[CHAR] Mage The Ascension: Illusion and Reality in the City of Sin

CS Skeleton

Quote that embodies the character. Can be something they said, something said about them, or a famous quote that fits them

Tradition ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Tradition of magic (Can be any of the nine traditions, any of the disparates, or an Orphan mage. No Nephandi, no marauders, and no open Technocrats. Defectors and undercover Technocrats are allow) Spheres ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ (List the spheres of magic that your character has skill with, in order of most skilled to least skilled. The less you list, the more skilled you will be at each of them. ) ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔	_______________________________________________ Full Name Age (18 or older, please) Appearance details not highlighted in the image used (optional) Outlook: This section is the one where you talk about who your character is as a person. Personality is a big part, so are inner struggles, and their general outlook on life. This is also the section where you talk about their relationship with reality, what do they actually do when they are working magic? What actions do they take to invoke these powers, how do they think they operate? Are there inbuilt assumptions or limitations? This is also where you can talk about your mage's Avatar, the entity that exists inside the Mage's mind and represents their connection with their magic. How this operates differs for every mage, some see their avatar as a person that comes in their dreams, others hear a voice in their head, still others may not even see them a conscious being, just notice signs and messages that seem to be from a mirror of themselves. How overtly it appears to a mage also varies, some hear from them only once in a blue moon, others seldom spend a moment where they don't feel their avatar's presence in some way	Personal History ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ (Talk about their biography, how they came to be where they are now) Plot Hooks ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ (Not required. If you want to list potential storylines or unresolved issues related to your character that might come up later, this is where you can do that)

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(Not Required. List characters they know and have some kind of relationship with. Can be PCs or NPCs)
Character: Relationship</sub>

[Mistress Dizzy]

I Hear Trouble Coming

”I have a bad feeling about this...”

youtu.be/nuYSarZXzrE

Tradition ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Silver Bridges (Cult of Ecstacy) Spheres ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Time Entropy Spirit ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔	_______________________________________________ Full Name: Kalen Alessandro Fiaccola Age: 22 Outlook: Kalen is outwardly a social butterfly – polite and well-mannered, the sort that makes friends easily. He's got a sweet smile, classic charm and a firm handshake. In truth, he’s more or less an energetic introvert. People drain him. He counts the people he can truly trust outside of his direct family on one hand. The rest of his “friends” don’t get to see the moments when the smile comes off his face. He’s learned to bury his anxiety deep. Even though his awakening eased the burden of his gift to some degree, a busy crowd will overwhelm him. Sometimes he just wants to be alone. There are times when he stops being friendly, but usually someone has to really get under his skin to do that. Or bother his loved ones. His usual method of magic looks a lot like prayer. His family has been Catholic for a long time, and despite his newfound outlook, the trappings and practice are still a comfort. Praying to God and adjusting the world around him are not concepts that are at odds in his mind. Who's to say God didn't give him a blessing? Despite the strange twist his life has taken, his faith remains. He has a worn rosary of wooden beads, and a golden cross necklace as foci. He also has a very expensive watch that is… just a watch. But it does aid him in keeping his future sight intact. He also relies on Coincidental magic quite a bit. Many people will swallow a story from a friendly stranger with a “gut feeling”, and playing his skill off as just a happy sequence of events keeps him from unsettling reality too much. His Avatar looks a little bit like him, and a little bit like his mom. No one he’s been able to place on the family tree. She calls herself Alessandra, and Kalen takes her advice as one would a beloved aunt.	Personal History ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ The Fiaccola has always been a little… sensitive. Certain skills run in his family, like intuition, prophecy, a sixth sense. So does a propensity toward certain illnesses, according to his father. Heartburn, ulcers, alcoholism. Ones that don't get discussed out loud, especially among the men: anxiety, depression, paranoia, and worse. Kalen was always an anxious kid. Jumping at shadows, hiding behind doors. Medication and therapy techniques helped to a point. He made friends, two of which he would bond with for life: Giovanni and Jin. The dreams didn’t start until his junior college year. His name being called, over and over, by someone he felt he should know. Things that hadn’t happened – couldn’t happen – until they did. Knowing his family history, he feared he was losing his mind. He went back home to his parents in Chicago, who welcomed him with the love they always did. They comforted him, and let him know that no matter what happened, they would always be there. “You can lose your mind, but you’re not losing us.” That night, he had one of the worst nightmares of his life. That morning, he begged his parents not to go to church, to stay home. He could not express why, through his panic, but he was so certain. That afternoon, they all watched the news as their beloved old neighborhood church burnt to ashes – century-work wiring sparking a fire that would have claimed their lives along with a dozen other parishioners. Kalen Awoke shortly after that. Plot Hooks ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Jin seems to have stood him up for dinner – and isn’t answering his calls. Kalen isn’t leaving the city until he finds out what’s going on.

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Character: Jin Ifriti – his brilliant beloved and (hopefully) future fiance. Works as a freelance software engineer.

Alvaro Fiaccola – his great uncle on his father’s side. Was institutionalized for schizophrenia before Kalen’s father was born. Presumed dead. (He Awakened – badly. Turned into a Marauder and started talking about nuclear bombs and ubermen that were secretly infiltrating society and replacing humans.)</sub>

[Theyra]

Samuel Evans

Just because I did bad things, does not mean I cannot do good things.

Tradition ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Orphan Spheres ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Mind, Forces and Life ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔	_______________________________________________ Samuel Kent Evans 25 Outlook: Samuel is ultimately a person seeking redemption for past actions with the 13th Street Snakes. Finally realizing after one criminal act had gone too far and now. Samuel wants to make things right with his conscience, which he had ignored since joining the gang. While he did seem like a typical gangster with the Snakes. Samuel does have morals and a conscience. Which he feels pain over what he has done and tries to forgive himself for it. He is done living as a gangster. Going clean and getting rid of his tattoos. Samuel's truth is that he believes in the power of redemption and for someone to redeem themselves not just to others, but to themselves. That a person can change for the better and not give in to past temptations. Become stronger than before. But now with the magic at his fingertips, Samuel feels like he was Awakened for a reason and that he could use his magic to use in his redemption and make things right. Once he figured out how to use his magic, that is. Samuel views the world as a place that has not been kind to him or his family. Where people like him get pushed down despite trying to make it work. A cruel world with little light in it. But with the discovery that he is now a mage, perhaps he can bring some light into the world now. His light now pushes back against the cruel world, and he rises instead of being pushed down. His magic works by finding loop poles in reality and exploiting them. Need a fireball, use a lighter, need a good light source, also use a lighter. Stuff like that, using everyday items to stretch what they can actually do, or using magic in a way that seems normal on the surface, most of the time. Which he keeps items on his person to aid his magic. Samuel believes that he has finally gotten a lucky break and has somehow gained an edge in life after all of these years. Maybe in thanks to someone up upstairs. Samuel's Avatar only appears during dreams, which he has almost every night. The Avatar appears as a masked man wearing a cloak and often speaks in insightful words that Samuel understands half the time.	Personal History ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Samuel did have a good life growing up. A native of Las Vegas and would see the worst the city has to offer. Born to a single mother and an absent father. Samuel and his mother did their best to make a life out of their poor situation. Sometimes, despite their living conditions and status. The two were able to make it work and have some happy moments to enjoy. But like all things, it had to come to an end when Samuel's mother died when he was fourteen, and his later foster parents would barely care about him once they miraculously had a child of their own. Once he was eighteen, his was promptly kicked out of his foster parents' house without anything to support him. On the streets, Sameul would end up joining a gang and for a time he seemed to improve and felt like he had a real family since the death of his mother. Only for one day, he witnessed his gang do something that crossed the line in his mind. Forever splitting him between his gang and would later drive him to leave and go solo, but never looking back. Now on his own, Samuel experienced his Awakening after seeing a profound act of kindness he witnessed on the streets. Now a mage, Sameul now tries struggles with learning how to use his magic while trying to redeem himself for his past actions in the gang. Plot Hooks ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Being an ex-gang member, Samuel's departure from his gang, the 13 Street Snakes, was not a painless departure. As members of the Snakes, including his now ex-girlfriend, did not wish for him to leave, while some felt betrayed by him leaving. So their resurfacing in his life could happen. That and while he never knew his father. His father did not forget that he had a son out there and he may try to find and connect with his son, Samuel. Whether or not Samuel would appreciate his father showing up after all of this time remains to be seen.

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TBA
Character: Relationship</sub>

[Shifter_Master]

Just another face in the rain

'I'm going to be frank with you. At the end of the day the world is fucked. But you'll not catch me laying down in the ashes. Not when I can dance in the fallout'

Tradition ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Orphan. 'And damn proud to be one too!' Spheres ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ 'Just you wait until I figure them all out!' Prime, Matter, Correspondence. ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔	_______________________________________________ Robert █████ Age: 28, or at least that's a safe bet. Robert is an odd person to describe. Mainly because you can't, not truly at any rate. How he looks varies from person to person. But rarely does he stand out to anyone, always being an average face in the crowd. The exception is the large, weathered jacket he always has on him. This un-person nature extends to recordings of him in all shapes. Written records, video tapes, memories. All fade, or get misplaced, or destroyed with shocking regularity. Mixed with his missing history Robert is forever just a step disconnected from others. It does make him very good at sneaking around places he shouldn't be though. Though Mages, other supernaturals, and the occasional odd mundane, are more resistant to Robert and his Arcane nature. Outlook: Robert is a Nihilist with a mean streak. A armchair optimist, and a backroom pragmatist. He is fully convinced that the World is a fucked up mess, built to exploit and abuse everyone and everything. And that's fine. Because Robert has found the Keys to the Kingdom in the trash. He doesn't know where he came from. Those memories are lost, possibly forever. He doesn't know where he is going. He has no grand ambitions or goals. But he knows where he is at and what he can do. And that's enough for him. The first Sphere Robert Awakened to was Prime. So more then anything he is tuned into Reality. He might not be able to parse the full picture, not yet, but he's got a finger on it's pulse. So he knows, intimately, just how little he is in the face of 'Everyone' but that's not disheartening to him. That's just a challenge. Plus there is something endlessly awe inspiring to just sit back and watch 'Reality' as it ripples and folds and changes. To find the fault lines where the ways of thinking shift imperceptibly. Knowing that Upstate you can get the cops to show up in five minuets with a shaky voice, while in downtown you can't get them to show even if you call them while in the middle of a active shoot out. And that's a lot of what Magick is to him. Finding the patterns, and techniques, and tricks, and cheats. There isn't anything that can't be done. You just have to know the right way to do it. And if one doesn't exist, you make it, or fake it. How it works isn't something he could really explain to a non Mage. It's a frame of mind, and a way of pushing your Will out into the Everything that is. Sometimes you need tools and props to help. But like any good Con, it only has to look good on the surface. As not many people bother to look twice, and by the time they would Robert is long gone. The difference is that when it comes to Magick, Robert is truly devoted to the craft. For all his apathy, and cynicism, and devil-may-care about the world and it's current state of affairs. He Loves Magick. He is shockingly open with it, using smaller effects often as he can get away with. And loves to hear about how people view their world. Because he doesn't think that there is one 'True' way to see the world. All of them are right. His is just more correct then most. This is in part to his Avatar. A statuesque woman, that seems intent on pushing Robert as far as he can go in regards to Magick. Teaching and testing him in regards to how to twist and rewrite reality. He sees her often. Weekly if not more, in the spaces between Con's or Grifts or in his dreams while he sleeps. She's too perfect to be human. Almost too perfect to be real. But she knows him. Better almost then he knows himself. But... She also doesn't quite seem to see Robert as he is now. And there is a level of frustration underlying all of their interactions. As if she feel like he should know all of this already. And she will make mentions of things that Robert can't remember, things from the nebulous 'before', but never explains any of them to him.	Personal History ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ 'You a cop? Why you asking? Who wants to know?' A surprisingly tricky thing to answer. Because put bluntly, Robert doesn't know. His memories only go back a few years before they just stop. What caused him to lose his history isn't something he knows. It wasn't his Awakening, as that's back in his gaps, but he does sometimes get flashes of insight, or recollections from these lost years that hint at a lot more then they realistically should. That said, Robert also doesn't really care. Who he was isn't who he is now. And who he is now, is a fast talking Con Artist. Testing the edges of what he can get away with, both legally and Magickally. And then working out way to get past even those limits. Notably, Robert's Awakening is remembered. But only the singular event that was his awakening, the lead up and aftermath are dust in the wind. Plot Hooks ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ 'Glitchy' Arcane, Pushy Avatar, Amnesia. 'Can you please not? I working on getting a handle on this Forces thing and I'm almost there.'

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Daxter: Local fence for Robert to pawn his conned goods off too. Isn't as affected by Roberts Arcane as much as most people are.</sub>

[Pragia12]

Nathaniel Durand, Knight Templar

“Nothing ever happens in the world that does not happen first inside human hearts.” -Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Tradition ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ A sworn Knight of the Temple of Solomon, Nathaniel is loyal to the Order first and foremost. Despite this, he has a number of contacts and relations with the Celestial Chorus, and has sympathies for the Traditions. His magick is likewise still grounded in his faith in the True God, rather than the One Godhead of the Chorus. Spheres ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ The Magicks of Forces and Life remain the foremost tools that Nathaniel wields, and his orientation towards the order of God gives him a strong command of Prime as well. In addition to this, Nathaniel's strong belief in True Faith provides strength where his skills fall short. ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔	_______________________________________________ Nathaniel Ignatius Durand 32 years old Outlook: For Sir Durand, the world is God’s creation, and he has been chosen as His righteous hand to guide those who still sleep. The invocation of His word, His works, and His teachings through the most holy church grant him the panoply of magickal ability. Through Him, all things are possible, and He will smile upon the living of a life as Christ has proclaimed man ought to live. The Templar derives strength and confidence through virtue. The swearing of oaths is not merely a matter of honor and word, but a bond deeply important to affecting his Magicks to those who do not naturally see His truth. The world is ordered, and his status as a chosen awakened has conferred a self-imposed sense that he must be orderly and worthy of the responsibility he has been entrusted, by both God and the Order. His body and mind are instruments of God as much as his soul is. The order provides for his material needs, and while he may still have a sword as a badge of office, he is trained in the modern weapons of war, and the use of Holy Wonders when his order permits their use. His Avatar is a hooded woman, who speaks to him in short verse and simple gesture. He has not seen her face, but she is a muse of sorts, often giving him gentle nudges in the right direction.	Personal History ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Nathaniel was, like most of his craft, born into his order, a blessed child to a pair of consors of the order. Trained in classical literature, theology, and intense physical conditioning, he was raised in a very medieval lifestyle, one that ill-prepared him for his awakening. His mentorship under a senior knight of the order was eye opening, seeing the world beyond the cloister, the world run by the misguided and faithless. This experience would drive him to take every opportunity for field work, and eventually he would be out on his own. Indeed, after years of moving material, investigating and maintaining contacts in the City of Sin, he would take up his sword in the vanquishing of evil for the first time only a few years ago. Earning his knighthood through blood, he was free to travel as he pleased, though he still had obligations to the Order. With this newfound freedom, he has gotten involved with many in the awakened community of Vegas, and has something of a folk hero status for his atypical willingness to work with those who do not share his dogmatism. Plot Hooks ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Nathaniel is always looking for windmills to tilt at. While he has no oath to protect sleepers, he holds to it as a virtuous pursuit. He has taken the liberty to build up a contact network, and keep his eyes open for perspective opportunities as well as problems. He maintains a side job working as a physical trainer to keep a very light mortal footprint.

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Knight of the Temple of Solomon
Associate of the Celestial Chorus
Character: Relationship}

[Jumbus]

I'm all in

“I'm a lucky guy. I'm just waiting for the next hand to prove me right.”

Sullivan Hughes

♪

Tradition ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Orphan, but not one without soiled opportunities to join other orders. Notably, Euthanatos has a poor opinion of him and he owes them money. Sullivan has positive relationships in the Cult of Ecstacy and the Dreamspeakers, oddly enough. Spheres ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Sullivan is strongest with Entropy and Correspondence. One could call his Entropy proficiency 'Survivor's Luck' in its current state. While he will hit the poker table and lose every dollar he has, he will usually find a $100 bill on the ground or a lucrative opportunity on the street afterwards. After a night out with some Dreamspeakers, he woke up with a ghost whispering in his ear. He has a little bit of Spirit proficiency. ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔	_______________________________________________ Sullivan Beckett Hughes 34 years old Outlook: You don't go on a 15 year lose streak without being able to roll with the punches. Ever the optimist, Sullivan continuously believes that his next big win is only a spin away. Some have said however that his only love is to the game. He is crafty, clever, and not particularly trustworthy. While he has good friends in the city, few would say they could truly rely on him. Many might watch their backs when shit is hitting the fan. That is, if he was particularly threatening, which he isn't to most competent mages. Sullivan doesn't see a cold calculus in his abilities, he still regards it as the normal person's idea of magic. He tends to use a standard deck of playing cards as a focus, the subtle moves a flicks tend to help his mind center on the medium of arcane that he has little true understanding of. However, his most notable ability 'Survivor's Luck' doesn't seem to require focus or even casting, it seems to operate on its own (or in the man's subconcious desperation after crippling losses). This ability is the manipulation of luck in order to keep his head afloat. It would help him win, but it would prevent him from truly losing. It does not make him a winner; it simply helps him survive. His Avatar is the sweetheart from back home, aged to match him. She very occasionally visits him in a dream; she wears a woman's suit behind a table, she deals him in, and rarely speaks a word. Maybe it is an Avatar, maybe its a dream that he can't quite decipher.	Personal History ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "You know the classic story: boy goes to make his fortune in Vegas to win the affections of a girl back home. Haha... I have two mortgages." Sullivan grew up in rural Wisconsin. It was a simple life, loving parents, modest means, and a sweetheart whom he one day hoped to impress. Unfortunately, that sweetheart wasn't going to settle for simple 'modest means'. As the two grew into the beginnings of adulthood, she dreamed of a luxurious life away from the small podunk town they called home. A very pretty woman she was, Sullivan either had to give that to her or she would find someone else who could. With a pack on his back, he made his way to Vegas. It would only take a few years to become a millionaire; he was a lucky guy after all. That was 15 years ago. A rollercoaster of losses, losses, and wins that were quickly blown through in a single night kept him in the city with mounting debt. Most people don't last 3 years with the record Sullivan has had, and yet he has lasted 5 times that long. Every time his losses were about to catch up with him, there was always some kind of miraculous out that kept him on his toes (but no less in debt). He has a way of finding more money to feed his gambling addiction and discovering a magical ability a few years back, only strengthened his network. But he has no idea about the knife suspended above his head now that he deals with people who can counteract his 'Survivor's Luck'. Plot Hooks ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Sullivan is a well-connected guy both in the magical world and the non-magical world. These aren't all strictly positive. He has made a good deal more enemies than friends, given that he has leveraged a few of these ties for money and swiftly gambled it away. Some people are looking to collect on that debt. He also has a belief that the corrupt casinos have been taking away all his money intentionally. There are a few that he wouldn't mind heisting.

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Euthanatos (dislike)
Character: Relationship}

[Kensai]

Angry Young Woman

If you don't have a seat at the table, you're probably on the menu.

The Thousand-handed Scarlet Ghost

Tradition ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Akashic Brotherhood, Vajrapani Sect Spheres ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Life, Forces, Mind ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔	_______________________________________________ Man Jianghong Age 27 Outlook: Man Jianghong is angry. Angry with a system that doesn't acknowledge her existence, a world that couldn't care less, a universe shaped and run by wicked old men and stupid young ones. Man Jianghong isn't even her real name, it's the title of a poem written by a man who for all his valour and intelligence couldn't see his way through to bucking the system that was about to kill him. Not a lot of people get the irony involved here, but it's a good way to figure out who's an idiot. For all the foolishness in the world, though, there are people who get it. The ones in the Akasha, the voices that whisper to her, the ones that taught her the art of the breath when nobody else would. The ones who realised that here was someone who could show the world a different way. Never mind that she was a girl. Did that cross Avalokiteshvara's mind when they became Kuanyin? And sometimes, if a fool won't listen, you just have to punch him in the face until he will. That's a whole lot easier when you have a thousand fists to punch with. Call it comprehension through pugilation. One way or another, someday people will listen.	Personal History ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Man Jianghong used to be known as Ouyang Lan, a girl from an obscure rural village in Chaozhou province, China - a place remote and poor enough that even the Cultural Revolution hadn't touched it much. Because of that, her family - Wulong mages of an ancient lineage - had been able to hole up there, somewhat safe from the Technocracy's burgeoning hold over Chinese society. They got complacent though, and careless. Started training the heir to the line, Lan's brother. Demonstrating what could be done, and how. Underestimating just how savvy and persistent the Red Guards could be. They came through the village with both conventional and arcane arms. The Ouyang clan didn't stand a chance, and they knew it. Surrendered meekly and got sent for reeducation, instead of being executed out of hand. Having your frontal cortex burned out and your connection to the Akasha sundered forever wasn't as bad as death, if you were a coward. Lan had hidden away. The local fox spirits, vile things though they were, had even less love for the Technocracy than they had for human mages, and their leader was old and cunning. She could smell the incipient power in Lan, taste the strands of fate that tied the girl to the elder spirits. Made a bargain with them. The girl would live, have a chance to learn the secrets of the universe; the foxes would live, shielded from the Technocracy. Neither side had a lot of choice. It wasn't a great deal for anyone. But it worked. Ouyang Lan became Man Jianghong. The rest isn't history, but maybe someday it will be. Plot Hooks ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Man Jianghong is a scion of the Ouyang clan, whose main line still survives in exile. They aren't fully aware of her existence, and aren't likely to be best pleased if they discover the whole truth. She's obligated to the foxes of Chao'an, and if they decide to call on her help it would be hard and costly to say no.

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TBA
Character: Relationship</sub>

[Ruby]

The Antagonist

Tradition ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Special Investigator, Information Specialists, the Technocracy Spheres ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ [C L A S S I F I E D] ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔	_______________________________________________ Dr. Tessa Veradyne Apparent Age: 32 // Age: Estimated 112 (last confirmed chrono-stamp 1984) “You can’t steal from a thief, darling.” Outlook: WIP	Personal History ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ “Okay, let’s start at the obvious: her name isn’t Tessa Veradyne. There’s some internal Technocracy chatter that the name ‘Veradyne’ has some kind of connection to her origin, but whether that’s direct or etymological in nature is anyone’s best guess. As far as we know, maybe even as far as SHE knows, her name is Tessa, Tess, and has been for some time. A long time, even. (Sidenote: it’s worth mentioning a lot of transmission descrambling including her also mentions the name ‘Claira.’ A connection? An origin? A cover? Who knows, but statistically significant so it gets a mention.) ‘Neon’ is a potential alias. We know that the Information Specialists keeps their people in small groups and typically ignorant of each other as much as possible, but this one breaks the mold: while it’s impossible to know how or why, other parts of I.S. ARE aware of her. She’s the bogeyman that the bosses use to scare all the other I.S. girls and boys into their best behavior when nothing else seems to work. Even stranger, she seems to know THEM. Enough times to be surprising, Dr. Tessa Veradyne seems to be referred to, within INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, as ‘her.’ Like she’s fucking the Michael Jordan of scary Technocratic scaries. There are reasons for this, and why we’ve exhausted every last asset and favor to gather even the scraps of information we have on her; In the late 1990s she erased very high-ranking members of some oversight committee. If there’s a “showdown at the OK Corral” moment that turned her into legend, this seems to be it. They were up to no good, and it’s not clear how she got involved. Some low-level peons are convinced the very top of Technocracy personally involved her—take that for what you will. According to decoded files from a former fellow Special Investigator, 82 entire hours were “corrected” so severely even their best people just found a blank when they tried to scry into what she did there, nothing worked, not hypertech, not mundane means, and we tried on our own and didn’t have any more luck. She made it out one piece, and whatever had to be corrected didn’t. That’s it. That’s all we have on the incident. It’s possible she didn’t actually do it, but “fixed” it? There is a mention of “anchoring consensus through sustained timelines” but there’s no exact mention of the number of just how many timelines were involved. This isn’t her first dance in Vegas. Something about a gifted Marauder and dream logic zones and gambling loops, all we know for sure is there was a game of metaphysical poker and the Marauder’s avatar was gone, just like it got gilgul’d or something. She doesn’t like Nephandus, apparently. She likes purple. Her bosses either love her, or hate her, but they all stay the absolute shit away from her. She has no cell that anyone, at any level, seems aware of. It’s possible they’re there, but she seems to be a lone wolf. Her current public role is that of an FBI Special Agent assigned to a Nevada Gaming Commission Joint Task Force, Task Force Moneyline. A little typically Technocrat, but do not underestimate the influence of the FBI badge mixed with N.G.C. credentials.” — “J.D.”, Cypherpunk, Virtual Adept, member of crew “Veilwardens” Plot Hooks ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ WIP

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WIP}