in his ear and slipped into the Verdant world he had dreamed. As they reached the summit of the stone circle Nico emerged gnashing tearing ripping, feasting.
   Unsure how long he stayed in the wastes Nico ran with the carrier rats hunting for food and shelter. Eventually this led him to a large place of stone and steel, he could smell foods he had never tasted and broke from the pack wandering into the strange place. It was while scavenging through this place the others found him; an older boy and girl who had seen the Realms and had been gifted like him. They reminded Nico he wasn't always a rat but had been a boy once too. They took him in and helped him remember the old times before the bad men came but it's hard. They're nice to Nico though and they bring him interesting food so he continues to stay with them for now.

- - -

Play Notes:
    Nico is still half feral from his time in the wastes although it's unclear how long he survived out there alone. Taking on traits of the large carrier rat, he can completely change his shape if needed. His time with the Outsiders has taught him a bit more control as he is now able to tap into the Verdant more directly channeling it's life giving energies. 

- - -

Survivor
They think Nico might be fourteen, Nico doesn't understand why that would be important. A large part of him misses stalking the wastes but in his heart he knows Laila and Chaz are good for him.

[Certified]

Amaryllis
Grave Lucid

Brief History:
   The hammering at the walls of her brain had finally gone silent. The needle breaks the skin. The familiar rush of ecstasy; then there is only silence. You don't sign up to be a wrist cutter, it's the thrill of being so close to that edge. The band? They had given up on trying to stop her. Now they just made sure everything came through Tony. The vein spits into the syringe before the pump shoves everything back down.
   The hammering at the walls of her brain: Look at her eyes, she shouldn't be shaking like that, BD do something. The hammering at the walls of her brain:  This was once a happy place, the light burned us all, in an instant the pain was gone, this was a happy place, now we are trapped; now you are trapped.
   Children ran through the open grass of Rehberge, parents watching them idly. The bombs fall. There is not even enough time to scream. Until that moment the war had been somewhere else. At that moment they had become Germany's first causalities of the Great War. At that moment Amaryllis realized hell was not some place where you just sat around and burned, Hell was being forced to relive your moment of death forever.
   The hammering at the walls of her brain had finally gone silent. The needle breaks the skin. The familiar rush of ecstasy; then there is only silence. No. No! This was not how she was going to die. Screaming she sees Brendan hammering at her chest. There is an instant where the Realm of the Living and the Realm of the Dead meet. Amaryllis is that beacon and as she screams all the forces of Death herself slip from her lips.
   Vision fades and her body goes limp. Brendon is burned black but there is nothing she can do. Light fades as exhaustion takes her.

- - -

Play Notes:
    Amaryllis has only just awoken to a new found understanding of the world. She does not yet fully understand what has happened to her or what it may mean. However, her exposure to the Grave has left her will the ability to see and speak with spirits even command them. Although, she may not realize it yet the Grave has left her amazingly resilient to harm. 

- - -

Rock Goddess
Amaryllis is the voice of a generation. What she didn't realize was it wasn't her generation. Reborn into the Lucid World she can hear the dead calling to her and for the first time the voices make sense. It's too soon to tell if this is a blessing or a punishment. It's also too soon to know if she'll be able to salvage anything from her former life.
For those wondering Amaryllis' real name is Jersey Davenport. As this was not fitting with the Razor image she chose the stage name Amaryllis as there were already too many Belladonnas. 

[Certified]

I'll be posting a play summery shortly Here is a link to the background information I've posted in the first thoughts forum.

[Certified]

Grigori
Slumbering Lucid

Brief History:
   Privilege breeds certain traits, education, culture, arrogance. Grigori possesses them all. Born to wealth, Grigori was raised in Cambridge boarding schools, studying art in France and decadence in Amsterdam.
   An artist at heart Grigori took to sculpting at an early age. With works featured in galleries across the globe when working in clay Grigori was always a man possessed. Commissioned by the TK Arcology to design a show piece for their central mall, Grigori spent months walking the commerce center and sketching drafts. Nothing, everything seemed wrong. As weeks drug on Grigori began to fear that he had lost his muse.
   Sitting in his apartment, pedestals with clay and unfinished work surrounded him. If there was someone as a muse she came to him that night setting his mind on fire as he let at the molds stripping away the old and beginning again.  Inside there was more. It wasn't just his hands and his ideas. It was everyone, all their thoughts all their feelings and if he could strip everything away Grigori could pull that image. The thoughts from their dreams and turn it into something living, something real.
   When Grigori awoke he found himself entombed in a clay web, its body dancing from one pedestal to another. Tiny fibers darting from arch to arch forming new patterns. Outside, two men they had seen his vision, felt him as he now sensed them. Grigori knew what he had found was not his own. Jackboots kick down the reinforced door and panic sets in. Guns tear the room and the clay apart, Grigori hides in the bathroom, fleeing down the fire escape. As he felt them he sensed others like them. Fearful Grigori ran, ran until he couldn't feel the pain in his legs or the presence of the others.   
   That morning still haunts Grigori. It's been years and he knows now he is Lucid. The life he had was gone. Using the few contacts he could trust Grigori arranged for a new life. It seems strange to pay for an apartment you share with others but Chaz and his Coven protect him. Publishing his works anonymously Grigori trys to hold on to what scraps of his past life he can.   

- - -

Play Notes:
   Grigori considers himself an artist and he is. Able to recreate dreams even craft images plucked from the Slumbering Realm, his powers of perception vastly superior than most trained Lucids. Grigori loathes his the Lucid world and hates his powers often unwilling to use them save the most dire of circumstance.

- - -

Sycophant
Live life to the fullest.  That's hardly an option anymore. Try to recapture former glory and stay safe. That is modern life. Keep the Coven happy, they're your only protection, no matter how inane their goals may be.