Delurking. Checking in with the kids.

[nick_garou]

After the paradox that was causing me insufferable pain in the presence of sound waves wore off (and I am still kicking myself for that oversight), I made a long-overdue trip into the city to check on Salem. He'd texted me earlier about his situation and asked for my help in finding a fix, and that helped lessen the shock of seeing him. He looks like a tweenager who lost a fight with a gang of woodchippers. As a scarred older man, the damage could easily be explained away if a member of the public asked. Industrial accident. Combat vet (spare a buck?). Bar room brawls. As a massively battle-scarred kid? People are going to pay close attention to his comings and goings, and they're going to ask questions that won't always have easy answers.

I'd hoped that whatever had done this to him was the result of some ongoing magickal effect that I could simply jigger lose with some countermagicking--perhaps with an extended countermagick ritual if need be. But it's a permanent effect. My knowledge of the Life sphere is extremely limited. I can observe but can't influence, so I can't help Salem. Pavel, my mentor, could. He's a Master of Life. I've seen him bring a handful of mud to life, turn it into a rabbit, and then kill/skin/gut it with the same magick so he could make his dinner.  In his sanctum, of course. He doesn't ever leave his sanctum in the realm--only in the umbra. (After my bit of idiocy last week, I can kind of see why. The outside world is.... irritatingly limiting at times.) I have no doubt Pavel can repair a human or other non-supernatural creature. But can he re-make a supernatural shapeshifter? And if so, would he do it? And at what price? Nothing is free with Pavel, even for his student. I will contact him after the moon becomes fuller and it's dangerous to be around the garou once again.

Ghost arrived. She has relocated to the Walkers' new stronghold, away from the communal lands of the rural farmhouse at Edgewood. She's aware that Val did something with her blood and gave it to the Ooze. I mentioned the blood being Awakened. Ghost claims the spirits at Edgewood reacted poorly to her spiritual presence when she last went umbral. I suspect there is some symbiotic link between her and the Ooze now. To what end, though? And is it stable or increasing? I examined her with magick, but the Ooze seems to reside somewhere outside of this particular version of reality. I feel as if my efforts are futile. I am, however, curious as to how the sample of Ooze I have might react in Ghost's presence. Will it go towards her, like it does radiation and all other aspects of reality (to a lesser extent)? Or will it flee from her?

After the meeting, I departed for Portland to touch base with my two apprentices there. They'd experienced going to the umbra earlier when I loaned them the temporary use of my cat's eye marble talisman--how I typically get in and out of the umbra. But I wanted to show them each, as they had some small influence over the spirit world (like myself), a trick I'd learned for getting into the umbra without it. With a rudimentary knowledge of the Spirit sphere, a mage can touch the spirit world and thin the gauntlet temporarily. However, through an extended ritual that focuses exclusively on thinning the gauntlet, it is possible for a mage to eventually thin the gauntlet to the point where the two worlds touch. For me, in the woods near my house where the gauntlet is not as thick as it is in the city, it can take from 3-6 hours of work to make this happen--and it's a one-way trip. In other words, it's highly inadvisable save for an emergency--such as being captured and locked in a cell. The act is substantially harder for my apprentices as neither possesses the Arete--the talent for magick--that I have. However, combined and working ritual magick, they come close to my strength in working this simplistic effect. I aided them in thinning the gauntlet within their apartment/sanctum, and we brought a small roach spirit across the gauntlet and into the realm. We them worked together to send it back. Working the ritual magick with my apprentices effectively doubled the speed with which we performed the magickal effect.

This is the power of the cabal. This is the power of the ritual. This is the power of working together instead of separately. It is my hope that they will begin affiliating themselves with the local chantry--at least to an extent--for their mutual benefit in these dark times. It is a sacrifice of freedom (and perhaps pride), and I understand fully how that grates. I have been there myself, back in the days when Nightfall Chantry existed in Saint Claire.

Lesson completed, I returned home, slept soundly, and prepped my backpack for an extended visit at the caern the following morning. It's easy to get there on four legs, but it's tedious and time consuming on two. I feel I need to take advantage of what time I can be in the caern, for I feel one day I will be banished from it forever. I need to study its ebb and flow of Prime and Spirit energies while I still have the opportunity.