my30dayworld: day 13

Who dominates the political sphere of the world?

In the City in Shadows there are various forces at play. Each faction have their own political power among their race. their inner structure will be further explored later. Here I will mention the overarching structure of each political party.

Vampire Covens: Vampire gather themselves in Covens all around the world. in each city more than one coven could coexist with another assuming the city is big enough to hold to vampire lords in it. The hierarchy of Covens depends on its leader, and its extension. There are weird cases in which a small cove that houses many elders can be considered part of the Concordat. In many cases vampires play a sort of mockery of the Catholic Church taking a sort of political structure similar to theirs. In many cases The eldest coven takes the Seat of Power and the position as representative in the Council of the Six. There have been some cases in which the eldest coven refuses to participate in the council and designates one of those in the Concordat to take the position instead. The game vampire dance is one of many secrets and intrigues and anyone who dares join the dance may as well have eyes on its back. 

Fae Courts: The political structure of the faeries resembles that of the medieval times. Various dukes, earls, etc... under the ruling of a king. There exist four major kingdoms among the faeries. Each kingdom rule over one of the four stations of the mortal realm. The court of Spring, The court of Summer, The Court of Autumn and The Court of Winter. Each court also represent an element of nature. Spring represents Air, Summer represents Fire, Autumn represents Earth, and finally Winter represents Water. The machination of the faeries are cruel and mischievous as its their nature. Faeries can't break a vow, their word is their bond. Faeries can't lie but that doesn't mean they always respond clearly what you ask of them unless you ask them three times. It's sort of taboo for them, and bond a fairy to respond by asking three times its considered rude. Walk with caution among the faeries or you may as well be selling your soul to something worst than the devil.

Wizard Circles: Wizard gather in circles of power, they craft their magic in circle; for them calling their groups circles is only fitting. The circle are classified in levels, The closer you are to the one or first circle, the greater your skills have been recognized by the Eldest Wizards. The first circle is the one from which candidates to the seat of the Council are elected. The high circle of wizard are the wisest among them all. They are the ones who have the register of all the events that have occurred in the world, their powers are also humongous. The lowest circles are mostly conformed by new gifted association or low talents those whose talents only allow them to perform a limited amount of spells but they are masters at those.

The Wyld Pack: Formed by the strongest of the Skin Changers they rule among them all. The wyld pack may or may not contain individuals of all races at the time because it's a matter of strength not of politics or democracy. They are the ones who determine which lands are free to roam and by whom. The wyld pack also determines appropriate punishment for those who broke the laws of the wyld and endangered their survival. The High alpha is the one who always take the seat in the Council of the Six. There are only two ways in which the Alpha may change. It can be when the Alpha dies, or when it looses against a stronger contender. In just one occasion an Alpha choose to surrender its position for the well being of the pack, this can happen; but in wizards regard there is just one occasion registered in the archives.

Demon and Angels: These two factions are a mirror of each other. They work in hierarchies the lower a Demon or Angel is in the hierarchy the lower its power and influences are. The seven virtues and The seven sins are represented on the seven great lords of each faction. The only major difference between these two factions and the others is that their seat in the council are occupied by designates by mutual accord of the seven rather than one of the seven taking the seat. In the Angels case this is not hard to agree upon a worthy candidate; but in Demon case the one who holds the seat must show a bit of each demon lord in his soul to be allowed to take the seat, this is hard to achieve. Because of that fact many designates of the demon lords are granted longevity as they train a suitable replacement for it.

My30dayworld: day 10 to 12

City in Shadows

The most feared faction in the city of shadows

The cult to the others and their different sects. They are actually looking for ways to open the gates to call for the others into our dimension. Not even the most vile of the vampires, or the most savage of the Fae can be considered as dangerous or vile as they. Often many other races join the cult being promised a part of the world after the others are done with it. This creatures who dare to betray their races and join the evil wizards that venture to the void are considered pariahs among their kin. There are different sects dedicated to different "Gods of the void"; an advantage we apparently have due to some info the council obtain via very dubious methods is that the others are not a solid army. 

Cultist may come from various origins but most of their ranks are full of gifted which power are fading or feel their deserve better. This practitioners learn how to use the void to potentiate their powers; but the catch in the deal is that each time they use they became part of the void. Only those birth with the gift to use the void can harness its power without disappearing over time. Each wizard that becomes part of the void came back as one of the lesser Others. Either way there's no more repudiated faction that The Cult to the Others.

Who opposes evil and injustice in the world?

There are many who opposes evil in their own ways. I'm going to mention a few, because naming them all it's a task only a few dare to attempt. Many of those groups work in the shadows and don't want to be brought to light, feel free to look for them but do it at your own risk.

The Council of the Six: Formed by representative of the six factions, these are the most powerful of them all, the elite. They are the ones in charge of keeping peace among all the races and make sure each race got their chance to be. They also are the ones that command the Executioners which pass sentence to those who decide to go rogue and disobey the council. there is one executioner from each faction. The council of the six is also the most respected organization due to their participation in the first Incursion and their role in sealing away the Others. 

The Executioners: This elite formed by only six members are the most feared force among all the factions. Their positions can only be taken in two ways. Either the previous Executioner died which is a frightening thought or a more promising one win the title from the previous one. Each one bears a sword that is designed to kill nullify the power of their respective race when they are in the presence of it. This is what make them so dangerous they are strong enough to bear the sword and not loosing their powers and they can nullify their targets to properly sentence them to death.

Hunters: There is no other way to call this mundanes that make sure their kind is not the prey of supernatural forces. They hunt the night horrors. Vampires, Werewolves, Wizards, etc... they make sure their attacks on the mundanes are keep to the minimum. Despite the efforts of all the other races to deal with the problem of the hunters the response is always the same. They are under the care of the wizards, and so they will continue to be. They are troublesome to many of the supernatural due to their adaptability and resources. well organized cells and teams equipped to deal with their targets in the proper way.

Those who saw the void: At last but not least these is more a category than a proper group or organization. Those who have seen the void can come from any faction. These people are those who either by vision or an unlucky encounter with a rift have seen what lay in the other side waiting and decided to stop it from happening at any cost. They tend to operate out of the jurisdiction of the Council or the factions. They are individuals who risk their very existence to protect those who they hold dear and this world in which they live.

What iconic monster exist in your world?

Besides all the common bestiary of the city of shadows, that contains shapeshifter (Skin Changers), Vampires, Fae kin and so on. One of the most iconic and real monsters any inhabitant of the City in Shadows can find are the Avatars. 

Avatars: An Avatar is what happens when a part of one the others Possess the body of one strong Gifted. Each time this happen the one possessed by this entity doesn't realize it in the beginning. Their powers start to grow, their mind begins to shatter and their bodies transform into one that resembles the appearance of the Other that is possessing it. This become incredibly hideous beings and their powers can make even a high practitioner tremble in fear. When an Avatar is detected, all six Executioners are sent to deal with it. If a full transformation is allowed the Avatar can tear a rift between or realm and the void thus allowing the Others into our reality. Such thing must not be allowed by any mean. There's a silent agreement among the races if one of their kin is become such monstrosity they must either destroy it or call the council for the Executioners to be dispatch to deal with the threat. 

my30dayworld: Day 9

The Cosmology of my World

The different gods exist together in the world. Many wizards claim to be under the protection of some of the major deities in existence. Most of them lies; but wizard duels tend to be long and exhausting so many just don't bother to refuse such claims. Skin changers claim to be the sons and daughters of mother earth, father sun and brother sky. Vampires claim to descent from the first sinner and some from an ancient blood god which name has been lost to history and that's something considering some vampires are hundreds of years old. there are four major planes of existence if they could be called that way. The Material realm or where most of us exist.. Hell where all the demons have been cast out by God. Paradise where all the angels roam. The Fae lands that contrast ours, they are like the blue print of what our world should have been or maybe was. there the courts of fairies have their domain. The last realm if it can be called that way is the void, is the space between spaces; in between time, reality and existence it exists. The Others exist there and from time to time they reach into the world of mundanes and thus rifts among the four realms occurs.

my30dayWorld: Day 8

What's the world biggest secret

       The number of gifted people is decreasing at an alarming rate, there are just a handful of talented people newly born. The veil in between the realms of the Fae and the Human world are thickening. The magick that flows through the world is being drained by the same users that cherish their power. Angels and Demons are less common because their realms are also being locked out from our realm. True Faith began to falter as the words can't reach their Lords. The first incursion of the others left a great scar that was mended by the original council. The result was that the amount of magic that flowed into our reality was diminished and eventually will cease to flow. That's why the world of the mundane flourished while the world of the wizards started to fade. Each time one of the Others breach through the rifts into our world it brings along great amounts of Magickal energy with it. Many have been helping the others through history to gain power in order for them to recover what they have lost and will keep loosing. In other cases new gifted have been born with the talent to reach the void essence through their bodies. These individuals can be tainted easier than normal wizards but also foster greater power against the others cause they feed from the same energy as them.

      A war is been fought behind the curtains. The affairs between wizards, mundanes, demons, angels and all the races are but part of a larger game. There are only two sides in this war. The others and us, the ones that must stop them at any cost or risk being devoured by their corrupting presence. 

my30dayworld: Day 1 to 7

The World: City in Shadows

30 second elevator pitch

• The City in Shadows is an urban fantasy setting were you play the common man, the wizard, or even the usual suspect monster (vampire, werewolf, alchemycal creation, etc...) in a world that is in constant peril of being consumed by The Others, lovecraftian monstrosities that want to invade our world. Such monstrosities came from the outsides of our reality something that wizard and inhuman alike call The Void from where most of the wizards call upon their magick due to this the use of magick its tricky. You may become possessed by them or invite them in without knowing. 

Which is the name of your world and why?

• What is the name of your world? City in shadows
• Why is called this? It's called City in Shadows, because the dark tone of mysticism and reality bending that surrounds the characters. The city by itself its a major protagonist in setting. The city where the players delve its as alive as them. Cities are made of moments and memories and stories and all those fractions give the cities a personality that determines how well or how bad it reacts to the presence of the void in it. Also it is called City in Shadows because all the shadow work the players must do in order for the mundane not to notice in order for The Void not to leak into the world without any major power organization noticing it.

Who is the most nefarious villain?

• Who is the most nefarious villain? The Others 
• They are the most nefarious villains in this world. They are the outsider gods of another dimension, from another realities. They are many or maybe just one with many faces. nobody within the world know it to a certain degree, and those who ventured to know end up dead or insane. Vampires may have their power plays, Werewolf may hunt those who harm their forest and their territories, Frankenstein-like creation may roam the land searching for their unholy creators in search of revenge and yet neither of them present such corruption for the land or the living as The Others.

Who is the most renown hero?

• Currently the most renowned heroes are the Council of the Six they are the mediators between all the distinct factions that exist in the world. Wizards, Faes, Angels, Demons, Vampires, and Skin changers, the first ones of each group that pushed out The Others when they first tried to invade our reality. From such groups a long legacy of notable character for good or bad have been spawned, and some still roam the lands.

Which event in your world altered its History?

• The first incursion: The six major forces within the world always have been in the world one way or another. The balance have always been defined mostly by the number of each one at the time. being mere mortals the most prevalent number at any time; but during times of the first great wars something happened. While mundanes fight among each other in their common power struggle such amounts of negative energy open a rift that lead The Others to our reality. Two wars were fought at the same time. One of mundane against mundane, and the other involve the major players against the enemies. There were many casualties for everyone except the enemies. There is record of just one of the entities killed in all the records of The Council. This event change the way all the races view the world and the reality, they realize that even whit their petty struggles something far hideous existed out there and it was ready to hunt them and prey on them if they give them the chance. As a result of such event The Council of Six was created.

How prevalent is magick in your world and from where it comes from?

• Magick in City of Shadows: The magick in the world is prevalent although not everyone use them. Many of the mundane forgot their ability to use the power of the universe through their bodies. The powers of magick can be used by many if not all people in great or less manner. Natural talents can employ magick freely and when appropriately trained they gained their title of Wizard. A mundane using the correct spell book and magic words can work minor works, such people are called sorcerers among the natural talents. As mundanes forgot how to employ and use magick a veil descended upon the world thus protecting them from the influence of magick and sheltering them in a small way from them. Mundanes and their skepticism keep them safe, but also vulnerable to the forces of the world of shadows that exist outside their comfort zone.

How common are Adventures and Heroes in your world?

• Heroes are as common as they should be and adventures are out there for those who are willing to go looking for them. The world of City in Shadows is a reflection of our world with a somber tone in which the doom of the world is out there waiting to crawl in at any moment. A group of friends going camping ending up trapped in the middle of some ancient ritual. A group of college girls that summons a demon empress without noticing at first glance. The frightened housewife whom inherited an old manor from her long forgotten relative and it happens to be haunted by ghost and demons. The adventures in the city of shadows are out there waiting for people brave enough or unlucky enough to jump into them.

A city in shadows - part 2

A great part of the world you know is nothing but a small fraction of the whole deal. "The real world" is far more scarier than you may imagine. Probably by this point you may deduce where this is going. to put it bluntly, Magic is real, yes, it's real. You may think me insane, but take a closer look to the world around us, feel it with something more than your eyes and now you may "see". Can you feel it now? Funny feeling huh? Want to know something funny about magic? Virtually anyone could pull it off one way or another. Nontheless not everyone should try to do it. Confused? I'll be surprised if you weren't. You see this is the deal with magic, once you start dabbling with it, it becomes like a drug for some and that's when bad things happen. Demons, Angels, Fae, Sking changers, they want to get their hands around any human with the talent to pull of enough magic into their bodies. Once you see how the real world is, the real world see you. Now you must come with me. Walk fast, but don't try to run, that'll be suspicious. The key to survival is being discrete and keep an enough low profile so the big scary things can't find you easily. When the moment comes, you must choose a side, we are at war. I really don't care which side you choose, but pick one. Being alone these days is mostly a death sentence. Have your eyes wide open, or you may end up chew by a big scary monster, because they are real and hungry.

Okey, now you are at your place. Stay inside, and no, don't invite to enter your house. Not yet at least. at sunrise every magic will fade and most of the scary monster are going to be cast back to where they came. Keep in mind what I told you, if you choose to side us, call this number and someone shall come to you. It may be me, or maybe someone else. My name? mmm you have too much to learn; but here is lesson number one. keep your true name a secret, so scary things can't use it against you. For now I'm just a friend in this dire times. If we happen to meet again and you need a hand, you may ask. after all, I'm not that fond of picking on someone just because they hang around with bad people. See ya later pal.

Hate to leave people with vague and rambling answers but that's the way it is. at least until one side is pick. now I think I might go chill a while, maybe grab a beer on the "Burning Bush" your lovely local occultist bar. yeah, the one running the place have an odd sense of humor. nontheless it's the best place to find a mentor, a might be sponsor and all that jazz. I might tell you more about it later. I'm starving and a big horn of ale and a burguer sounds like an excelent way to finished the night.

A city in shadows - part 1

I thought today I was going to drink a beer in peace, but no. Here I'm dealing with an outsider. why? because I'm a sucker for a pretty face. I need to help the "damsel in distress" specially if it happens to be a mundane against one of this things. Take it as it may, but mundanes can't handle an outsider. Hell not even the great majority of us can do that on a one-on-one scenario without enough preparation. Lucky me haven't being noticed yet, so I at least have the wildcard in hand.

Using the night and the rain I summoned my will into my staff. A good solid staff will always be a good ally to the wizard as but focus point and a good pole weapon if need may arise. Deep grey lights glow from the runes carved all over the lenght of the staff. A sudden hit, an agonizing scream and part of their flesh mask shattered. The scream startled the girl that turn around to the sight of the outsider skin and their pointy teeth. Poor girl that sight is somthing mundanes are never supossed to see. I saw the pure terror in her eyes before she passed out, and the outsider burnt into ashes. I'll took her to the closest store and let her in care of the dependant whom called 9-1-1 and assure me she'll take care of her.

I fix the neck of my coat and started to walk back home. The rain fell heavily against my face and the leather of my coat made a constant almost musical sound. This is the way things are for someone like me. always in the night the unknown hero, never the knight in shinning armor. A lonely way of living but hey at least not a boring one. If you want to know why I haven't spoke my name is because names hold great power so I like to mantain mine private, but if you want to call me someway then. the name is Howler, John Howler. Now if you excuse me I'll go drink my night out at home.