[Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen] Lore: The Omega Clock

Out of Character (OOC):

Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen
Venue: Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition
Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler

Assistant Storytellers: Hannah Nyland & Alex Van Belkum

Lore: The Omega Clock

Research consolidation by Azazel

((By Alanna Keith & Jerad Sayler))

Master Chimera, as we discussed after Ikiyouyou opened up to you about the mysterious device she carries around her neck I took the liberty of drafting up a report of what we currently know based on what she has shared with us.  I will, upon her and your recommendation, exercise the utmost discretion in ensuring the secrecy of what she has shared.  This report is written with the intent to be uploaded into the Loremaster's Archive, if and when she allows us to share what we have learned.  Your loyal servant and best (and don't try to tell me otherwise) Familiar.

-Azazel

((The following is Out of Character (OOC) except for Chimera, Azazel and Ikiyouyou who have this information In Character (IC)))

Situation:

The following is the current combined observations and understanding of the device known as the Omega Clock.  The largest known component of the Omega Clock is currently in the hands of an Youkai named Ikiyouyou (Iki for short), a monster hunter and member of the mercenary group known as the ShadowFang operating out of Los Angeles and New Orleans.  She also frequents Japan where she is from. 





Background:

I cannot stress enough that it is extremely likely that Ikiyouyou is an excessively unreliable narrator. For one thing, her early life experience is limited - she freely admits she never finished High School and lived most of her life in a remote village in Japan. She also claims that the village is a compound of monster hunters (associated with Aegis Kai Doru) and she was trained from a very young age to hunt Oni, Akuma, Youkai and other jargon associated with evil spirits in Japanese culture. Iki is incredibly cagey about her past, is terrible at lying, and makes some outrageous claims. Frankly, I am dubious of much of what she says. And yet, there is no one to verify most of it other than Iki herself. In order to help ensure that this report can be as factual as possible, text highlighted in red below is information that may not be completely accurate, as it is usually provided by Ikiyouyou. 

Ikiyouyou claims to have been human until she was cursed by a mage or sorcerer.  Since then her soul appears to have been bonded with that of a Raiju, a mighty thunder beast from Japanese myth and usually described in the form of a massive dog with command over elemental weather.  She is a expert swordsman and favors her dai katana (which appears to be a powerful Fetish) above all other weaponry.

It is unknown if a Youkai is what she really is.  Youkai is usually used as common parlance in supernatural circles in Japan to refer to any as yet to be classified supernatural entity.  It what they call cryptids, though many are later determined to be something more quantifiable later.  The following articles are provided as reference to see more about what Iki classifies as Youkai and what their identifiable traits are:

1. Origins of the Youkai by Talon Indra

2. Youkai: Separating Fact from Fiction by Talon Indra

3. Youkai Busters: The First Encounter by Ikiyouyou

4. ((Youkai: A special kind of Changing Breed, v1.0 mechanics before Beast rules conversion.))

Attempts to classify Ikiyoyou seem to skew towards her being one of the Begotten, a Beast of primordial myth.  This would mean that her curse was actually her Devouring and her soul was replaced with that of a Horror, in this case a Raiju.  There seems to be no way to confirm this and so little is publically known among the Awakened on Beasts that we would be better off trying to classify what they are before circling back to a specific case.

Ikiyouyou does not claim to be a Raiju or a Beast.  She claims to be a Youkai but her understanding of what a Youkai is appears to be very specific and hard for me to quantify.  It is my belief that, as she has done in the past, is withholding information about her identity, her origins and what she really is.  Most of the time she says she is "half human and half dog demon."  Seems more like it should be thirds...

Ikiyouyou is an avid treasure hunter, and true to her Conspiracy, she hordes, collects, uses occult items indiscriminately. After all her jobs hunting Youkai in Japan or tracking down occult items all over the world, the Omega Clock may be the single greatest Bygone she has ever encountered.  And I want to emphasis, this may also be the great artifact that I have ever even read about in my studies... 

Iki first found the Omega Clock in a crowded street market in Beijing, China and bought it for five American dollars. She later discovered what it does through accidents and trial and error.  Most of what she discovered was jotted down in her notes in her travels with a demonic entity called Ransom between the years of 2005 and 2009.

Ah, Ransom.  Now she sounds like an interesting travel buddy.  Iki claims that she was a demon familiar that belonged to a friend of hers when she was in New Orleans.  Her friend was Kindred (a vampire) and an infernalist named Vae.  Ransom originally inhabited a raven.  When Vae died... for good this time, the familiar spirit remained behind.  Usually if the master dies the familiar is banished back to its home realm.  I suppose technically she didn't die so much as get her soul devoured by another Kindred named Tepemkau. Over the years Ransom seemed to grow stronger as Tepe's coven of vampires also grew in strength.  At some point she seemed to be able to break away from her master with no restrictions that Iki could observe.

Past Usage:

Before the Omega Clock was broken, Ikiyouyou had become relatively skilled at using it to travel to various "worlds in Omega Space." Most of the time it was her method for instantaneous worldwide travel, a very handy trick for a world traveling Hunter of cryptids and relics.  According to Kik and Dante, the Omega Clock usually transports travelers, with minimal apparent time duration, between origin and chosen destination. I do not know how this travel functions or how it hones in on destinations.  I speculate that since Iki uses a lot of language reminiscent of Astral Space, it may use association-based sympathy like traveling between Temenic realms and requiring both control over the purviews of the Mind and Space Arcana. 

The method of travel isn’t usually readily apparent to travelers – to their own senses they simply disappear and reappear at their destination, almost instantly. Iki claims to have become aware of the actual travel between destinations, and was able to direct the direction of travel on the fly, without changing the time again on the Omega Clock during travel. She said she could "actually see the path of travel through Omega Space, and therefore what Omega Space itself looks like."  I only highlight that text in red because I don't really understand what that statement means.

Despite the incredible power Iki claims the Omega Clock possesses, she does not seem to have used it to change any aspect of the Fallen World that we know of.  Dante noted that she just seemed to protect it and keep is safe.  It is possible her village (who appears to have connections to Aegis Kai Doru) entrusted this Relic to her to protect at all costs.  However, she does not appear to be very responsible with her life or assets on a given job but guards the clock around her neck like a sacred jewel.  Having failed to keep it safe after her falling out with Ransom, I theorize that she will not return to her village long-term until she has made up for her failure and restored the clock to a working fashion.

In 2005 Ikiyouyou left her village with a Uratha named Kaze.  On contract they were directed to a small Island off the coast of Africa due to some suspected demonic activity but she also mentioned an entire village of "mindflayers" and later on the mainland demonic forces made from spinning bladed chains like dervishes...or something like that.  I believe she said it was near Sao Tome and Principe.  There they met some waterlogged vampires who claimed to be from New Orleans.  After her job was done in Africa she agreed to take on more work back in New Orleans.  There she met the ShadowFang.  

Ransom and Ikiyouyou left New Orleans in 2007 to do some world traveling, picking up odd jobs here and there. After her falling out, which occured sometime between 2007 and 2009 she ran into the ShadowFang's new setup in Los Angeles and was recruited as one of its members.  Since then, she has continued to try to repair the Omega Clock and taking work for the ShadowFang, mostly provided by the Kindred of Los Angeles.  

These missing gears, broken as they are, cause semi-localized time and space distortions, scattered throughout all of time and space.  I speculate they may have been incorporated or grew into Infrastructure based on the how and why she keeps finding these gears in the material world near or part of God-Machine Infrastructure. One gear was responsible for a distortion in San Jose. Another rippled through time and eventually caused the incident at a small homestead in Santa Fe.

While it was in her possession, there have been several anomalies associated with Ransom and pieces of the Omega Clock and they are ultimately what Ikiyouyou was using to track Ransom and find the missing pieces of the clock.  She has mentioned the Winchester Mansion and a strange Room that seems to attach itself to various locations and tends to trap people in them for extended periods of time.

Though she hasn't given specifics it appears that at one point Ransom made off with the clock and she recently stole it back from Ransom around 2012. Ransom's status was not mentioned but Iki is still looking for her.  A lot of the gears and anomalies Iki has been tracking down, in the present, are from when Ransom stole the clock for a time interval of a number of years (but time travel so who knows?).

Junkyard Gear (2015) - In Steele, North Dakota, the Browncoats (Triforce Cabal at the time) tracked down the source of state-wide earthquakes being blamed by fracking.  They tracked the localized disturbances to a strange looking cog sticking out of the Earth in a salvage yard.  After the cog was set in motion by lubricating it with blood, the earthquakes stopped.  Post-cogging of the location revealed that Ikiyouyou arrived and had a hand when the gear stopped.  She inspected the gear but determined that it wasn't part of an Omega Clock gear (kind of big for a pocket watch if you ask me) and departed.

The Stanley Overlook Hotel (2017) - Ikiyouyou uncovered a gear in The Room (see previous entry), which had attached itself to the Stanley Overlook Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.  Chimera's Apprentice Magpie had been using The Room as a nexus for her travel when she and her mother Anne were on the run.  Magpie offhandedly mentioned that she had seen gears like those on the Omega Clock in the Room and took Ikiyouyou there to investigate.

It is unknown how many missing pieces there may be, it appears that gears that were not shunted through space and time from Ransom's abuse can still be used to provide new features and new locations using the Clock.

Because of the flagrant and (dare I say) vulgar use of the Clock, various supernatural organizations and individuals have become aware of the Clock and Ikiyouyou's possession of it. Most of them were small time groups and did not pose any problems for her.  There is one recurring threat she has mentioned, an "Archmage Priest" who appears to be a heavy-hitter within the Vatican leadership and has large reserves of paramilitary hunter groups lead by "The Hunter."  I do not have enough information to speculate on what supernatural powers this individual has, if he is a mage, or what Hunter groups.  It is possible this figure could have membership in the Paternoster Ministry, Knights Templar, Silver Ladder or even the Guardians of the Veil.  Ikiyouyou does not have the skill and knowledge to distinguish among all the supernatural power groups within the Roman Catholic Church and simply refers to them collectively as "the Vatican."  These zealots will no doubt continue to try to track her down to gain possession of the Omega Clock.

In 2015, on a business trip throughout Europe for the ShadowFang, Iki ended up chasing an unrelated occult object to the Vatican. he was able to recover it, but her cover was blown and she ran into the Priest and the Hunter again, rekindling his vendetta. Wounded, and struck by some sort of magic spell or curse, she barely managed to get away.  She contacted the Cabals and Dante in order to coordinate her escape. Suffering from the effects, she sought help in Switzerland and then in Germany, but those folk remedies temporarily abated the effects.  She also asked the Browncoats (formerly known as the Pentacle Academy student "Triforce Cabal") to destroy the dangerous artifact she acquired and counteract the strange effects of the curse upon her.  

In 2016, Ikiyouyou's interactions with God-Machine Infrastructure (and possibly, constant exposure to the Omega Clock and all these gears) seems to have caused her to manifest the Stigmata noted to manifest in sleepers when they are in proximity to the mechanical angels and demons of the Machine.  This is an important development as I believed most supernatural beings have innate resistance or outright immunity to exposure reactions such as Lunacy, Disbelief, and so forth.  Strange glowing marks appear across her skin when she is in proximity to Aetheric energies.

Description:

The Omega Clock is a small spherical clock that can easily rest in the middle of a palm of a hand. It is bounded in brass metal and has a hemispherical glass front and back, allowing a viewer to see into the gear workings and jewels in the back. The front face has the Greek Omega symbol on it, and blue hands. There is a single small brass knob on the top to wind up the Clock and set the time. There’s a tiny brass bell with three tiny chains hanging from it as clappers; it doesn’t seem to serve any function other than decoration. The Clock has a roughly ‘omega’ shaped handle holding it. Iki has strung this onto a brass chain for wearing around her neck.

Background:

According to Ikiyouyou, who has claimed to have conducted extensive research on the clock, the Omega Clock dates back to around 3000 BCE.  According to her, there is very little recorded mention of the Omega Clock throughout Earth’s history – obscure tablets or scrolls might mention a strange item that often looks nothing like the real Omega Clock, making it very difficult to recognize it as such. 

Additionally, its abilities are barely alluded to. Only a highly educated scribe or scholar of antique or supernatural items, with a thorough knowledge of history, and quite possibly some sort of prior knowledge of the item could begin to recognize a recorded mention of it for what it actually is rather than some other bauble. The true capabilities of the clock are extremely well hidden but Ikiyouyou has managed to determine some of what it does through usage.  Dante, another Member of the ShadowFang, claims to have seen her wearing the clock as early as the Fall of 2006.  And while the device is missing pieces, Iki has had the device in her possession for the last 12 years.

Iki claims that many individuals and organizations with that sort of knowledge and resources all have their own agendas for acquiring the Clock, but are luckily few and far between.  She has run afoul of several of them before but we haven't asked her for details yet.

Several of the older Hunter Conspiracies (such as Aegis Kai Doru) who know of the Omega Clock only know it for its most recent use – that as a storehouse for magical and rare items and weapons.

From what I have been able to find (which is very little), this item is both legendary and obscure.  Our cabal has never had a chance to study the clock closely but it could be related to certain supernatural items we know about.  It is something we should talk Ikiyouyou into as soon as possible.

Possible Linkage: Ashar’Arif’s Clockwork Creations:

The Omega Clock may be an Artifact, but it hasn't appeared so under Prime Sight.  It is possible its nature could be veiled or very opaque.  The small device does have the motif of Ashari Arif’s famous clockwork creations but if Ikiyouyou is right about its age (if a device that can create temporal distortions can have a trueist age) then it predates the 13th century Islamic Clockmaker by miles.  

The clockmakers affinity for small toys with deadly puzzles definitely makes raises some parallels.  His devices always had weights and cogs deep within them to carefully designed to judge the soul of the clockwork’s user. It is rumored some of his items study you as you study them and if they malfunction they might steal your soul instead of just looking at it.

It this is somehow a precursor to the Clockmaker's body of work its surprising Iki hasn't been hurt by it yet.  If the item does turnout to be an Supernal Artifact then we should eliminate the possibly that it is one of the Clockmaker's toys. We could attempt to get a copy of the Book of Understanding and Building of Fantastical Machines, Ashar’Arif’s Grimoire for the creation of his work and attempt to determine if it is one of his machines or not. After the Fall, the famous Clockmaker is one of the few known mages who claims to have a way of creating Artifacts, a forgotten art among the Awakened.  

Possible Linkage: Antikythera Mechanism Relic:

Among relics, there is some sort of kinship between the Omega Clock and the well-known and sleeper held Antikythera Mechanism.  It's Mystery has fascinated mages and sleepers for generations and is closest to the time period Ikiyouyou claims to be associated with the device... though again its heavy use of brass gears and precise insets makes this seem highly unlikely.  A strange anachronistic device like this may very well be a relic of from the Time Before.  I have seen and read about many Artifacts with similar design and construction.

Possible Linkage: The Toymaker LeMarchand:

A noted predecessor to Ashar'Arif  was a Mastigos named Philip LeMarchand. LeMarchand was a Paris Toymaker in the 1790s who showed success in creating his own puzzle boxes and clockwork creations.  His devices were known to be especially dangerous and tied to Pandemonium.  Some, like the infamous Lament Configuration, can actually summon Pandemonian Demons.

Possible Linkage: Aetheric Technology

There are been times, observed by the Cabal in which Ikiyouyou has been witnessed homing in on what she thinks are gears or pieces of the Omega Clock but are also near the mysterious thaumatological machinery of an entity known as the God-Machine. Therefore it is also possible that the device is what Demon associates call a Gadget or a Lynchpin.  We would need to convince Iki to let Reaper, Alric and his cell analyze it.  It sounds like a very powerful device, based on what Iki says it can do.  It is possible that this Clock is a key that provides access to a vast Infrastructure that underpins the Machine's capabilities for time travel and alternate history fragmenting. I am surprised she hasn't encountered any defenses against intrusion, perhaps the automatons she mentions in the Key World.

Activation:

The Omega Clock does not appear to give off any occult signature whatsoever when it is not activated. It looks like a simple, but curious spherical clock.  According to a small engraving on the brass, it was manufactured by North Central Positronics. The Clock is a highly technological device, and its capabilities appear to work through some sort of super science that is exploiting loopholes in quantum physics. Based on that, I speculate that while it may not have Supernal Magic involved in the process, large amounts of Forces, Time and Spatial effects are released when (if) it is activated.

By setting specific times on the Omega Clock and then winding the Clock precisely 3 and ¼ turns, the Clock will activate. I have not seen the device operate since it was broken in 2007.  But Dante had seen it work and vouched for what it looked like.

According to Dante, this activation was quite dramatic and exerts a lot of energy. Something did ping on his vampiric senses but he couldn't pin it down before the event was over. The activation is quite colorful, with streams of light and color, but completely silent. The activation happens quickly and is over just as quickly, with the user, and anyone attached to that user, instantly vanishing.

Capabilities:

DEFAULT Settings and HISTORIC:

The Omega Clock will transport the user who is physically holding onto the Clock, and anyone touching the user, and anything they are holding, into a parallel sub-space that Iki calls "Omega Space." 

"In this Omega Space are numerous "Omega Worlds", which are localized instances of time periods, events, and atmospheres specific to Earth.  Mostly we used it to teleport around Earth really fast, cutting down travel time and costs."

Allow me to play devil's advocate here and say this does is, in fact, exactly what it appears to do.  This is either some kind of incredibly elaborate  holodeck, creating "instances" of time and space for study and interaction.  If this is actually directly interacting with the actual world I knew of a few world powers that would be out of a job and would want to to talk to Iki.  Other groups would literally stop at nothing, and do anything, in order to possess it.  It's more likely that my former theory is correct and history cannot be changed through these pocket instances.

"Additionally, there are instances of "Dream Worlds" – movies, books, anything that a human might have created. There are also "Memory Worlds", which are specific memories of individual people that those people wished to record." 

Ah, this makes a little more sense now.  This seems like interactions with Astral Space, specifically the Tenemos.  It would make perfect sense that both the Omega Worlds and Dream Worlds you explore bodily are created through interaction with the Tenemos.  The Memory Worlds could be Onerios or very very individualized and isolated Temenic Realms.

And finally, as far as we know, there is one "Key World" – the city I believe to be Atlantis.

"Woah woah!  Pump the breaks!  What!?"

"I've visited the Key World before, however briefly.  I entered something much like a trainstation of sorts, full of gateways to different places, other Omega Worlds, presumably.  I do remember actually seeing a name in English, 'Lud.'  There was also a gateway for Keystone Earth, but I have no idea what that would be other than maybe the actual and current Earth.  The terminology and some of the instructions on locations and usage of these gateways was also in English (ie. Key World and Keystone Earth). The city is vast, underground, and empty.  There does not appear to be on single resident in this place.  I never stayed long because I didn't know how to operate any of the technology safely and the empty streets were... unsettling.  Custodian automatons wander around.  The place is spotless and pretty well lit despite the perpetual night of this infinite... space cave?  Bubble?"

Alright, now things are getting interesting.  This abandoned city could be related to the Time Before and the first Awakened City.  Considering everyone and their mom has been looking for True Atlantis for the last ten thousand years at least.  It's been written out of the world.  We no longer exist in a world where that place existed, if it existed at all.  It could be an outpost.  I also have no ruled out the possibility of a larger Angelic facility, part of a vast network of Infrastructures, some of which are folded into other planes of existence or empty dimensions. 

As for the mention of Keystone Earth, it doesn't exactly make sense with my parallel dimension theory.  Why would there be an ultimately truest version of reality different than Atlantis or the Supernal World?  Then again, if the precursor peoples that built this place didn't have knowledge of the Supernal they may not know its the Trueist Reality.  Iki isn't qualified or equipped to determine or recognize Supernal Magic or Artifacts from the Time Before.

"The ancient city of Atlantis on Earth, although populated with mages, was highly technologically advanced, and remains so. Their technology was supported with undercurrents of magic and they undoubtedly laid the foundations of the global Dragon Lines (leylines) deep underground that crisscross the Earth. I believe they developed the Omega Clock system to access those infrastructures so that individual mages or academics could use them to record memories that they might want to keep – important events, records of conversations or decisions and so forth. Various Clocks had various settings that allowed the users differing levels of access to capabilities." 

Let's not get out hand here... this could be a Wending or some other network of Irises.  Alternatively, these bubble worlds could have been legitimately created physically and isolated from the rest of reality.  The more she talks, and if any of what she says is true... we have a treasure trove of mysteries to explore.  The Omega Clock could be the key to dozens of extra-dimensional locales and endless Mystery... tapping into a vast system of travel. 

"Additionally, it appears that they deliberately recorded time frames throughout the history of Earth well into the future. In total, the Omega Clock system was essentially a giant record of human culture and memories that Atlantis had the whims to record. Clearly, this means that at one time, there were numerous Omega Clocks. These appear to have been lost to time and the Sundering of the Worlds, and only one (as far as we know) appears to have survived in the records of human history."

Fascinating... this definitely warrants further study.

"I've set myself outside of all these worlds to see Omega Space itself.  All these bubble worlds appear to be represented as very odd-looking constellations. Each world is its own entity with its own look, the closest appearing as bubbles with a flat plane or entire planet inside.  You may even catch a glimpse a city floating out in the space, dark and dimly lit, futuristic and lit with lights.  That is what Atlantis looks like from the outside.  Also, unless there are stars in the backdrop of this perspective it looks like the bubble worlds are vast... and possibly infinite in number."

Which version or dream of Atlantis are you referring to?  There are at least seven versions the Mysterium knows about and all of them are as true as the other.  In Astral space there are even more and odd versions as well.

Fun Fact: That futuristic floating city in space thing.  It sounds a lot like some visions Mysterium mages have recorded during initiations as matching the description of what they call "The Lost City of the Ancients."  Most of the time, scholars have automatically assumed it was the First Awakened City... but maybe not...hmmm

Omega Worlds: 
"Time periods (short or long) of Earth’s history. Each Omega World has its own constant time and place. Could be a general time of day, ex. Tea time in London, in the Victorian era. Could be a several year historical period; ex the warring states era of Japan. Whatever the location or time on Earth, in this world, it is perpetually that location and time on Earth. One can freely interact with the ‘people’ in these worlds, and while they are all ‘real’, ‘historical’ people, none of them are actually real."

"Although, they will remember interactions with visitors and form friendships with them, and they can actually be killed. But because the Omega Worlds keep a status quo, the Worlds eventually reset once they reach the end of their recorded time, and people killed by visitors will come back to ‘life’. For example, tea time in London will somehow, always stay teatime, regardless of time itself seeming to always progress forward, and residents remembering interactions with visitors. And springtime in the Warring States period of Japan will always stay springtime."

I agree, if these places even interact with timelines or the real world at all the Temporal Principles of the Conservation of History would be in full effect.  I also image that some of these timespan locations are on a constant loop, without intervention they carry out the same interactions and events every single cycle.  If this is maintained gets feedback from outside the Omega Worlds there could be aspects of randomization.  The description above seems to support my theory that this connects to the Tenemos in some areas and or is some sort of massive "holographic" simulator.  Recording history is not an implied reason it was created though.  It might have been used as a simulator first, maybe even an entertainment tool for someone.

Memory Worlds: 
"Specific memories that actual people recorded of actual events or incidents. Could be a wedding or a meeting. Generally, these time periods tend to be shorter in duration, and the areas tend to be more localized than those of Omega Worlds, which can span cities or countries."

Further supports either memory extraction or analysis methods or interaction with Oneroi.

Created Worlds: 
"These are worlds based off of media created by mankind. Books, anime, movies…the size of these worlds can be limited to the setting of the movie or can encompass the entire world as it would exist in said media."

Gotta be Tenemos... or the most elaborate procedurally created universe for fans, nerds and super super super bored supernatural beings.

Real Worlds: 
"Keystone Earth (2:00 position on the Clock), and Key World (Atlantis.)"

Storage

"There is evidence that through the centuries various peoples and organizations throughout time have gained (and or lost) access to the Omega Worlds have used them as a repositories of magical items, weapons, and the like. Unlike living visitors, items will remain wherever they are put in the various worlds and will not be messed with by the actors in the worlds.  There are useful stockpiles and caches to raid, if one knows where they are… I have personally verified that this persistent stockpile system works in both Created and Dream Worlds."

Just... like a video game where the NPCs never take the stuff you leave lying around and it persists forever.  This adds credence to the holodeck theory I've been fleshing out.

"Living visitors, without exception, if they are left behind or separated too far from the Omega Clock user that brought them there, will be shunted back to where they originated on Earth after 3 days."

Well that is good I guess...

Omega Clock Gears

"Among the various worlds are certain areas that contain large Gear mechanisms. These Gears are roughly the size of what one would expect in a clock the size of Big Ben. They may be hidden in a warehouse in London, in a Buddhist temple in Japan, in the far side of a hill…There are over a hundred of these mechanisms, and they appear to be randomly scattered throughout the worlds, where they may or may not look out of place."

"Changing settings on specific Gear mechanisms (almost always more than one mechanism, which means visiting more than one world) will affect the settings and abilities of the Omega Clock as a device for controlling this vast continium. Finding which settings on which Gear mechanisms on which worlds to change the abilities of the Omega Clock is not easy…And enabling powerful abilities of the Omega Clock almost always entails a trip to Atlantis to affect the Mainspring that is located there."

That... sounds remarkably like God-Machine Infrastructure we've encountered so far... Just how much time has she spent messing with this?  Why does the dog-demon who never finished High School have access to cosmic technology?

"There are mentions as I traveled to these different worlds, of an extremely powerful weapon ability that concentrates all the quantum energy that powers the bubble universes into a single output with the purpose of destroying an intended target."

O.o  Wat?

Through inspecting some of these larger gears that enable special commands and options on the Omega Clock device I have determined the following options exist:

• Whether Omega residents (the ‘fake’ people) remember visitors
• Whether worlds retain a status quo and ‘reset’
• Whether Omega residents come back from the ‘dead’
• How many travelers can be transported with the Omega Clock
• Whether travelers need to hold onto the user to be transported (mass transportation)
• Whether items can be stored in any worlds inside Omega Space
• How long an abandoned visitor will stay inside Omega Space until shunted back to Earth at the same spot he came from
• Where someone abandoned will be shunted back to Earth
• Deletion of worlds
• "Weaponry"
• Adjustment to home dimension, Keystone Earth or Key World (speculated, unconfirmed).

Recommendation:

I implore you to investigate master!  At the very least we need to eliminate the possibly that she is holding an Artifact of incredible power... I'm just a little worried the doggy has a fucking TARDIS

The Omega Clock device is definitely is worth further investigation, if only to disprove the outlandish claims this demon hunter claims about its capabilities.  Maybe it IS a control device to access key God-Machine Infrastructure to manipulate the entire space/time continuum.  It could be the tip of the iceberg, the fingernail of a larger distributed machine in sub-space facilities... the fingernail of the God-Machine.

.

[Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen] Lore: Origins of the Youkai

((Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen

Venue: Mage: The Awakening

Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler

Authored by Alanna Keith))

Kitsume

Lore: Origins of the Youkai

By Talon Indra

The very first written document that ever mentioned the island of Japan also contained the first recorded mention of the word ‘youkai’.  Coincidence? 

The word ‘youkai’ did not appear in Japanese print until just before 800 AD.  It referred to a world of mysterious, unseen phenomena.  Something invisible, without form or identity, a mysterious energy that pervades deep forests, oceans, and mountains.

The word appears with increasing frequency over time, and was sometimes paired with the pronunciation ‘bakemono’ (monster) during the Edo period.

The word eventually evolved in the 20^th century to become a catchall term for anything supernatural.  But as with all myths, there is a hidden truth…

In ancient Japan, the people more commonly used the word ‘mononoke’ (lit.  suspicious/mysterious thing or spirit) to describe this mysterious, invisible energy.  This concept of ‘mononoke’ was something to fear, a mysterious, natural force that could appear at any time and kill you, like a lightning strike or tidal wave.  (Princess Mononoke actually illustrates this concept and sentiment very well.)

According to the ancient ideas of animism, a spirit-like being called a ‘mononoke’ was thought to reside in all things. These spirits possessed various kinds of emotions.  If it was good and peaceful, it was a ‘nigi-mitama’ that brought about good fortune.  If it was violent, it was an ‘ara-mitama’ that brought about natural disasters and illness.  One’s ancestors, nature, and animals could all be considered ‘nigi-mitama’ that could be deified and become protective gods (kami) and receive worship.  There is a ritual for turning evil ‘ara-mitama’ into good ‘nigi-mitama’ to quell misfortune.  These ‘ara-mitama’ that weren’t deified, failed to be deified, or stopped being deified, can be said to be ‘youkai’.  (Shintoism eventually evolved from these concepts of animism.)

This raises the core point of the concept of youkai ((And, this is the very theory that I’ve had for years, now proven)).  Youkai, humans, and kami (gods) have a very special relationship:  Youkai can become kami, and vice versa, depending solely on the attention, or lack thereof, of normal humans.

Let me distinguish this from what we know about WoD Spirits.  Without pulling out the book and reading it, Spirits on a basic level, can also be said to reside in objects and represent concepts.  Unless they ‘manifest’, they are generally bodiless embodiments of concepts, emotions, and living or unliving items.  They can become stronger or weaker based upon a thriving, appropriate environment, and upon the attentions of humans (ex. mages) and Werewolves.  They can gain ‘ranks’, which generally denote their power level, and they can become so powerful as to be called minor ‘gods’.

‘Kami’ are also gods; what’s the difference?  If you took a Spirit and gave it a body of its own, and a will of its own, and a soul of its own, that can be said to be a youkai or kami in a nutshell.  ‘Kami’ unlike Spirits, have physical bodies that they usually reside in.  They have a true identity, rather than just being solely associated with a concept.  Granted, they are usually associated as a kami of this or that (war, harvest, etc), but they are also individuals, with a personality, much like a human.  They can reason and make choices in accordance with or against their ‘association’.  They can choose to redefine themselves, although it’s not easy.  A given kami can choose to be fickle, or kind, or violent.  Kami, unlike Spirits, do not need to consume other Spirits to gain sustenance and power.  They can eat food just fine.  No, in order gain power, a kami must have the active attention and worship of humans.  They do not need Mages or Werewolves to dedicate them Essence.  They do not even need elaborate rituals at shrines.  They just need at least one human who acknowledges and believes in them.  (Although the more widespread the shrines are, and the more people who worship, the much more secure the kami will be throughout the centuries in its position.) 

It is true that usually, the more well known a kami is, the more resources it has, and the more power it has, at least among the pseudo hierarchical organization of its fellow kami.  But even kami that do not own a single shrine can be as physically powerful (at least one on one) as a well-established kami.

(Examples of kami: all of the Buddhist gods).

(Extra info about kami: Kami generally have a host of other youkai or other souls (called shinki, or ‘sacred treasure’ or ‘sacred vessel’) working for them.  These souls (nothing to do with youkai) are those of deceased humans, who have died in accidents or from being murdered, but who have remained on earth because they still want to live.   Additionally, these souls must be uncorrupted – they must not have been tainted with evil or possessed by some other entity.  To create a shinki, the kami names the soul, who forgets all memories of their previous life.  The shinki has an additional form (a weapon, a piece of jewelry, an animal form, etc) through which it can lend power to the kami, with varied abilities.  The named shinki is an extension of the life force of the kami, and if the shinki becomes tainted by evil through committing sins or by strong negative emotions (because, when all is said and done, it is still human) the kami can become tainted as well.  A shinki that has risked its own life force to protect that of the god and survives may become a blessed vessel, with greater powers.  A kami who has no shinki is a particularly low ranking kami, and can be vulnerable to evil spirits, as shinki are one of a kami’s greatest powers.)

So, where does this put youkai?  Youkai can be considered to be unworshipped kami, and kami can be considered worshipped youkai.  Youkai do not have shrines or human followers.  (It is practically unheard of for youkai to have a shinki).  The existence of youkai is entirely dependent on the existence of humans (as are the existence of kami).  They did not come into this world before humans.

So, how are Youkai distinguished from everything else that goes bump in the night?  Youkai aren’t, as a whole, simply monsters.  Unlike other myths, youkai and humans have a very special relationship.  Through the attention of humans, youkai can become kami.  Few monsters in other cultures can claim this relationship.  Youkai also tend to change with the times, as the humans change around them – well, those who live in close proximity with them anyway.  Those who live in the wilderness far from prying eyes often either find themselves forgotten and bitter, or relish in the peacefulness.  But the youkai who live (secretly) among humans often delight in the fast paced environment in which they live and in the energy of humans.

Youkai are as varied and as numerous as the humans on this planet. No one document could hope to describe the variety.

Youkai are capable of influencing the environment with their habitation in an area.  A youkai with a deadly miasma can slowly poison an area, pollute a river, kill off plants, drive animals away, and sicken humans.  On the other hand, youkai who appreciate life can purify a lake, cause a forest to grow tall and lush, and keep illness at bay.  At the same time, a youkai who is extremely attached to its environment (not all are) can become deeply affected by negative changes, such as pollution.  There is a subtle dynamic between the pressures of human change and the youkai’s own miasmic influence on an environment, especially in an inhabited area.  Depending on the relative pressures, for example, an antisocial youkai’s aura may encourage people to stay away from an area, or the pressures of progression and buildup may eventually drive such a youkai away.

Humans can become youkai both before or after death.  Youkai (and kami) have souls, just like humans, and something about them seems connected.  Perhaps it’s the eternal fascination humans have with the mysterious and the unknown and the scary, and the fact that youkai are those very mysteries personified.  Regardless, there are many ways a human can be cursed (or blessed) to become a youkai.  Those disturbed or frightened enough by a youkai’s terrifying true form, or adversely affected enough by its power become Youkai-tainted, doomed to encroaching strangeness and possible ostracizing from the community, until such time as he or she fully turns into a youkai, however long that takes, and at which time the transformation is permanent.  Purification rituals can halt or reverse transformation, but only before it occurs, after which, said rituals only cause harm to the individual.

It is worth noting that religious rituals are capable of hurting any youkai, although the extent depends on the belief and strength of the ritualist in question and on the power level of the youkai being targeted.  There seems to be no discrimination toward religion in this instance.

However, purification rituals DO NOT WORK on kami, who are basically purified, worshiped youkai anyway.  Not unless the kami becomes tainted or corrupted by something, which is entirely possible, and even then, rituals exist to purify kami back to their original state.

On the same token, youkai can ALSO become corrupted or tainted.  The proper rituals can remove this taint if it hasn’t progressed too far.  A fully corrupted youkai basically becomes something like a colloquial ‘demon’ or monster and must then be killed.

Back on the topic of human transformation into youkai, other methods include various rituals that might merge a youkai’s soul into a human (as happened to Ikiyouyou), or possible other magic.

Kodama

A deceased human can also become a youkai of its own volition – the human’s soul (or ghost) is wrought with anger or hatred or bitterness toward one or many humans and comes back as a ghostly youkai intent on wreaking havoc.  This is not merely some poltergeist, as the powers of a ghostly youkai can far exceed that of a normal poltergeist.  True story, the human Sugawara, who was a poet, scholar, and politician, fell victim to the political plots of a rival of the Fujiwara family, and was demoted and exiled to a faraway post.  He died in exile, and became a vengeful ghostly youkai.  He created heavy rain and lightning, causing many of the Fujiwara family to die, and the fires and floods destroyed their residences.  To stop the destruction, the court of the emperor decreed that the exile order be burned, and that the poet be worshipped under the name Tenjin (sky deity), immediately erecting a shrine.  The ritual pacified the angry youkai and turned him into a kami who is now worshipped quite often during school entrance exams.

Anyway, if you follow the thought that a human can, through various methods, become a youkai, than the reverse of that logic seems like it should also be true, that a youkai can, through various methods, become human…

Youkai powers and abilities are as varied as there are youkai (compare this with mages, who also have a whole host of powers they can do).  Commonalities include true forms, a youkai miasma that manifests automatically when a youkai reveals their true form and willingly otherwise, a hardiness to physical attacks, and an ability to perceive and communicate with spirits (perhaps something to do with their origins).

Youkai DO interact with other youkai, but it tends to happen more often in towns and cities and places populated by humans.  Outside of towns, and outside of those few youkai communities, youkai tend to be loners and don’t interact much outside of their family groups or personal friendships.

[Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen] Youkai Busters: First Encounter

 ((In Character Post (IC):

Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen
Venue: Mage: The Awakening
Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler))

Author: Alanna & Stephanie Keith, all rights reserved))

((What follows is the un-censored version of Iky's story about her zombie dragon hunt, told in the former sanctum of Etzel in Los Angeles after the Story: Patchwork))

Introduction:  Before you start reading, a brief introduction of the characters may be in order…

 

Kaze (“Wind”) – Experienced demon-hunter, living with the werewolf change for several years now.  Originally from mainland Asia, but has traveled the world extensively.  Currently lives in Japan, serving a new master, and learning new battle techniques.

Ikiyouyou (“In high and proud spirits”) – Japanese demon-hunter, cursed at a young age by a wayward spell, now sporting canine features.  Namely white dog ears and claws.  Has served her Japanese sensei for many years before Kaze’s arrival.

Summary:  The story takes place in modern times, in Japan.  In particular, this episode describes an early mission, just after Kaze and Ikiyouyou start working together.

* * * * *

Youkai Busters:  First Encounter

By

Ikiyouyou and Kaze

* * * * *

            Frigid winds howled through the craggy gray peaks of Mount Samuiryuu.  Nothing grew on these lifeless rocks, and nothing could be heard other than the wind and the soft creaking of a taut rope.  Claws scrabbled on hard stone as Kaze paused in rappelling down the cliff’s face.  A loosed pebble was knocked free, and she watched as it plummeted downward, eventually lost in the haze below.  Sighing, she glanced upward through her frosty breath to where her partner waited somewhere above.  They had almost reached their goal.  Finally.  Wind ruffled Kaze’s black and silver fur as she considered her position.

            She hung suspended just above a rock overhang, under which the cave should be hidden.  A good leap and swing should have her touching down just inside.  Taking a deep breath, Kaze yelled upward, “Yo!  Almost there!”

            A white head appeared above, silhouetted against the gray sky.  “Good!  Catch!”  Ikiyouyou held out her hand and promptly dropped a black, undistinguishable object.

            “Whaa--!”  Kaze twitched violently out of the way and snagged the backpack’s strap on its way past.  Swinging lightly back and forth, she shouted back, “Watch it!  You almost hit me!”

            Only a muffled response was heard, and Kaze assumed Ikiyou had gone back to preparing the rest of their gear.  Growling softly, she used her claws to stabilize her swing.  “Give me a minute so I can anchor the rope!”  Then, with a mighty push, she swung off and dropped the remaining forty feet to the cave’s floor.  She unclipped herself from the rope, dropped the pack on the floor, and cast about for some stone to tie the rope down with.  Finding nothing, she resigned herself to holding the rope with one clawed foot.  Then she glanced above to the black shape of the overhang.  “Ready when you are!”

            Having already clipped two packs of supplies to the rope, Ikiyouyou slid the first one down the rope to her waiting ally.  She clipped on the third and started to ponder the mission for the nth time.  She really wished she were elsewhere at the moment.  Preferably somewhere with sunshine and blue skies.  But no.  She had to accompany that crude, hairy, thing down there on yet another mission, to spirits knew where, that Iki could take care of herself.  She had to baby-sit that werefreak until it proved itself worthy of those swords, Masamune no Daburu Himitsu[1], in Sensei’s possession.  Letting out a gusty sigh, Ikiyou arched her back to ease tense muscles, and gazed off into the sky.  

            “Hey!  You fall asleep, or what?”  Ikiyou started, and twitched a white ear in annoyance.  Roughly kicking off the second pack, and shoving the third, and last, soon after it, she readied herself for her own dramatic entrance.  Deciding to bypass the direct route of the rope down the front of the overhang, she sprinted off to the side.  Bending down and touching the tips of her clawed fingers to the ground, she vaulted over the cliff’s edge.  “Ya-haa!”  Rockslide Ninjutsu was totally cool!  Channeling energy to the hand touching the stone, she slid downwards, long white hair trailing after and blue kimono flapping in the wind.  Gray rock became a blur as it rushed past her. 

            As she passed the overhang, she touched a foot to the wall, redirecting energy to slow her descent.  Spying Kaze, she came to a halt and gave a jaunty wave.  Then she kicked off of the wall and launched herself safely into the cave.

            Ikiyou strode over to where Kaze stood gazing into the depths of the cave.  The werewolf twitched an ear in acknowledgement.  “Hey!  See anything?”  Iki asked.  Kaze remained silent for a few moments.  Briefly, Ikiyou wondered what it must be like to have senses as keen as Kaze’s.  Sure, being a dog “demon,” Ikiyouyou had all the senses of a finely trained hunting dog: enhanced sight, hearing, smell… But, after working together through several missions, all the indications were that Kaze took “enhanced” senses and upped them to the next level.  Or the next several levels.  Must be nearly maddening, Ikiyou thought, to be constantly bombarded by all those intense sounds…smells…And, although Ikiyou had yet to see it herself, Kaze had hinted at having even stronger senses in her final form.  Wolf.

            “Hmmm…”  Kaze seemed to almost lazily stare into the gloom, head held upward, nose and ears twitching occasionally.  “Nope.”  Then her glowing golden eyes shifted craftily to the side to land on Ikiyouyou.  “But now that you’re here, I do catch the stench of something really nasty.”

            “Hey!”  Ikiyou growled.

            Kaze smirked and returned her attention to the darkness.  “I’m pretty sure it’s that…thing…we’ve been tracking.  The scent is thick here, but extends farther into the cave.  It seems recent.”  All of Kaze’s knowledge and experience screamed “dragon!”  But there was something just wrong with the signs that had been left behind.  Something unnatural.  Kaze had the strongest feeling that she should know what that meant, like it was on the tip of her tongue…

            “This place reeks of youkai.”[2]  Iki stated.

            “Ya think?”

            Kaze turned around to grab the packs.  She tossed two to Ikiyou.  “Here.”

            Ikiyou tossed them back.  “Here yourself.”

            Kaze gave Ikiyouyou her “What-the-heck?” expression.  Ikiyou, waving a hand loftily in the air, turned around to face the cave’s depths.  “I’m going to be sniffing out the enemy, I can’t be carrying the packs around.”

            “You can at least carry one, fleabag.”  And Kaze shoved a pack into Ikiyou’s arms as she strode past into the gloom, hefting the other three onto her back.

            Rolling her eyes, Ikiyouyou proceeded ahead of Kaze, pulling out an mp3 player from her deep pockets.  Arranging the headphones over her ears, she got down on all fours and started to sniff out the trail.  Well aware that Kaze’s hearing was many orders of magnitude above her own, Ikiyou said, “Give me a ring if you hear anything.”

            “Hmph.”

            Rocking to the beat of her music, Ikiyou followed the scent trail.  “Free to run around all daaay…Free to do it all my waaaay!”  She sang.  Kaze let out a quiet snort of amusement, but let her tail wag to the beat, which she could clearly hear.  The two demon-hunters continued onward, vanishing into the blackness.

            After roughly half an hour, the tunnel widened.  Kaze stopped as she spied a heavy, rusted iron door blocking the way.  Ikiyouyou continued onward, nose glued to the dirt.  “I want to chaaange the world!  Kaze wo kakenukete…”  Kaze watched, eyebrow raised.  Suddenly, some uncanny sixth sense brought Ikiyouyou up short, just shy of the door.  She brought her head up with a jerk, hair brushing against the iron surface.  Ikiyou blinked.  “It’s through here!” She pointed. 

            “So open it.”

            Ikiyou put her shoulder against the door and heaved with all her might.  Very, very slowly, the door groaned open.  Kaze flicked her ears back at the noise.  Iki stopped when the opening was just wide enough to admit the two of them.  Well, what do ya know…she did it.  She roll a perfect twenty, or something?[3]  Kaze wondered.

            Ikiyou, still bopping to the music, practically skipped through the doorway.  Ka-thunk!  A steel arrow wedged itself into the rock to the left of Iki, just shy of her head.  Eyes widened, she promptly proceeded to bop in reverse out the door.  She pointed into the doorway.  “You go first!”

            Kaze stalked forward until she towered over Ikiyou.  Ripping the headphones off her head she growled, “Stow it.”  She shoved them into Iki’s hands and headed for the rusted door.  Edging her head around the side, Kaze peered into the darkness.  Thook-snap!  ...Ah, there’s the trap. 

            Ears twitched at sudden chatter in the background.  Then… “Kaze!”  Kaze pulled her head out of the gap and turned to look at Ikiyouyou, who had the cell phone glued to her ear.

            “Oh, just a sec.”  Iki returned her attention to the phone.  “Oh yeah, were fine…yeah, we’re totally cool…No really!  We’re fine.  I-”  She did a double take on Kaze, jaw dropping.  Turing the phone around, she positioned it in front of her.  Kaze caught the distinct voice of their Sensei, on the other side of the line: “Iki…Iki!…Answer the phone!  Iki!”  Ikiyou snapped the photo and sent it.  “See?  We’re cool!”

            Kaze rolled her eyes and snapped the arrow held in her jaws in half, spitting out the pieces.  “I want a copy of that.”  Kaze turned back to the door.  “Wait here.”  Slipping back inside, she put on a burst of speed and shot towards the arrow trap, nimbly dodging the bolts until she leapt up right next to it.  A swift strike with her claws, and Kaze landed on the ground, pieces of the machine tumbling down around her.  “All clear!”

            Snapping the phone shut with a flourish, Ikiyouyou moved – more carefully this time – through the door.  She found Kaze on the other side of a room carved out of the mountain itself, giving everything a once-over, before kneeling and examining the debris at her feet.  “So you got it, I see,” Ikiyou commented.

            “Ya.  Piece o’ cake.  I think we’re getting close, so I’m going to leave my packs here.”  Kaze stood up.  “I think…this may have been some old smuggler’s hideout, from the trap.  There were others, but they don’t work anymore, apparently.  Although it’s beyond me how any smuggler could have gotten way up here… Maybe there’s another entrance, or something.  Anyway, this creature most likely took the place as a matter of convenience.  No one else has been here in ages.”

            Ikiyou nodded in agreement.  Looking at a second door leading out of the room, she considered.  The demonic aura clearly stemmed from the other side of that door.  In fact…not only was the aura awfully strong, the youkai’s presence reeked, foul and just…Gah, that is soo nasty.  Ugh.  It’s huge…and not friendly.  Ikiyou shivered and turned to Kaze.

            “Because of my greater experience with youkai in Japan, I’ll go first to see what we’re dealing with and figure out the best course of action.  Stay behind me.”

            Kaze regarded Ikiyou for a moment, amused at the little speech.  “Very well.  You know though, that staying behind you isn’t much different than standing beside you.  Since I’m so much bigger, anyway.”

            “Yeah, but if it attacks me, I’ll have my sword out, which can deflect the attack.”  Ikiyou grinned.  “Besides, if I have to attack I don’t want someone right next to me.”  And with that she stepped confidently forward, hand stretched outward, to shove the door wide for another dramatic entrance.

            It didn’t budge.

            “What the--!”  After a few more useless shoves, the dog “demon” flung her full weight against the cold iron and heaved with all her might.  “Grrrr…”  Suddenly, the door gave and swung abruptly open to clang loudly against the opposing wall.  Ikiyou stumbled forward as she lost her balance, but managed to recover before she hit the ground.  She threw a glare back at her werewolf partner, who stood with one hand on the door, inspecting the interior.  Kaze glanced downward at Ikiyou.

            “What?”

            Grumbling about the injustice of allowing werewolves to flaunt their super-human abilities, Ikiyou straightened, brushing down her kimono, and peered into the gloom.  A soft whisper of sound caught her attention and she reached down to unsheathe her sword.  Her ears flicked backwards momentarily as she heard Kaze step lightly back to melt into the darkness.  She always did prefer the stealthy approach.  Attacking from the least expected direction.  Of course, her dark coloring and attire certainly helped her to use darkness as the perfect camouflage.  Fading in and out of the shadows like a freaking ghost…not that she needed it.

            Ikiyouyou, on the other hand, liked to do things much more directly.  Armed with a sword that practically glowed with unrealized potential, the promise of nearly infinite power, she made no secret of the fact that she wouldn’t hesitate to use it, bold and direct.  Shifting easily into a basic guard stance, Ikiyou waited for the youkai to reveal itself.

            Something stirred in the gloom, the barest hint of movement as a form took shape.  Black upon black, a head reared up, followed by a long neck.  What could have been wings stretched upward, before snapping back with an odd, grinding clatter.  A creaking noise followed as the thing appeared to take a breath.  Ikiyou tensed, expecting an attack, but what followed was only a deep, gurgling chuckle.  Pale, white orbs flashed into existence, lighting empty sockets. 

            Now Iki could finally see the thing clearly.  The corpse of a dragon, almost nothing remaining but blackened bone and patches of dried, withered skin, stretched taut in some places and hanging loose in others.  Bones, lacking anything resembling cartilage, ground and clattered together, joined only by shriveled tendons or muscle.  It stood about fifty feet away on four sets of chipped claws, splayed out wide on the stone floor.  A long array of tail vertebrae lashed in the darkness behind it.

            So.  Kaze was right about suspecting a dragon, although it wasn’t nearly as large as some she’d seen, but that wasn’t the half of it.  Not a mere undead creature, this was a youkai-possessed corpse, and Iki wondered where the thing had met its untimely end in order to have such a fate befall it.  Now wasn’t the time for idle chit-chat, however; her nose wrinkled at its evil stench.  Better to attack first than be drawn into demon-possessed conversation.  Things were infinitely safer that way. 

            Without warning, both Ikiyou and the dragon moved forward in attack.  The dragon launched itself forward on frail, but unnaturally strong legs, covering the ground in one leap.  As its head struck forward, Iki, already in the air, brought her sword down onto its bony neck.  The sword ground to a halt in the neck’s tough ligaments, and Iki was forced to yank it back out.  Irked, the dragon let out a long, raspy, howling wail.  Iki completed her leap, somersaulting to land behind the creature. 

            As the two continued the battle, Kaze dashed forward into the cavern.  Leaping nimbly with practiced ease, she dodged though the battle and began scouring the room with experienced eyes, looking for treasure.  Her first glance at the twisted carcass had brought a feeling of dismay.  Dragon, yes, but dead dragons didn’t hoard treasure, and she doubted this was its original sanctuary.  Longing to join in the thrill of the fight, she almost doubled back.  But she figured that the demon might still have some type of magical item lying around, so it was always worth a look. 

            Vaulting silently upwards to a better vantage point, Kaze quickly scanned the room with her enhanced eyesight.  Finding nothing, she suppressed a snarl of frustration.  On the way down, however, she spied a small item tangled around one of the dragon’s neck vertebrae.  Faint light cast by the sparks of Ikiyouyou’s sword colliding with black claws revealed a tiny oval amulet, deep purple in color.  Half concealed by melted flesh, it gave off an unearthly darkened glow of evil. 

            Victory!  Kaze often used a (mostly) fictitious desire for treasure to disguise her true goal:  those unique and often magical objects frequently found nearby.  After all, she could steal mere gold and jewels just about any time, but these objects were what made the hunt worthwhile.  And there was something very interesting right now, almost within reach.  Kaze touched down and sprinted towards the demon carcass.

            A split second before she made the final leap, she spied something else glowing weakly within the dragon, through a gap in its side.  Its steady beat identified it as the once-dragon’s heart.  Changing direction, Kaze sprung onto the dragon’s back, plunged a wickedly clawed hand through tendon, muscle, and splintering bone, and ripped out the heart, removing any last remnants of lingering dragon soul.  She leapt off as the dragon violently thrashed and let out a bone-chilling scream.

            “Iki!  Think you can grab that amulet?”

            “Where?  Where!”

            “You dork.  It’s right above you!”

            Both the dragon and Ikiyouyou reacted at the same instant.  Kaze watched as the dragon reared upward and Ikiyou jumped for the amulet.  Now’s the perfect chance.  Kaze whipped out a small, green origami Chinese dragon.  She smiled as it seemed to glimmer in anticipation.  This was one of her prized attacks, learned after visiting Japan and being roped into serving under Sensei.

           

            Many of the demon-hunters in this area used divine paper seals to combat demons and other evil forces.  Never content to do things the same as everyone else, Kaze invented a new twist to the skill.  She almost laughed as she remembered her first prank.  Exploding origami never got old.  But the elaborate paper-folding served more than just a decorative purpose.  Kaze had quickly learned that some of her more arcane spells learned in the depths of mainland Asia could be combined with the origami art to seal the holy enchantment within the folds of the paper.  Otherwise, the natural degeneration of the ink and paper, combined with the limited energy-bonding capacity of such an ordinary object, would cause the enchantment to weaken and dissipate over time.  Now, unlike other demon-hunters, Kaze’s divine paper would last virtually forever.  Adding in the water- and fire-proofing charms inscribed around the border of the paper, and you had a nearly indestructible, innocent-looking, mini-spirit-bomb.

            Holding the little dragon up high, Kaze roared, “Divine Bindings!”  The little paper creature jolted to life.  Singing with enthusiasm, it shot forward in a spiral of dazzling emerald light.  As it reached the youkai, it burst into cords of intense energy, instantly wrapping around the entire length of the monster and pulling tight.

            The corpse gave a mighty bellow as the demon inside was literally fried by the holy power.  Seeking escape, the demon exploded upward out of the dragon’s jaws, pulsing in rage and agony as a twisting column of black smoke.

            Ikiyouyou, still in the process of ascending, pushed off of the dragon’s skull, boosting her jump.  Rising to the top of the demon smoke, sword raised over her head, she gave a mighty yell, “This is it!  Lightning Strike!”  A line of blinding white light flashed through the smoke, following the path of Iki’s sword as she bisected the writhing blackness on her way down.  Pale blue electricity ripped through the cloud, causing a shriek of pain.

           

            At the same time, the wild song of a phoenix heralded the unleashing of another of Kaze’s little friends.  Iki glanced up at the cloud in time to see a sun-gold spear of light lance into the heart of the demon’s form. 

           

            A deafening explosion followed the violent clash of magics.  The shockwave slammed Ikiyou downward, straight through the collapsing pile of spiritless dragon carcass.  The snapping of bone and ripping of muscles filled her ears.  Finally Iki hit the ground, blackened dragon remains raining down around her. 

            Having crushed the dragon’s heart, Kaze stood regarding the settling pile of debris and pulverized bone.  One ear twitched in gross fascination.  That has got to be…Oh ewww!  I don’t think I can take it anymore!  Keen hearing picked out raspy squelching noises from somewhere deep inside.  The pile shifted, which dislodged a wide swath of melting muscle and skin, causing it to sort of slither down the side, flopping in a semi-liquidated glop on the floor.  That was the last straw.  Kaze collapsed into a fit of laughter.  “I’m so glad I’m not… That is the most disgusting…!”

            Ikiyou suddenly burst out of the decomposing mess, proudly straightening and brushing off ebony bone dust, and flinging melting ligaments everywhere.  Then she brandished the amulet, swinging it in a circle around one finger.  With a flourish, Iki tossed the amulet up and caught it in her fist.  “Got it!”

            “Joy,” Kaze gasped, managing to bring her hilarity under control.

            Ikiyouyou clambered out of the disarray, kicking bones to the side as she went.  After she cleared the pile, Kaze moved closer to get a better look at the amulet.  “Let’s see.”

            “See?  Isn’t it cool?”

            The deep purple object was a flattened oval in shape, attached to a dark brown, leather cord.  The stone sparkled faintly in the golden light from Kaze’s glowing eyes.  Kaze reached out to take the amulet.  Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the feel of the smooth stone between her fingers.  It held a slight warmth, briefly heated from Ikiyou’s touch.  And…there!  That faint spark of dwindling evil was the only indication of the aura she had witnessed before.

            “Hmmm.”  Opening her eyes and rolling the stone thoughtfully between her fingers, Kaze pondered the possibilities.  “I think…the stone may resonate with the energy of whoever wears it.  It might even help to amplify whatever powers that being employs.  Such an all-purpose object probably isn’t too powerful, though; just enough to give a small edge.”

            “I wonder…”  Ikiyouyou crossed her arms.

            The two demon-hunters turned to exit the cavern, leaving the old carcass to disintegrate.  The only thing holding it together in the first place had been the strong demonic will.  Now, with the demon destroyed, the enormous stress of the possession was finally taking its toll.  In a few short hours, there’d be nothing left but ashes.

            After reaching the first cavern, Kaze headed for the packs she left behind.  Opening one, she pulled out a deep blue amulet, nearly identical to the one they found.  Holding them side-by-side, Kaze said, “Well, now we know what that rock was that Sensei gave us.  Here.”  Kaze tossed the blue one over to Ikiyou.

            “Thanks.  You know…I know exactly what these are.  These are the legendary Amulets of the Void!”  Ikiyou paused for the appropriate expression of awe from her companion.

            Kaze blinked.  “Oookay.”  She turned back to the pack and rustled around for a moment.  “What do you want?  Ham or turkey?  I’m starved.”

            “What!  After all that work I did to slay the dragon, and rescue the amulet, all you can think about is food?  You glutton!  Don’t you even want to hear about them?”

            “Sure.”  Kaze left Ikiyou to decide to which question that referred, and dug out a sandwich, preparing to chow down.

            Ikiyou glared daggers at her insolent friend and proceeded to regale her with the legend of the Void Amulets.  “The void is one of the five elements in Shinto mythology, and it’s the most powerful.  Supposedly, these amulets together represent each of those elements, with the fifth representing the Void.  And when brought together, the amulets form a really powerful energy source.”

            Between bites, Kaze replied, “Cool.  So which ones do we have?”

            “I have no freakin’ clue without studying them a bit more.”

            Kaze finished her sandwich, balled up the wrapper and tossed it backwards.  Standing up and stretching, she picked up all three of the packs and turned to Ikiyou.  Then, pointing a thumb back over her shoulder, “Let’s make like a banana and split.”

            Ikiyou grinned.

* * * * *

            Kaze and Ikiyouyou plummeted through the clouds, Kaze with her arms wrapped securely around Ikiyou’s neck, making an effort not to hold on too tightly.  How did I get myself talked into this?  Oh yeah…it was more like a trip and push.  Ikiyou’s Water Walking ability sure came in handy sometimes, allowing her to walk on anything from water to leaves, to vertical surfaces, to clouds.  So here they were, a controlled fall at a steady speed through the thick clouds surrounding the mountain. 

            This is so cool!   Ikiyou grinned, her heightened senses and ability allowing her to feel the individual drops of water as they brushed past her outstretched fingers.  She could feel her ki connecting her to the beads of moisture, could feel the currents of air movement through the clouds, could discern the shape of the cloud.  Ah, there is nothing like this in the world!  Ikiyou closed her eyes and delighted in the sensation of wind rushing through her hair.

            A nagging thought suddenly struck Kaze full force.  “Iki!”  She yelled over the wind.

            “Huh?”

            “What happens when we run out of clouds?”

            “Oh.  You’re right.”  Quick maneuvering on Iki’s part unexpectedly placed her on Kaze’s back.  “You go first.”

* * * * *

End

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[1] Masamune’s Double Secret – a pair of unique double-edged katanas hand-forged by the legendary Masamune himself

[2] Demon

[3] D&D in-joke, referring to rolling the maximum amount possible on the dice, allowing the player to accomplish anything (a near miracle).  Here, Kaze had doubted that Ikiyou would have had the strength to open the door, hence, a miracle must have occurred.