london ♔ shadowkind convention

[rationalizes]

WHO || Jeanne Gar, Kat Samcelot, Mark Sandazhard, Francesca, Alainn O'Rourke, Alaric Saltzman, The Doctor, Brantley River, Maxwell Briggard, Kate Beckett, Helen Magnus, Stiles Stilinski, Adam Weiss, Sylar, Will Graham, Abigail Hobbs, Lila Zacharov, Lydia Martin, Draken Crombe, Lis'sa Trinall, Belle Desrosiers, Aurelius Greyfire
WHAT || London hosts an academic convention regarding the phenomena of the Veil and Shadowkind
WHERE || London, England
WHEN || June 7th, 2014, evening.
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

It's been over a hundred years since mankind first came to a global realization that magic and monsters were real and walked among us. Yet in all that time, much about the process of how or why remains a mystery, and a subject of great speculation among scholars the world over.

This is why London hosts an annual convention to discuss these complicated matters, both from a scientific and social perspective. There's something for everyone with even a passing interest in understanding the Veil, magic, or the various races that share this world. Sir Jeanne Gar, a young member of the Dragon's Hoard, has been asked to present some of her research at said convention, and has invited many of the Knights to come fill the seats, and explore the other lectures.

The hall is large and brimming with scholars both young and ancient, as well as those of a variety of unusual Shadowkind species.  It makes for great people watching from the food court, at least.

Comments

[theminotaur]

Maybe that's what the rapture was.

[ don't worry, stiles, abigail appreciates your color commentary. a door. there are a lot of doors in the world. ]

[killingtodeath]

[Stiles perks at the sort of invitation to take the seat next to Lydia. Hi, yes. He would like to move up a row. And he just climbs over the chair to do so. Or... he tries. And that works out great for him. Or not (dex 6). At least there's a dog also hanging out on the floor to greet him.]

[behindcloseddoors]

Exactly what has constituted past Incursions is hotly contested, but artifacts that have re-emerged in modern times and been found to contain real magic help us see which legends may hold water. For example, various artifacts connected to the Greek gods can be found here and there today, implying that the myths of that time were grounded in a reality of divine beings from another dimension, perhaps an entire pantheon that has since vanished, but at the time held great sway in at least a limited region of our world.

[immuno]

[ don't expect anyone to help you off the floor, bro. lydia actually pulls her legs back, crossing one over the other and straightening her skirt to make it clear that she recognizes he's there without actually looking at him. in fact, she may have just rolled her eyes. ]

[mydesigns]

[lemon is like HELLO SORT OF STRANGER LET ME LICK UR FACE!!!11 meanwhile, will ... actually takes pity on poor dumb stiles, and offers him a hand up. or maybe he just wanted him to gtfo his feet. we just don't know.]

[killingtodeath]

[THANKS DADDY WILL. No, Stiles is grateful for the assistance, even if he is really fond of Lemon. He plants his ass in the chair next to Lydia and gives her a smile that ends up on the wrong side of sheepish/dorky/awkward and missing any endearing notes (cha 7)

he's not actually smiling like he is in that icon. I just wanted an excuse to use that icon...]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ the presenter actually stops her speech, and looks aside from the mic, holding a hand over it as she asks one of the staff: ]

Excuse me, but who allowed a dog in here?

[theminotaur]

[ abigail hears (listen 20 total) and to the surprise of anyone that's spoken to her aside from maybe will, pipes up loudly in answer. ]

He's a service dog. [ bluff 28, she ain't got time for your judgement lady. HE HAS THE APPROPRIATE HARNESS AND EVERYTHING. ]

[mydesigns]

[he was actually going to speak up!! it's not like he has any fucks to give ... and it is his dog, despite how abigail seems to have adopted lemon. he puts his hand over one of abigail's like u go gurl. u did good.]

[immuno]

[ yeah nice one lydia has already been around the block with this bluff before. ]

You know, [ she whispers, ] Instead of lying all the time, you could actually take him to training to be a therapy dog. It's not that hard.

[mydesigns]

[he whispers back:] It wasn't an issue until now. [now that abigail has decided that she needs to take lemon everywhere like a therapy dog.]

[theminotaur]

Therapy dogs don't need to be certified, that's why I said he was a service dog -- they're legally permitted to accompany their owner at all times and in all places. [ she googled this shit when she was deciding what color vest/harness to buy lemon. but she twists her hand to briefly squeeze will's because she needed that validation. the dog is keeping her from throwing people out windows, ok. we don't want to reenact that. ]

[immuno]

And no one's going to believe a dog that likes attention that much is a service animal. People aren't supposed to touch those.

[theminotaur]

Then he's a crappy one, please stop talking about it. [ and the slight panic that makes her squeeze will's hand again is exactly why she needs this dumb dog. everyone please stop bringing attention to him. :( ]

[mydesigns]

We can talk about this another time. [he looks between both of them (mostly lydia tho) like really gurls. really?? in the middle of a lecture????]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ she frowns and murmurs an apology, before continuing on like nothing happened. ]

Most scholars are quick to agree that the period of English history that gave rise to the Arthurian legends stemmed from an era of true magic, as well as that of many of the Egyptian gods. Some of these gods can be found to directly share portfolios with those of Faerunian pantheons today, suggesting that some of these same deities were worshiped here under different names and via different rituals.

[immuno]

Do you think the Veil breaks down the barriers between Faerûn and other Shadow Worlds, too? [ she leans in to ask stiles, assuming he's on her level. greek and egyptian myth, arthurian legend, these are all hallmarks of their world—which this most definitely is not. the presence of lycanthropes and kanimas and god knows what else definitely supports the notion that the shadow world could have easily leaked into theirs thousands of years ago too, though. ]

[killingtodeath]

[Uhm he's definitely on her level with his nat 20 wisdom check. Jesus. He leans in to meet her so that he can whisper back.]

Seems possible. Maybe not as wide spread as it is here. Just little pockets in certain towns. Like ours.

[immuno]

[ that was an emotional tether nat 20 just to be clear. ] Mm. Could be that the window was open for less time, or less slipped through. I mean, werewolves wouldn't stop being werewolves just because it closed, right? I feel like that couldn't just go away with magic.

[behindcloseddoors]

Some have gone as far as to attribute elements of Christian mythology to Faerunian deities and magic. It's difficult to argue the resemblance, for example, between Dante's Nine Circles of Hell and the Nine Hells of Baator. Many of the miracles found in the Bible could be readily attributed to magic existing at the time. Jesus' 'resurrection' certainly seems less miraculous in a day and age where clerics resurrect the dead for a nominal fee.

[killingtodeath]

Yeah, I don't think werewolves are magic, so much as...mutants. But in a good way. Well, sometimes.

[Hold up.]

Wait, so they can bring people back from the dead here? [He is slowly picking up the basics okay.]

[untethered]

[ belle nods over ] Resurrection is a power granted by some of the deities that have power in this world. We have clerics in the Knighthood who are capable of it.

[theminotaur]

Can Sir Solace? [ she reaches up to touch her ear, tucking her hair behind it. she just assumes he can because he is amazeballs. abigail has a healthy respect for the bald cleric. ]

[untethered]

Of course. He is our head cleric, after all.

[immuno]

I wonder how many of the anti-Shadowkind movements were born out of Christian bitterness.