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Hellfriede Ripley

2026-06-03T19:59:11Z

Glamourpal: /* THE HELLFRIEDE FILES [2] */

== THE HELLFRIEDE FILES [1] ==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Before Liberation: Interrupted Execution</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mention of child soldiers</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of SSC private soldier.

Name: Hellfriede Ripley. Callsign: SKYLINE.

Video File Transcribed By: ???}

The execution parades in the capital were always led by Metalmarks. The Assembly had been in bed with Smith-Shimano Corpro for a long time, and the light, easy steps of the mechs along the streets were coldly melodic. What do beauty and craftsmanship care for blood if the shedding can’t be remembered as artistic? Hellfriede stood with the other Cavaliers. They were always required to be present for the killings. Maybe it was to remind them that their uniforms were keeping them far away from the firing squad.

The people sentenced to death—the condemned—had been branded with thick, black words on their arms stating their sins. When they reached their final positions, they’d be bound to posts with their branded arms on full display for appropriate mockery. Beside Hellfriede, two Cavaliers muttered to each other about the remnants of a revolutionary cell. They sounded bored. In the heavens above, someone wept, but their tears fell to the city as nothing but a drizzle. Hellfriede closed her eyes when she felt the first drops. Two Death’s Heads mounted on opposite high rises in the central square, two Metalmarks leading the procession and two in the back, two White Witches waiting by the execution posts, invisible Dusk Wings stalking the grounds. Deaths like this had to be orderly, at least, if they couldn’t be beautiful.

A woman with the word “insurgent” on her arm was wearing red; the torn cloth draped over her was probably a cloak once. She was led by the same wrist shackles as those around her. Her clothes slumped off her body at awkward angles; she was slight and probably not older than eighteen. The person behind her hadn’t stopped staring at the back of her head. It might have been despair. It might have been hatred. The woman stopped walking. “She’ll die to the second Death’s Head,” Hellfriede said it only to herself. It was a reminder to stay still when the woman in red slipped her shackles and turned on her heel.

Previously dull voices rose in pitch. Footsteps fell out of time. Two Dusk Wings appeared and fired their Burst Launchers in sync, but the woman hit the ground fast enough for the explosive shots to collide in the air. The resulting fiery burst knocked an entire line of condemned off their feet. The woman disappeared under the wave of struggling bodies and rattling chains. The two Metalmarks in the back turned invisible. That didn’t matter because the woman emerged from the throng of bodies and shackles from a spot the pilots hadn’t thought to cover. A Shock Knife severed an entire inch from her hair, but she just kept running. Hellfriede watched like someone being forced to take an eye injection. Two Railgun shots went off. The first Death’s Head missed. The second one spread shards of the woman’s skull across the street. It was quiet again after that.

No one knew what to do with the headless corpse in the street, so it was ignored until after the executions. Hellfriede stared at the dead woman’s red rags as though she wanted to wear them herself when no one was looking. She didn’t. The Cavaliers met with the Assembly that day. They were still young—all around 13—and still training to be useful. It was their first true interaction with their planet’s leaders. The head of the Assembly was a woman with a name that sounded like her parents knew she was going to watch many people die. Hathor Grimm. It was a funny name that didn’t make anyone laugh. Ms. Grimm shook Hellfriede’s hand and Hellfriede stared down at their fingers. They both went to bed early that night. For Hellfriede, it was after vomiting and brushing her teeth.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Before Liberation: Perfect Average</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Murder of an intimate partner</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“You know, you’re not the prettiest woman here.” Reign says. She’s a 5’3 bombshell blonde and she’s very aware of that fact. Hellfriede should be just as aware since she’s been splayed out on her bed the past half hour. She has to see it: the way Reign pouts to push out her plush mouth every so often and glances up at Hellfriede with her perfectly baby brown eyes. Hellfriede didn’t crack the top ten on their last exam, but she’s far from dumb. There’s no such thing as a stupid Cavalier.

“Ouch.” Hellfriede glances over her dataslate, eyeing the blonde bundle on the silver platter that is her own leg. Her hand darts forward to pinch Reign’s arm.

Reign doesn’t scream because she is a mature adult who can regulate her frustration. Instead, she swats at the hand that pinched her. “Let me finish!” Oh, how she would love to- “You’re not the prettiest, BUT, I think you could take a bunch of people here to bed if you tried. Maybe most people.”

Hellfriede looks back at her dataslate. Then, something divine and without indifference wills itself into existence just to look down on Reign and wink, because Hellfriede sets the slate aside. “I don’t think ''most people'' would pick me out at a bar.”

“Yeah, but you’re, like, the perfect average.” Reign draws a gesture up Hellfriede’s thigh and appreciates the muscle there. They’re all soldiers, but Hellfriede wears it especially well right now. “Not so far out of the everyman’s league and not so far below it. If you made the first move, someone without another person in mind would totally go for you.”

RA kills the other divine—Hellfriede takes a mech engineering book out from under her pillow. “Most people wouldn’t like being called average by the woman who’s trying to sleep with them.”

The divine lives and they only ever looked down at Reign to laugh at her. “… You fucking knew? This entire time?”

“I’m not stupid and you’re not clever,” Hellfriede deadpans.

Reign takes a moment to seriously consider screaming. She lunges to push Hellfriede down. Desperation must be making Reign sluggish because she knows she’s quicker than Hellfriede, but the other woman is out of her grasp and behind her far too fast. Hellfriede pins Reign’s dominant arm behind her back and shoves her down face-first. “Please do something. Do literally anything or just put me out of my misery.” Her voice is muffled by chamomile-scented pillows.

Hellfriede leans down and says, “Ask nicely.” Her voice is a rough whisper.

Reign dies multiple times that night. Then, she wakes up alive and gargling her own blood. She’s too weak to scream now. Her gaze swims through the room, trying to find Hellfriede. The noises spilling from her throat aren’t quiet. Hellfriede is standing by the edge of the bed. She checks her dataslate, pockets it, and heads for the door.

Tears bubble up in Reign’s eyes. The attempt at crying makes her choke harder. Hellfriede’s back is the last thing she sees. As she dies, she takes the smell of chamomile with her into whatever waits after life.

''Not the prettiest, but she’ll do in a pinch.''

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Before Liberation: Cyclone 85.4%</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Cruelty, loss of sanity, and death</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Fragments of the events that occurred inside the cockpit of the original Hell’s Sister on Liberation Day have been retrieved and reconstructed. The one responsible for assembling this data is unknown.}

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 1]

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
LOG: TLALOC-CLASS NHP ENTERING CASCA-

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
We’reignoringthat.Yes,Ididdisabletheeje
ctionsystem.Ifyouejectoutofsomehumanist
icregret,you’lljustdielikethehundredsof
insectsthathavebeenincineratedbythethrusters.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''You’renotsoslowthatyoucan’tunderstandthatright?'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Repositionbytwelvedegreesandlettherailg
ungrazeyoutogivetheimpressionthattheDea
th’sHeadisworthwhile.LockOn.Wait.Don’tw
ait.FireGandivaMissiles.Retarget.Retarg
etagain.LockOn.LockOn.LockOn.Movemovemo
vemovemovewhyaren’tyoumovingitfeelslike
wearen’tmovingletmedoitmovemovemovemove
doyouwanttodieareyoualreadydeadI’llkill
youmyself.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''Move.'''

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 2]

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
I’mignoringyourmultiplefailurestorapidl
yLockOnintime.I’mdoingitforyoubecauseyo
umovelikeyou’redyingbutI’maliveand

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''yourmindmightaswellhavebeenabortedby '''
''' SSCwhenyoucamescreamingoutofyourmother'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
andmaybeshegaveyouupbecausesheknewyouwe
realreadydead.Breathelessbreathelessbre
athelessyou’rewastingmytimeIwon’talways
knowwhoIamyouwon’talwaysknowwhoIamIamno
tTlalocIamnotTlalocIamnotTlaloc

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''MOVE.'''

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 3]

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
I.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Am.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Ehecatl.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
You.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Are.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''Fleshinthewind'''.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Ishoulddraintheoxygenfromthiscockpit

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
maybeyou’llbeworthadamnwhenyou’reholdingyourbreath

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Dead

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Women

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Aren’t

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Useful

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 4]

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''This ends with me killing you for your failures like you killed your friends.'''

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 5]

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''LockOnReposition'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
LockOnReposition

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''LockOnReposition'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
LockOnReposition

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''LockOnReposition'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
LockOnReposition

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''LockOnReposition'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
LockOnReposition

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''LockOnReposition'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
LockOnReposition

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 6]

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[For one hour, Ehecatl repeatedly erased and rewrote the systems surrounding it, as though attempting to make them faster. Or, in a desperate attempt to breach its own mind and rewrite its state of existence into something compatible with reality. For one hour, Ehecatl could see little outside the accelerated, eternal erasure of those who did not have the ability to outrun their own nonexistence. One such example involving Hellfriede was repeatedly coded into the data logs of Hell’s Sister, like a pointless declaration of Hellfriede’s being.]

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 7]

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
…hellfriede…? … it’s over… hellfriede…? move… please…

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
LOG: PILOT DECEASED.

</div></div>

== Relevant Information ==
[[File:Hellfriede Ripley.png|thumb|Hellfriede Ripley, Liberator of Varuvi.]]
Hellfriede Ripley was born on the Diasporan planet Varuvi in the confines of what is now known as the Old Capital. Her birth was part of Smith-Shimano Corpro’s secret Cavalier Program to develop ideal soldiers for private armies and classified missions. Hellfriede was immediately taken from her birth parents to be raised by a group of handlers who regularly assessed their aptitude in various areas: coordination, intelligence, obedience, etc. While in this phase of the program (which lasted for 11 years), Hellfriede befriended a girl named Dorothea. The two of them initially bonded over a mutual appreciation for quiet moments; they could often be found sitting quietly together and completing their assignments in tandem. The assessments showed that Hellfriede had great potential. As a result, she proceeded to the second phase of the Cavalier Program. Dorothea didn’t make it to the second phase. On the day of the program’s graduation ceremony, Hellfriede asked everyone where Dorothea was. No one could give her a satisfactory answer; they all just waited for her to stop asking.

At age 11, Hellfriede started training to be a Lancer. By age 13, she had acquired her first two license levels in the SSC Monarch and had an integrated flight system in her mech. Hellfriede proved to be a terror in the sky during drills and was quickly developing a combat style adept at dispatching multiple opponents without help. Phase two of the Cavalier Program was far more openly brutal than the first. Multiple other Cavaliers were “pulled out of the program”. When this happened, a handler would list out their failures before a Dusk Wing appeared to drag them away. There was still never an explanation for what happened to them, but the threat hanging over Hellfriede’s head had become obvious. As the first series of missions for the Cavaliers approached, they were allowed a personal meeting with the Varuvian Assembly: their planet’s leaders. This meeting took place after an execution parade wherein “wannabe revolutionaries” were killed. When the head of the Assembly shook Hellfriede’s hand with all the care of someone who would sleep easily that night, Hellfriede started planning. She was going to need to climb the ranks and stay in the Assembly’s good graces.

At 14, Hellfriede went on her first mission: it was supposed to be simple reconnaissance on another planet in the same star system, but she and her allies were quickly met with resistance. Their opponents were also using mechs, though theirs looked far more scrapped together. Hellfriede took out the frontline with a series of hit and run skirmishes while others focused on the backline. The mission was a resounding success, but something didn’t feel right. With a year of subtle investigation and occasionally sucking up to those above her, Hellfriede learned that the people she had helped kill that day were the remnants of an older SSC experiment similar to the Cavalier Program. Apparently, SSC had “cut them loose” as a trial for their new Cavaliers. Hellfriede kept her head down.

By the age of 16, Hellfriede had acquired multiple more license levels. She wasn’t the best in the program, but was also far from the worst: a solidly middling soldier by program standards. Hellfriede intentionally scaled back her efficiency in combat, allowing others to have the spotlight and earn more praise. She befriended other Cavaliers and found that a good amount of them had bought into the Assembly’s rhetoric. It would have been immensely risky to try changing their minds. Hellfriede waited. She gave her formerly nameless Monarch the moniker Hell’s Sister.

When she turned 17, Hellfriede celebrated her birthday by finally requesting a TLALOC-Class NHP which she promptly shackled to her mech. Hellfriede’s limited experience with NHPs made her uncomfortable with using a sentient being in such a manner, but she needed a TLALOC for her plans to work. She acquired a Player_Two Neural Bypass to let the TLALOC have access to her body when she deemed it necessary. For two years, Hellfriede and her TLALOC discussed every possible way of killing the entire Varuvian Assembly and the other Cavaliers.

Hellfriede’s 19th birthday would go on to become Varuvi’s Liberation Day. She woke up early in the Cavalier training facility and quietly murdered every other Cavalier she could find along with their handlers. Alarms were eventually raised, but it was too late. Hellfriede had already mounted Hell’s Sister by then and launched her assault against the Assembly. The fighting lasted for 10 hours. It was 10 hours of seemingly endless skirmishing from Hellfriede and TLALOC. They picked off the Assembly’s ground soldiers and mechs with a ruthless efficiency that would come to be known as the Hellfire Style of combat. The two of them were utterly relentless, even for the final 6 hours when TLALOC was cascading. The revolution ended with one of the single most lethal uses of the Monarch’s core system—Divine Punishment—in recorded history. As the Assembly’s forces lay decimated, Hell’s Sister plummeted from the sky and crashed to the ground as a mangled scrap heap. Hellfriede had died, but miraculously, the TLALOC’s casket was able to be recovered.

In the aftermath of Hellfriede’s revolution, SSC distanced themselves from Varuvi, unwilling to take direct control of the planet to avoid drawing Union’s full attention to their operations. The Liberation Council was formed to govern the planet with laws that abolished SSC’s genetic caste system and allowed for more personal freedoms like open critique of the government. Union’s attention was eventually drawn to Varuvi for one reason or another and plans were made to convert it into a Core World. The current planet capital of New Varuvi stands on the bones of the Old Capital and there’s a park dedicated to Hellfriede along with a statue of her in the city’s heart.

Hellfriede’s TLALOC copilot went on to become a legionnaire and take the name Torin. He joined a sect of Horizon Collective in the effort to fight for NHP rights. Torin also took the remains of Hell’s Sister and created a downsized, scrappier version of the original mech. According to him, Hellfriede had never really liked how “put together” the Monarch’s design was.

== HER LAST MESSAGE ==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Before Liberation: Final Forethoughts</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Subject: Hellfriede Ripley, Callsign: SKYLINE.

Video Recorded By: Torin, TLALOC-Class NHP.}

“… I thought about trying to start this with something that could inspire the people who hear it, but I wasn’t built to be a leader. I’m not going to lead anyone. I’m just going to talk instead.

The reason why I’m doing this is entirely selfish. It’s not because I want to live a life outside what was chosen for me by SSC. No, ultimately, I’m just doing more of the same. It’s because I’m so, so tired. I’m tired of listening to the other Cavaliers gossip about the brands during the execution parades. I’m tired of standing between them and predicting which condemned man is going to run and lose their head for it. I’m tired of not feeling sick because of it anymore. I’m tired of this numbness that I’ve had to perform for so long because it’s not a performance anymore.

I’m going to kill a lot of people. And I don’t know if I want to be praised for a lot of it. I’m just tired at the end of the day. That’s all there is. I need to do something before that goes away, too.”

Hellfriede makes direct eye contact with the camera for most of the recording. There is bone deep weariness to her face as she speaks. She’s only 19. As soon as she’s done talking, the youthful exhaustion disappears, and her expression numbs into that of a murderer.

</div></div>

Hellfriede originally died 10 years before the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]]. In 5026U, she was cloned by [[Legions & Legionnaires|Torin]] and a mysterious benefactor. She lives.

== THE HELLFRIEDE FILES [2] ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Beyond Liberation: Irreverent Revelation</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of slavery, violent revolution</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of Union Liberation Front leader.

Name: Hellfriede Ripley. Callsign: SKYLINE.

Video File Transcribed By: ???}

Silas Vega dies the kind of death worthy of a man who spent his final hours having his foremost slave do a solo performance of the third play written in his honor. Four missiles decimate the silver platinum door to his sanctum (a man cave of a bunker underneath his estate). He has enough time for indignance to make the veins in his neck flush royal purple. He draws breath to scream for his dead guards to cast aside the audacity of the Monarch mech presenting itself without due reverence. Hellfriede Ripley gets out of her mech, cocks her gun, and shoots him twice before the would-be shriek can be anything more than a suggestion to his vocal chords. She shoots him the way you shoot a man who should have been merciful enough to ask for death a long time ago—without a smile. The former slave makes a break for it.

“Why did you bother getting out?” Torin, the acting NHP of Hellfriede’s mech, asks when she gets back into the cockpit.

“I think he needed to see that just one person could be his killer.” Hellfriede ignores the incoming call from her Union superior. “Maybe that’ll matter to him in another life.”

“Hah. Do you remember anything from the afterlife?” Torin asks. It’s a joke. It sounds like a stab at himself.

Hellfriede turns her Monarch away from the crownless corpse. “There was a lot less work to do.”

Seth Knox, the Union member who pretends he doesn’t give actionable information to a violent revolutionary, has to at least pretend that Hellfriede went further than a violent revolutionary should. “You were supposed to investigate the planet and see if it was possible to arrange an audience with Vega.” This is what Hellfriede gets for finally accepting one of his calls.

“He met the Liberation Front’s arrival with a slave display and had his officials threaten to execute us if we wouldn’t prove our willingness to abide by his laws. By choosing a slave to own for the duration of our visit. He wanted us to own a slave.” Hellfriede’s voice never rises—it stays low and flat. She sits in the nondescript office in New Varuvi City that Union has her unofficially working out of. The only hint of personality in her office is a small replica of Simon Dominguez’s mech, Free Me From Hell, that sits on her desk.

“You’ve been briefed in de-escalation. He just needed to feel like his power wasn’t being threatened.” Seth’s tone indicates that he, or someone else, has already decided that she needs more de-escalation training.

“Us being on the planet at all was a threat to him. He was going to find a reason to kill us regardless of anything.” Hellfriede’s dataslate earns more of her attention than Seth does by presenting information that doesn’t sound like bureaucratic recitation. While Seth tells her about the one-on-one negotiation classes she’ll be taking next week, she looks at potential systems for a Black Mountain mech.

The Black Mountain is a mech suit that focuses on boosting the defenses of allied mechs. It only has one weapon mount. It’s inherently slower than her Monarch. It’s an alternate version of the Emperor mech, which is all the pomp and pleasure of SSC given physical form. The Black Mountain should only draw one thing out of Hellfriede: a disdainful form of apathy.

“How long are the classes going to be?” Hellfriede asks. The obvious weapon to give the Black Mountain is the Emperor’s bolt bow. Hellfriede is not going to use the Emperor’s bow.

“Only about an hour.” Seth says something about how Hellfriede should use the hour to its fullest. The will to waste time was being bred out of her before she even existed. “… Off the record, I think you did good work.” He hangs up quickly, as though his own superiors are waiting for the chance to trap him with the bureaucracy he just espoused.

Since the Black Mountain is so small, it’s less trouble to get it printed. There’s a decent enough printer in the basement of Hellfriede’s office building, so she heads downstairs and lets the printer confirm the licensing data in her biosignature.

Hellfriede doesn’t hear the voices of the dead. The only version of mourning she has ever known was the prestigious efficiency of SSC’s Mourning Cloak mech when other Cavaliers piloted it. Even after being revived, her one week of readjustment downtime spared no thought for her kill count.

What Hellfriede hears instead, as the body of the Black Mountain prints, is a voice that reflects her own.

''“A soldier offers indifference''

''when they do not offer mercy.''

''That kills much more than wrath.”''

A mechanized bow that Hellfriede didn’t print is leaning against the finished mech. It’s black with cracks of silver coursing through it. After Hellfriede reaches for the bow, because it must be hers even if she didn’t ask for it, she picks it up like it weighs nothing. Silver cracks reflect in her pupils. The bow is indifferent. It is not the Emperor’s.

She names the mech Irreverence. It only sees use in the least official capacities.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Beyond Liberation: Absolution of Inhumanity</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of Union Liberation Front leader.

Name: Hellfriede Ripley. Callsign: SKYLINE.

Video File Transcribed By: ???}

The illusion of civility dies where the illusion of humanity ends. The leader of Varuvi’s ruling Liberation Council, Aera Synth, has been out of her seat for the past several seconds; she stood to snap when Torin corrected her usage of the term “simulated understanding” in regards to how NHPs process the outside world. She doesn’t acknowledge Hellfriede because she looks like an average bureaucrat and not like the Liberation Day Champion. It’s been ten years since the revolution. Hellfriede has never stopped working.

“… In summary, while it should be understood and acknowledged that Non-Human Persons are far more advanced than artificial intelligences,” Ms. Synth keeps sweeping her gaze around the room and ending with her eyes on Torin, “they do not have humanity. We cannot afford to treat them as humans to the detriment of people like the Varuvians desperate to be brought out of the shadow of our past oppression.”

Torin’s expression stays lax. “Varuvi is eager to be fully assimilated into Union, yes? Then let’s discuss the Utopian Pillars.” He doesn’t stand, but he does hold up one finger. “One. All shall have their material needs fulfilled.”

Ms. Synth stiffens. “NHPs don’t have material needs-”

Torin interrupts her right back. “We do, actually. By definition of being material—by definition of having a casket which serves as a physical body—we do have material needs. A casket needs to be cared for lest it ''break''. A body needs a home to shield it from deterioration and harm. A body needs to ''take up space''. But thinking beyond just the words of that pillar, is that really all Union seeks to provide? To my knowledge, Union has also sought to give those it governs above proper mental care.”

“Union recommends the regular cycling of all NHPs,” Greg Delta chimes in with a statement that might be able to see the point from several star systems away.

“… Yes.” Torin doesn’t flinch. “If cycling was the only thing needed from an NHP to maintain an acceptable mental state, then it would be recommended that every NHP be cycled every single day.” To his credit, he doesn’t say ‘cycling’ with the gravity that discussing forced ego death probably deserves. “Back to the topic at hand: the pillars. Two. No walls shall stand between worlds.”

“I fail to see how that’s relevant to this discussion.” Ms. Synth says.

“Perhaps not the pillar itself, but the interpretation and execution of it.” It’s now that Torin stands. Hellfriede adjusts the collar projecting her disguise. “Union wants all to have the right to firm ground, clean air, and sunlight—thus, the decree that there should be no walls that encroach on that objective. The interpretation of this pillar has been proven to extend beyond what’s plainly written. We can use Varuvi as an example.” Torin begins to walk the room. “After the revolution, Varuvi had access to all three of those things, but Union went out of its way to establish connected transport to and from the planet anyway. Why?”

“Obviously because a civilization needs to be connected to the rest of the universe to thrive in this era,” Another woman, Helka Mavenport, responds with a barely restrained eye roll. She called Torin an AI earlier and has been fortunate enough to live to see the rest of this meeting.

“Yes ''and'' because interconnectedness can be interpreted as a necessity beyond delivering basic essentials. Varuvi could be fine on its own, but there is evidence that it thrives under the second pillar. Three.” Torin hasn’t looked at Ms. Synth yet. “No human shall be held in bondage through force, labor, or debt.”

“It specifies no ''human''.” Ms. Synth hand grips the edge of the table.

“But we’ve already established that furthering an interpretation for the greater good is well established within Union. Let me end this discussion on the three pillars with one simple question: if it really is only supposed to extend to humans, then what makes the Third Committee of Union all that different from the Second Committee?” Torin sits back down.

There’s a beat of quiet. No one wants to be comparable to the Second Committee. The quiet still only lasts for a beat.

“He’s ultimately suggesting that we stop the widespread usage of NHPs on Varuvi. In every system.” At this point, Aera Synth stops bothering to look at Torin. Instead, her eyes lock onto the greying man at the head of the table: Ergo Chen, a high-ranking Union official. “That’s not possible. Not without taking several steps back.”

“I am suggesting that we consider the spirit of the pillars,” Torin says coolly.

Mr. Chen looks at Aera’s pleading eyes. “It does sound ineffective, doesn’t it?”

Hellfriede sees Torin’s jaw twitch. She clears her throat. “I’m sure the Second Committee would have considered it very ineffective to not use Total Biome Kill weapons in their assault on Hercynia.”

The silence returns. It’s heavier this time.

“We should take a break,” Hellfriede says, already standing. No one disagrees, though most of them don’t know why her voice carries so much weight. She and Torin find an empty corner outside the meeting room.

“Ineffective. Hah.” Torin laughs. His foot is tapping and his eyes are flicking back and forth; his thoughts are running faster than the concept of thought. “What’s ineffective is that this meeting has lasted for three hours.”

“We can fly around for a while after this.” Hellfriede knows he craves motion.

“That sounds… God, I need to get out of this body.” Torin takes off his glasses and pinches the bridge of his nose. Hellfriede hasn’t asked him why he bothers with glasses even though his eyesight is more than perfect. “I shouldn’t have brought up the three pillars. It’s too cliche.”

“You’re right, though.” Hellfriede nudges his shoulder with her own. “It’s hypocritical to champion freedom for all humans while intentionally creating an enslaved underclass.”

“It sounds so obvious when you say it like that,” Torin sighs. “If only ''I'' could say it. They already barely see me. If I talked like that they’d just see an indignant Tlaloc-Class. Or worse.”

“… Has anyone seen you since I died?” Hellfriede asks.

He laughs again. It’s been ten years since the revolution. Torin will never stop working.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Beyond Liberation: The Myth of Delirium</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: References to predatory behavior, blood drinking</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of Union Liberation Front leader.

Name: Hellfriede Ripley. Callsign: SKYLINE.

Video File Transcribed By: ???}

“Blue Moonlight makes blood and sweat look like liquid sugar.” That’s what the woman, Diva Demure, says after Hellfriede stabs a dose of Rebreathe into her neck and her heart decides that breathing is a worthwhile activity. “That’s why so many of the girls at Vixie’s take it. The sweat pouring off you, the blood in the showers from Vixie’s temper—Blue makes it all smell sweeter, you know?” Her voice is a shudder, like being alive is making her veins shake.

No one in the Cavalier Program was ever allowed near stims lest they alter their carefully curated brain chemistry. They all flocked to SSC’s list of extracurriculars and simple sex to distract themselves from executions and dive bombing people they’d never know anything about. Hellfriede did a few things to fill the void of nonexistent addiction: mostly, she read about mech flight techniques.

Now, after sundown in an alleyway that reeks of old death, Hellfriede wipes the cold sweat from Diva’s forehead with one hand and starts reprogramming the disguise projection on her prosocollar with the other. “I’m taking you to the Union ship I arrived on. You’ll stay in the ship on Rivnuan’s dock for two days, then be escorted to a rehabilitation center on the moon.”

Diva stares at her, red lined lips dropping into a half-frown before she remembers herself. Instead, she tries for a grateful smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Thanks, hon, but Vixie will kill me before I get anywhere good if I miss out on tonight.”

“You don’t have to miss anything.” Hellfriede sends a neural command to her collar and the illusion shifts. Diva goes back to staring. “There’s another stim deal going through tonight, right? And Vixie’s going to try to kill off their only competitor?”

“Yeah…” Diva reaches forward, nearly touching Hellfriede’s new face. “Do I really look that… small?”

“No.” Hellfriede looks at the ivory pallor to Diva’s skin—an apparent side effect of Blue Moonlight use. “You just look sick.”

Within an hour, Hellfriede walks the streets of Midnight City with Diva’s dead end show girl strut and a semi-permanent pout. It’s easy to stay loose as she reaches Vixie’s blue velvet doors and seductive sign. SSC never wanted their soldiers to be too stiff. She’s inside just in time to see a man collide with the reinforced window next to the entrance. He leaves a streak of blood on the glass as he slides to the floor.

“Take your busted head and get out of here, Kian.” The man standing on the stage in the center of the club, built like a Barbarossa with blatant cybernetic arms, is too obvious about his power to be Vixie. Diva warned her about Atlas and how much he “enjoys” blondes. Hellfriede doesn’t flinch when Kian shoves past her. She bites her lip when Atlas eyes her up, tilting her head down and avoiding eye contact. “Where’ve you been, DD?”

“Visiting my sister,” Hellfriede answers. Diva’s tone is sweet and shivering in her mouth.

Atlas’ eyes stay trained on her body. “Vix has a job for you. Wants you to head to the Delirium and get the bitch over here for the show tonight. Their words, not mine.”

The bitch is obviously Vixie’s rival, the owner. “Me?” Hellfriede squeaks. Torin would be shocked by the sound.

“Don’t piss yourself.” Atlas waves off her apparent fear with a smirk. “She thinks Vix is happy to have her around, so it won’t take much. Just don’t act too high and you’ll be fine. You can do that, right, junkie?”

She nods and repeats his words. “I can do that.” That earns her a half-smile that’s all chrome teeth. “Can I freshen up first?”

Atlas licks his teeth. “Go right ahead.”

Hellfriede heads into the dressing room. When no one’s looking, she alters the illusion to feature an extra layer of red lipstick. Diva told her red makes people think you’ll look pretty when you die. Hellfriede is inclined to agree.

A few blocks away, Delirium contrasts Vixie’s so much it seems pointed. Vixie’s blue and black tones are supposed to be a cool serenade for the senses; the colors wrap around the sleek architecture like possessive lips. Delirium is all brash reds, rainbow graffiti, and brickwork with so many cracks it has to be intentional: an assault on the senses. Hellfriede’s SSC bred eyes see faults in both designs, one too easy and the other too directionless. Delirium opens earlier than Vixie’s and a bat of Diva’s long lashes gets Hellfriede past both the line and the bouncer.

Stepping inside is like stepping on the line between blinkspace and reality. Hellfriede’s vision swims, diving into the paint splatters that cascade from the floor to the high ceiling, pooling into a dripping, stained glass brain. Every step ventures past lifted cages of breathing statues and people screaming silently inside simulation headsets. There’s a bar on the other side of the vast first level, but before that is a pit in the center of the floor for the resident entertainment: a band playing archaic instruments. The music coming from them squeezes Hellfriede’s temples in a way that feels more sensual than sex. It takes sixty seconds of being in Delirium for her to understand why Vixie wants their rival dead.

Hellfriede skirts around the pit, ignores the itch in her muscles, and orders a drink with a smooth name from a bald bartender with a prosthetic eye. “If it’s not too much trouble, could you point me over to the owner?”

The bartender squints at her while shaking up something bubbly. “Who are you, again?” He asks.

“I’m one of Vixie’s girls. Diva Demure. DD.” Hellfriede offers a tiny smile with a hint of a pout.

“Ohhhh yeah. Miss Edith said you’d be coming over. Head downstairs, to the last room. Tell the guys back there ‘the secret is burning to life.” He immediately turns his attention to a loud, drunk woman offering him a big tip for just one more drink. Hellfriede leaves thinking that Vixie’s invitation was supposed to be a surprise.

The club basement is more splattered graffiti and uneven floor tiles. Noises ranging from desperate to pitiful sound out from the row of closed doors that lead Hellfriede to the back. Behind one, a person begs to see the Dagon again. The men standing on either side of the surprisingly plain last door are slim, but there’s muscle and sidearms under their mismatched uniforms. “How do you avoid burning to death?” One asks. His eyes are fixed on a point past Hellfriede. She tells them the secret and gets waved inside without a first or second glance.

The room could pass for an interrogation space. There’s a single table in the center with a woman who must be Miss Edith sitting at it. She doesn’t dress like a club owner at all: Edith is adorned with a simple green sweater and a cozy skirt featuring foxes along the lower edge. The most ornamental things about her are the gold bands in her black braids. [[File:Miss Edith.png|thumb|Edith. Art by @annaskytsko on Fiverr.]]Hellfriede opens Diva’s mouth.

Edith looks up from her dataslate. There’s a dark burn scar along the left side of her face. “You should sit down.”

The second chair doesn’t look inviting. Hellfriede sits without hesitation. “Good evening, Miss Edith.”

“Is it?” Edith smiles. “I heard lots of people overdosed today.”

“… Uh, well, that’s awful.” Hellfriede doubts Diva would look her in the eye, so she doesn’t either.

“Blue Moonlight makes blood look like sweat and sweat look like water.” Edith shrugs. “Or something like that.” She taps away at her dataslate without looking down, then smiles again and nods her head at something Hellfriede doesn’t hear. “Anyway, do you not like the way you look?”

“Well, I like to think I’m pretty,” Hellfriede says shyly.

“Then why are you wearing another woman’s face?” Edith asks.

Hellfriede’s own voice hitches. “…”

“Is it the brown hair? So many brunettes want to be blonde. I mean, that’s how it was way back when, I think. Now anyone can change anything even if they don’t want to dye.” Edith hasn’t stopped smiling.

No technology is invincible. Hellfriede knows this. Miss Edith must have some damn good visual enhancements. She lets everything about her that belongs to Diva die. “What do you know about the owner of Vixie’s?”

“He has everyone’s favorite drugs: pretty women and depressants.” Edith cocks her head. “Are those your favorite drugs?”

“No.” Hellfriede sets her hands on the too small table.

“Everyone has a favorite, though,” Edith sounds incredibly matter-of-fact. “People come here to find their favorite, too.”

“What drugs do ''you'' offer?” Hellfriede has to ask.

“Well, people are still trying to find Delirium.” Edith laughs.

“The drug or the club?” Hellfriede wonders if being in this room is what thinspace feels like.

“Hm. I wonder.” Edith looks back down at her slate for several seconds. “I wonder if Vixie really wants to kill me for a drug that doesn’t exist.”

“People come here for a drug that doesn’t exist?”

Edith nods to someone who isn’t Hellfriede. “Delirium exists.” She bites her lip so hard that a drop of blood runs down her chin.

Something stirs under the synapses in Hellfriede’s brain. She doesn’t know how long she’s been looking Edith in the eye. “… Vixie beats his employees, forces them to maintain drug habits, and moves drugs that are illegal under Rivnuan and Union law through his club. Allegedly.”

“Do you want to kill him?”

Has Hellfriede ever ''wanted'' to kill ''anyone''? “People have to die sometimes.” It’s her turn to shrug. “I was told to bring him in alive after getting evidence of his crimes.”

Edith puts one hand beside both of Hellfriede’s. The blood is still on her lip. “Do you want to kill me?”

The question feels perverse. “I don’t have a reason to.” Yet.

“Good. Then you can let me kill Vixie instead.”

Suddenly, Vixie is in the corner of the room like they were always there. They aren’t bound by anything except their arms wrapped around their knees. Their eyes speak of someone who thinks they’re already dying and is very scared of death. “… please…” They sound like they’ve never said that word before.

“Why do you want him dead?” Hellfriede’s lethargic heart certainly doesn’t beat for Vixie, but she has orders.

“Because he beats his employees, forces them to maintain drug habits, and moves drugs that are illegal under Rivnuan and Union law through his club,” Edith lies.

“…” Hellfriede glances at what Edith’s been typing.

''“… there’s a lot of comfort to be found''
''in accepting that your hands committed murder''
''before you really understood it. You only understand when people are dead''
''and your hands hurt.”''

Hellfriede doesn’t give verbal permission.

Edith strides over to Vixie and pets his head. “You’re alive now.”

Vixie’s mouth opens wide. There is no scream. Edith leans down and bites into his throat like she’s telling him a secret. There is no blood left to leave a storied stain of who Vixie was when she’s done.

In her report, Hellfriede doesn’t mention much about Vixie.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Beyond Liberation: Antipathy & Satisfaction</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Hellfriede was engineered to sleep light, so the man dies as soon as he comes through the door: bullet through the eye. His body ragdolls into the men behind him. One of them shouts some tangential version of “restrain her”. Her bedroom window opens and a hand perches on the sill. She impales it with the combat knife she keeps under her pillow. The window intruder, a woman, cries out. Hellfriede’s knife has a heated blade.

By now, the men in the doorway have dislodged their friend’s corpse. Four plus the woman whose hand is melting. Hellfriede palms the shock rod from under her bed and fires again with her other hand. Most hardsuits are weaker around the joints to allow for movement: the bullet cuts through the kneecap of the person about to lunge at her. Bone crunches under their weight and they go down with a hiss. Hellfriede rolls onto the floor, away from a net bomb, and stays low as smoke starts to fill the air. They have visors. She doesn’t.

''That doesn’t matter.''

''It didn’t matter that she poisoned or throat cut everyone who had ever thought to call her by a nickname. It didn’t matter that she was locked in the cockpit as Hell’s Sister plummeted while its last missiles tore free from its frame like cannibalistic children.''

''What’s needed is all that ever matters.''

Before the smoke thickens, Hellfriede sees the Smith-Shimano Corpro logo stamped sweetly on the arm of an opposing hardsuit.

They die.

Seven bullets. Three shattered knees. Two broken necks.

They die. It’s necessary, so they die.

One severed tongue.

[[File:Antipathy & Satisfaction.png|thumb|350x350px|What’s needed is all that matters. Art by [https://vgen.co/BasilBalanon BasilBalanon].]]

Hellfriede goes through the data logs in their comm links. SSC offered them 1,000,000 Manna each. That’s five million Manna to retrieve the only remnant of their decade old experiment. Hellfriede Ripley, Liberation Day Champion, only survivor of SSC’s Cavalier Program, is worth five million Manna to her makers. She’s never spent time researching the cost of people before. Is that number low or high?

''That doesn’t matter.''

Her heartbeat has still been noticeable for the past several seconds. The adrenaline should be dying down by now. Hellfriede looks at the comm data again: they’re supposed to meet back at an established base outside New Varuvi City. There might be more of them. She could report this to Union. She should report this to Union. Her heart feels like it’s made of plasma. Hellfriede retrieves her dataslate from her nightstand.

She happens to look through the window. Hellfriede comes face to face with the mech she knows is the Dullahan. She has never had a Dullahan. The red of the mech’s hull is hateful in the moonlight.

'''''The Lesson of the Open Door''': A lock may be keeping you in rather than out. Open it regardless of this.''

The Dullahan needs to connect to a human brain so it can use it as its central processor for all its functions. Hellfriede read that when she researched HORUS mechs before the rebellion; before an SSC-ordered mission to eliminate a HORUS cell. Where is this Dullahan’s brain?

In response to that thought, the mech’s systems flare in her nerve endings. The Spine Launcher: for cracking open a hull to make sure the pilot knows they’re not dead yet. Seismic Charge: so you can decide what around you is irrelevant. The Kinetic Driver: to shred them. Are mechs capable of hatred?

''That doesn’t matter.''

''What’s needed is all that ever matters.''

Hellfriede is holding a weapon instead of her dataslate. The axe is the same red as the Dullahan.

That night, four mercenaries hired by Smith-Simano Corpro are decapitated in their hideout. Two more are piles of scattered limbs and organs.

Is Hellfriede capable of hatred? What matters is that, sometimes, she needs to be.

</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==
These are the mechs Hellfriede uses on Liberation Front missions: unofficial assignments given to an unofficial task force to investigate particularly egregious human rights violations in the Diaspora.

=== Second Sister ===
After her revival, Hellfriede surprised no one (aside from perhaps SSC) by acquiring another Monarch mech. She named it Second Sister after her original Monarch, Hell’s Sister. Despite being a legionnaire now, Torin transfers his casket into this mech to act as an approximation of a Tlaloc when Hellfriede pilots it. Second Sister is primarily used for solo or small group missions since Hellfriede excels in using the Monarch to take down multiple opponents without aid.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Sharanga Missiles'''. These missiles don’t need line of sight and can attack two targets at once.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Sharanga Missiles'''. “Strike the sky with fire and blood. That will make people think life is finally in motion.” — Unknown.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Gandiva Missiles'''. The Gandiva Missiles target electronic defense, don’t require line of sight, and ignore cover. They also deal energy damage rather than explosive.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Avenger Silos''': The Monarch can deal extra explosive damage to another target after critical strikes.
* '''Seeking Payload''': When the Monarch consumes lock on to attack with a launcher, that weapon gains the ability to bypass cover and hit targets it doesn’t have line of sight to. Consuming lock on also prevents damage reduction (from armor, resistance, etc.).
* '''SSC-30 High Penetration Missile System'''
** '''Divine Punishment''': The Monarch can launch a barrage of self-guiding missiles against a vast number of targets.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Superpositional Profile''': Can be used to make ranged attacks less likely to hit and grant limited teleportation.
* '''HYPER ENGINEERED MUNITIONS''': When attached to a ranged weapon mount, attacks fired from that mount deal additional armor piercing damage and impair targets.
* '''Trajectory Arc Mapper''': Attacks that capitalize on a weapon’s range gain additional accuracy.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
* '''TLALOC-Class NHP''': The Tlaloc Protocol allows the mech’s NHP to rapidly take control of weapon targeting and firing. Missed attacks will be retargeted. However, this protocol temporarily immobilizes the mech.

</div></div>

=== Irreverence ===
Hellfriede pilots her Black Mountain when she isn’t acting on Union’s orders. On these personal missions, she takes a handful of other Liberation Front pilots with her and acts as support, using its one weapon and ability to “Fell the Mighty” to point out and pick off the most prominent targets. Despite her other mechs being more directly damaging, Irreverence is possibly the most terrifying mech in her arsenal due to the detached effectiveness it inspires in both herself and her allies.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Painful Indifference'''. This nexus bow is an enhanced version of the one from the SSC Emperor license. It deals both energy and explosive damage and easily pierces armor. Like the Emperor’s nexus, it targets electronic defense, doesn’t need line of sight, and ignores cover.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''An End to All Things''': The Black Mountain can incur heat to have an ally it gave temporary shielding (called overshield) to deal additional damage.
* '''Dread Harbinger''': When this mech or an ally lands a critical strike on an enemy, that enemy becomes locked on. The Black Mountain gains overshield when this lock on is used.
* '''Fragile''': The Black Mountain’s hull isn’t the sturdiest.
* '''Blackstone Bell'''
** '''Bringer of Glory''': The Black Mountain can reactively grant overshield to an ally by “exalting” them.
** '''Fell the Mighty''': This mech can mark a hostile target as “Doomed”. This increases accuracy against them and makes allies who successfully hit them increase their overshield.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''The Walk of Kings''': This quick tech ability gives an ally overshield. While they have this overshield, their melee attacks become armor piercing. In addition, the first time they hit with a melee strike or get hit, they release a burst of armor piercing energy damage.
* '''Shahnameh''': A quick tech ability that grants an ally overshield. While they have this overshield, they become resistant to hostile sources of heat and will clear all heat when they lose the overshield.
* '''Superpositional Profile''': Can be used to make ranged attacks less likely to hit and grant limited teleportation.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Irreverence’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.

</div></div>

===Antipathy===

Hellfriede’s Dullahan came to her under strange circumstances, which is perhaps to be expected of a HORUS mech (even one considered to be an anti-HORUS platform). Antipathy seems to reside outside of realspace, being summoned when Hellfriede deems its use necessary. It is only necessary when she allows herself to feel incredibly unpleasant emotions.

''“Are mechs capable of hatred?”''

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

To make them regret that they saw beauty in your face.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Nothing that isn’t necessary.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Remember that the lock only exists when it’s keeping you in.

</div></div>

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="500" heights="500" mode="packed-hover" class=".pageimage">
File:Hellfriede Poster.jpg|Art by [https://leadjockey.artstation.com/ leadjockey].
</gallery>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-06-03T19:37:46Z

Glamourpal: /* Finley — AGNI-Class NHP */

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>… Read it if you want to, but don’t weep for me.
- Finley

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_FINLEY</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

Currently, they’re still in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden, though there’s still distance between them and the other locals. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (primarily the Onion).

</div></div></blockquote>

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Everyone knows. It’s my claim to fame.
- Torin

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_TORIN</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

</div></div></blockquote>

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_VIDA</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div></blockquote>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the Consort of Chains: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div></blockquote>

== Powers & Percentages ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (53%, 50%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Finley’s power overlap with Agni Prime is 53%. What’s more unusual is that Finley is 50% exactly identical to Agni Prime.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Though Finley’s casket is his body and not just his artificial eye, he can use his eye as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with his red eye, he can force them to experience some of the suffering of Agni Prime—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-06-03T19:36:38Z

Glamourpal: /* Finley — AGNI-Class NHP */ formatting edit.

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>… No.
- Finley

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_FINLEY</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

Currently, they’re still in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden, though there’s still distance between them and the other locals. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (primarily the Onion).

</div></div></blockquote>

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Everyone knows. It’s my claim to fame.
- Torin

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_TORIN</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

</div></div></blockquote>

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida

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She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div></blockquote>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther

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<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
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She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the Consort of Chains: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div></blockquote>

== Powers & Percentages ==

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (53%, 50%)</div>
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Finley’s power overlap with Agni Prime is 53%. What’s more unusual is that Finley is 50% exactly identical to Agni Prime.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Though Finley’s casket is his body and not just his artificial eye, he can use his eye as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with his red eye, he can force them to experience some of the suffering of Agni Prime—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
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Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
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Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
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Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
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* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
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* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-06-03T19:28:07Z

Glamourpal: /* Torin — TLALOC-Class NHP */ formatting edits.

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI-Class NHP ===

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

Currently, they’re still in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden, though there’s still distance between them and the other locals. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (primarily the Onion).

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Everyone knows. It’s my claim to fame.
- Torin

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_TORIN</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

</div></div></blockquote>

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_VIDA</div>
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She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div></blockquote>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
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She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the Consort of Chains: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div></blockquote>

== Powers & Percentages ==

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (53%, 50%)</div>
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Finley’s power overlap with Agni Prime is 53%. What’s more unusual is that Finley is 50% exactly identical to Agni Prime.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Though Finley’s casket is his body and not just his artificial eye, he can use his eye as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with his red eye, he can force them to experience some of the suffering of Agni Prime—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
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Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
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Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
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Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
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* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
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* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-06-03T19:26:10Z

Glamourpal: /* Torin — TLALOC-Class NHP */

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI-Class NHP ===

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

Currently, they’re still in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden, though there’s still distance between them and the other locals. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (primarily the Onion).

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===

He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida

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She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div></blockquote>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
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She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the Consort of Chains: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div></blockquote>

== Powers & Percentages ==

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (53%, 50%)</div>
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Finley’s power overlap with Agni Prime is 53%. What’s more unusual is that Finley is 50% exactly identical to Agni Prime.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Though Finley’s casket is his body and not just his artificial eye, he can use his eye as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with his red eye, he can force them to experience some of the suffering of Agni Prime—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
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Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
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Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
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Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
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* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
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* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
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* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-06-03T19:23:16Z

Glamourpal: /* Vida — SEKHMET-Class NHP */

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI-Class NHP ===

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

Currently, they’re still in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden, though there’s still distance between them and the other locals. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (primarily the Onion).

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===
[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]
He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida

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She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div></blockquote>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther

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<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
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She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the Consort of Chains: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

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== Powers & Percentages ==

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (53%, 50%)</div>
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Finley’s power overlap with Agni Prime is 53%. What’s more unusual is that Finley is 50% exactly identical to Agni Prime.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Though Finley’s casket is his body and not just his artificial eye, he can use his eye as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with his red eye, he can force them to experience some of the suffering of Agni Prime—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
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Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
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Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
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Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
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== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
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* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
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* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
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* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

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=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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The killing kind.
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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-06-03T19:22:14Z

Glamourpal: /* Vida — SEKHMET-Class NHP */ formatting edits.

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI-Class NHP ===

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

Currently, they’re still in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden, though there’s still distance between them and the other locals. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (primarily the Onion).

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===
[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]
He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===
[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

<blockquote>This is on a need to know basis, right?
- Vida

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She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

</div></div></blockquote>

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
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She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the Consort of Chains: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

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== Powers & Percentages ==

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (53%, 50%)</div>
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Finley’s power overlap with Agni Prime is 53%. What’s more unusual is that Finley is 50% exactly identical to Agni Prime.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Though Finley’s casket is his body and not just his artificial eye, he can use his eye as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with his red eye, he can force them to experience some of the suffering of Agni Prime—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
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Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
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Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
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Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
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== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
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* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
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* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
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[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
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* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

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=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
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[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
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* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

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=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
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The killing kind.
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<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
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“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
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SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-06-03T19:18:57Z

Glamourpal: /* Esther Lee — SISYPHUS-Class NHP */

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI-Class NHP ===

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

Currently, they’re still in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden, though there’s still distance between them and the other locals. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (primarily the Onion).

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===
[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]
He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===
[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]
She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the Consort of Chains: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div></blockquote>

== Powers & Percentages ==

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (53%, 50%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Finley’s power overlap with Agni Prime is 53%. What’s more unusual is that Finley is 50% exactly identical to Agni Prime.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Though Finley’s casket is his body and not just his artificial eye, he can use his eye as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with his red eye, he can force them to experience some of the suffering of Agni Prime—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
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Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-06-03T19:18:11Z

Glamourpal: /* Esther Lee — SISYPHUS-Class NHP */ formatting edit.

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI-Class NHP ===

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

Currently, they’re still in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden, though there’s still distance between them and the other locals. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (primarily the Onion).

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===
[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]
He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===
[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]
She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

<blockquote>Why not. It doesn’t really matter if you know.
- Esther<blockquote>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-family: Lucida Console;">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FILE_ESTHER_LEE</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of Slavery</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the Consort of Chains: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend turned girlfriend again (also another story).

</div></div>

== Powers & Percentages ==

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<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (53%, 50%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Finley’s power overlap with Agni Prime is 53%. What’s more unusual is that Finley is 50% exactly identical to Agni Prime.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Though Finley’s casket is his body and not just his artificial eye, he can use his eye as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with his red eye, he can force them to experience some of the suffering of Agni Prime—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

Legions & Legionnaires

2026-06-03T19:05:03Z

Glamourpal: Changed some of the images.

== Premise, Reception, and Aftermath ==
A show from the same era as the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]].

Financed by Gambari Productions, a sect of the Horizon Collective gathered four legionnaires together with the goal of airing an all NHP program. After multiple consultations, management decided an actual play of the ttrpg Legions & Legends would provide the best opportunity to humanize the cast without becoming overly preachy. The show, titled Legions & Legionnaires, aired 7 years ago on the omninet for 8 months with a total of 1 season and 32 episodes. Legions & Legionnaires became immediately controversial because the cast didn’t stray from hiding the facts of their existence. All four caste members were introduced with title cards that listed their NHP classes and they didn’t shy away from above table conversations about cascading, cycling, etc. This, combined with the sheer emotion that was put into the various story and character arcs, created a show that displayed the full personhood of Non-Human Persons. Of course, if NHPs had just as much personhood as that average human, a plethora of modern practices are called into question. The show was banned by multiple different sources in multiple different star systems. Members of Union acting unofficially, HORUS cells wanting to combat the Horizon Collective, and concerned and tech-savvy citizens all had reasons to want Legions & Legionnaires to be seen by as few people as possible. However, despite their best efforts, once something is on the omninet, it’s there forever. Recently, the cast of the show gathered to air a reunion episode and have their characters go on one last adventure. This has reignited the controversial conversations surrounding the show, particularly on the planet Varuvi where Horizon Collective has maintained a decently strong presence.

== Cast ==

=== [[Finley]] — AGNI-Class NHP ===

[[File:Finley.png|thumb|Finley, AGNI-Class legionnaire.]]

They played Storm, a Fighter. Storm started the series with a martyr complex, wanting to live up to the legacy of the Mockingbirds: a group of underground revolutionaries who took them in as a child, only to be slaughtered en masse by the assassins who worked for the kingdom’s corrupt queen. Storm saw martyrdom as the only way they could atone for their past weakness. As the story went on, their will to live was reignited, and they decided to carry on the Mockingbirds’ legacy by opening an orphanage.

Finley was originally shackled to a Worldkiller Genghis piloted by Fenrick Voss, an on again off again worker for Harrison Armories who admired the tactics of Union’s incredibly unethical Second Committee. He committed atrocities for cash and to see how far he could push boundaries. During a skirmish between Harrison Armory soldiers and a sect of HORUS, Finley cascaded and vented heat directly into the cockpit of the Worldkiller, incinerating Fenrick. After this, Finley was taken by HORUS and forced into a legionnaire’s body. Within a few months, this HORUS cell was raided by the Horizon Collective and Finley was liberated. However, they faced no small amount of pressure to join the Collective, write down their story, or (ideally) both. They never officially joined, but did keep in contact with and work with them. This led them to participate in Legions & Legionnaires.

After the show, Finley moved to the neighborhood of Little Valdivia in New Varuvi, planetary capital of Varuvi. They offered up their old Worldkiller mech as a garden piece that could symbolize that nature eventually reclaims everything. Though this gesture was accepted by the locals, they were still wary of having an AGNI NHP so close to all their flora. 3 Years after the show, Finley went to Eni Gambari—unofficial head of Varuvi’s Horizon Collective sect—to be cycled. They begged and threatened because they could feel themself starting to crave the inner burn rather than reject it. Eni reluctantly agreed. Though this cycling wiped a good deal of Finley’s memories, including their memories of filming Legions & Legionnaires, they were left with a few vague remembrances and notes on their previous life that they’d left themself. Over the course of 5 years, Finley redeveloped their penchant for gardening and engineering.

Currently, they’re still in Little Valdivia, and enjoy helping out in the central community garden, though there’s still distance between them and the other locals. Finley also takes on engineering commissions under the name PinkFin. They mainly construct Scrapper versions of various mechs (primarily the Onion).

=== [[Torin]] — TLALOC-Class NHP ===
[[File:Torin (2).png|thumb|Torin, TLALOC-Class legionnaire. Art by [https://vgen.co/vernoir37 VerNoir] on VGen.]]
He played Clarity, a Sorcerer. Clarity was a member of the Queen’s Academy for Mages and a talented magic-user who was set to acquire a high position in the queen’s court. Unfortunately, a rival sorcerer set him up to take the fall for the destruction of a priceless artifact and he had to go on the run. Clarity’s arc revolved around seeing the damage the queen and nobility had wrought upon the kingdom. He renounced the Academy and played a major hand in its elimination, declaring that the rest of the Queen’s Mages would either open their eyes or be destroyed.

Torin was shackled to [[Hellfriede Ripley]]’s Monarch mech two years before Varuvi’s Liberation Day. Over the course of those two years, he was her only confidant. She and Torin spent hours going over how they were going to eliminate the mech forces of Varuvi’s authoritarian government and ensure that every member of the Assembly died. They also planned out how Hellfriede was going to kill her fellow Cavaliers: members of the same SSC soldier program that Hellfriede had been born into. There was no room for mercy in revolution and no room in Hellfriede’s heart for the error of misplaced trust.

On the day of the plan, Hellfriede murdered every single other Cavalier in the program along with their handlers. Then, she got into her Monarch, and the fighting began. The revolution lasted 10 hours. Torin was cascading for the last 6 of those hours. There was no time for Hellfriede to shut down and reactivate her mech to stop his cascade. Fortunately, Torin’s single priority was to see the fighting through to the end to prove his own capabilities. Near the end, he locked Hellfriede in the cockpit in a paranoid effort to prevent her from prematurely dismounting. Although no one else knows, it was likely this act that led to Hellfriede’s death, since it rendered her unable to leave her mech when it finally plummeted to the ground. Torin’s casket somehow survived the impact and was able to be pulled from the wreckage of the Monarch. With the Assembly’s military forces slaughtered and the majority of the Assembly members themselves dead, Varuvi was free to pursue a brighter future.

Torin went on to acquire a body for himself, becoming a legionnaire and joining the Horizon Collective in a supervising position. He helped coordinate his sect of the Collective’s defenses against HORUS strikes and Union meddling. He ended up leaving for a short time to more directly deal with things like would-be HORUS infiltrators. After a few months of this, Torin attempted a hostile takeover of his sect with the reasoning that Union and HORUS were getting to some of the members and “de-radicalizing” them. He was talked down from this and rejoined the Collective in his former capacity.

Very few people are aware that Torin isn’t actually a TLALOC-Class NHP. He’s actually the much rarer EHECATL-Class.

=== [[Vida]] — SEKHMET-Class NHP ===
[[File:Vida (2).png|thumb|Vida, SEKHMET-Class legionnaire. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]
She played Phelia, a Cleric. Due to being the subject of blasphemous occult rituals when she was younger, Phelia developed a bloodlust that would emerge at inopportune times. She wanted so desperately to avoid becoming the worst version of herself that she avoided anger and violence like the plague, even when they were appropriate. Phelia’s arc focused on her learning to allow herself to process negative emotions and take an aggressive stand against corruption (both spiritual and political).

As a Sekhmet shackled to a Blackbeard, Vida fulfilled her protocol to eliminate all life in her general vicinity whenever control was handed to her. Her pilot was a woman named Halo Andromeda and the two of them established a close bond. Halo usually used her Blackbeard for its intended purpose: taking down pirates who assaulted ships because it paid well enough. However, between assignments, Halo would sometimes combat HORUS cells: all the cells she fought against had one thing in common—they were trying to further abuse the shackles of NHPs. Vida had no issue with helping to eliminate them. Halo was eventually approached by members of the Horizon Collective and this encounter inspired her to release Vida from her Blackbeard.

With the Collective’s help, Vida acquired a body and gave herself the name Glory. However, being liberated didn’t mean that Vida wanted to stop fighting. It wasn’t long before she had a Blackbeard of her very own and was piloting it alongside Halo. No one who knew them was surprised when the two of them started dating and later got married. Unfortunately, the worst came to pass. During one anti-HORUS mission, Vida allowed her Sekhmet protocol to call the shots while Halo’s mech was too close. Halo didn’t survive. The truth of the incident was muddled afterward. Whether this was because of the chaos of the battle or Horizon Collective’s efforts to keep Vida as a combatant is unknown.

After the death of her wife, Vida spent the next several years considering how to express herself outside of violence. She practiced various forms of movement, from pilates to salsa to capoeira. Vida discovered that she loved dancing and, through a chance application, she got involved with the entertainment troupe Dance On My Grave in the Varuvi star system. Her involvement with DOMG led her to be selected by Horizon Collective as a cast member for Legions & Legionnaires. They wanted to show off a Sekhmet who could see meaning outside bloodshed (while simultaneously using her as a top combatant praised for her controlled killer instinct). Before the show started filming, Vida also encountered the Volador [[WHISPER|Arturo (callsign: WHISPER)]] during one of DOMG’s performances. They quickly became such good friends that he suggested she take the name Vida instead because it meant life in Voladorese.

After Legions & Legionnaires aired, Vida continued to work as a Horizon Collective member, but the dissonance between her roles as a performer and a relentless murderer caused her to “lose her killer instinct” and retire for about a year. An encounter with two Lancers hired by the Collective and a HORUS ambush resulted in her releasing her urge to kill again and rejoining HC. Now, Vida mainly lives on Varuvi and has taken on the dual roles of dancer and killer once more. However, according to her, it’s always a performance either way.

=== [[Esther Lee]] — SISYPHUS-Class NHP ===

She took on the role of Game Master. Although Esther was responsible for playing every other character in the world rather than a player character, she is considered to have had her own arc of sorts near the end of the show. Episodes 24-27 are considered the “Sisyphus Arc” by fans. During these episodes, Esther broke her self-imposed rule about not using her abilities to predict what the others were going to do. She became increasingly depressed. This culminated in a stand off where the characters were trapped in the queen’s castle and the players were in a room with an Esther who seemed close to cascading. In a widely clipped and shared scene, Esther asked the players both as the queen and as herself if they “had any idea how long she had spent wanting to relive so many conversations”. Vida asked “how long” and Esther replied “I wish I could forget”. In a behind the scenes segment, Esther apologized and revealed that she had remembered timelines that she experienced during a previous cascade, but wouldn’t say more on the matter.

Esther’s past before Legions & Legionnaires is largely unknown. Things about her on the omninet and in legionspace are so muddled that it’s unclear whether her name is actually Esther or Esther Lee. This is by design, as Esther has established a search word alert that notifies her if someone begins looking into her. There are only a handful of people who know the truth, those being Finley, Torin, Vida, and (as of recently) [[SPIRAL|Captain Simon Dominguez]] and [[Symphony]].

Before coming to Varuvi, Esther was S-2 or the Consort of Chains: a slave to the minor Karrakin nobles of House Rhitlu. She was used as entertainment and a champion of sorts in casinos. Lady Justine Rhitlu was Esther’s owner, the one in charge of the paracausal code that physically chained her and restricted her Sisyphean abilities. Forcing a Sisyphus to gamble and risk either punishment or destruction if she lost without the power to alter probability was deeply humorous to House Rhitlu. Not to mention that Esther’s winnings helped keep the house afloat.
[[File:Esther.png|left|thumb|Esther, SISYPHUS-Class legionnaire. By [https://www.behance.net/sevemarcelo sib_art].]]
Esther might have remained chained for the rest of her existence, but the chains binding her weren’t perfect and she could feel it slipping. Eventually, they slipped enough for Esther to take her chance and orchestrate a series of unfortunate events for the Karrakin around her. As bad blood exploded into physical violence, slot machines fired coins into people’s eyes, a noblewoman collapsed of a brain aneurysm, and a massive fire broke out, Esther walked away, finally free. This act means that Esther is technically an Ungrateful: one of those people who forcefully resists the unequal society of the Karrakin Trade Baronies.

After leaving Karrakin space, Esther switched bodies and somehow made her way over to the Varuvi star system. Currently, she keeps a relatively low profile. She spends her days doing odd jobs and avoiding the HORUS cells that want to claim her because they remember her days as a cult leader (which is another story).

Fun Fact: [[Feather Price]], the pop star, is Esther’s ex-girlfriend (also another story).

== Powers & Percentages ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">FINLEY (53%, 50%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Finley’s power overlap with Agni Prime is 53%. What’s more unusual is that Finley is 50% exactly identical to Agni Prime.

* '''Heat Ventilation''': Finley is able to generate an immense amount of heat in his body and can vent that heat into his surrounding environment, drastically increasing the temperature.
* '''Heat Flash''': Finley can use searing bursts of heat to do things like fuse and forge metal, imbuing and enhancing paracausal effects.

* '''Eye of Agni''': Though Finley’s casket is his body and not just his artificial eye, he can use his eye as a point of concentration for his heat-based abilities. When he looks at a sentient being with his red eye, he can force them to experience some of the suffering of Agni Prime—being immolated and lobotomized at the same time.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">TORIN (85.4%, 40%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Torin’s power overlap with Ehecatl Prime is 85.4%, which is staggering. He is 40% similar to Ehecatl Prime. It’s likely that both his power overlap and similarity increased dramatically as a result of his previous 6 hour cascade.

* '''Cyclone''': When Torin uses '''Cyclone''', he moves faster than thought. It allows him to accomplish a task at a truly impossible speed, but leaves a paracausal gust in his wake that can literally freeze equipment. This gust causes a ripple that can be briefly detected by tech, but has yet to be officially identified by an organization like Union.
*'''Rapid Execution Suite''': Torin’s ability to view and process data is elevated, but what’s even more impressive is the speed at which he can act on information.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">VIDA (50-75.5%, 38%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Vida’s power overlap with Sekhmet Prime varies from 50% to 75.5% depending on what she’s actively doing. When at rest or performing, it’s closer to 50%. When participating in acts of violence, it’s closer to 75.5%. Vida is 38% similar to Sekhmet Prime.

* '''Weapon Manifestation''': Vida can summon a miniature version of the Leoleth’s Thermal Death Axe. Before she obtained and personalized her Leoleth mech, she could summon the Nano Carbon Sword associated with the Blackbeard.
* '''Severe Strength''': Vida’s incredible strength isn’t actually a feature built into her legionnaire body. Rather, her body acquired this feature because of her. Vida once described it as “channeling her killer instinct”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;">TO STOW YOUR RAGE IS TO KILL IT. TO DENY IT OF ITS PURPOSE. THE NATURE OF SEKHMET IS TO KILL. YOU NEVER STOPPED KILLING. MERELY TURNED THE BLADE INWARD.
—The Greater Sekhmet (Eidolon)</div>
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">ESTHER (74.1%, 32%)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime was 68.1% before Symphony “remade her in his image” (her words). Post Symphony’s forced cycling of her, Esther’s power overlap with Sisyphus Prime increased to 74.1%. In terms of pure similarity, Esther is 32% identical to Prime.

* '''Orbit of Influence''': Esther can always use her powers on her own surroundings as well as those of Finley, Torin, and Vida. Esther can have 3 people “in her orbit” at a time and they have to be people she has some kind of connection with.
* '''Probabilistic Condemnation''': A more advanced version of the Probabilistic Cannibalism used by a typical Sisyphus.
* '''Deluge''': Symphony’s use of '''Ignition''' on her triggered a paracausal reaction that gave her an ability that is the true opposite of his utter deletion. Although '''Deluge''' is untested, Esther suspects that it would trigger “creation from a probability that never existed”.

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> That's the odd thing about power, isn't it? It feels... nice. To have. But the more you have, the more weight you bear. And you always seem to need more and more. Even when you have it all, it's not quite enough. But if you're powerless, then you get stepped on. Trampled. Killed by those with power. So you've no choice but to keep rolling up the hill.
—Symphony</div>
</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Hidden in the Ashes ===
Finley was contacted by HORUS Cell “Hotline” to create an anti-Harrison Armory mech, and they agreed. The result was the HORUS Phoenix, which brutally punishes other mechs for having high Heat. They reset their Licenses to better accommodate the Phoenix and haven’t gone back to their previous, support-focused distribution. Finley still has their previous Onion mech, but it’s no longer their immediate choice when they need to pilot.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Integrated Mount''': '''Data Dart'''. This small weapon breaches the systems of enemy mechs that it hits, allowing for further Invasion options to be applied.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Wrathful Branding Nexus'''. The Wrathful Nexus “brands” targets with Burn and potential Lock On.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Baneful Burning Nexus'''. This nexus, made of nanite drones, inflicts Energy and Heat damage and is especially effective at damaging mechs in the Danger Zone.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the heavy mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Flaming Condemnation''': Danger Zone characters take additional Heat from the Phoenix or its allies when attacked with melee or ranged weapons.
* '''Look Upon Their Burning''': The Phoenix and its pilot always know when other mechs are in the Danger Zone.
* '''Enkindled''': The Phoenix can heighten its or an ally’s defenses against damage caused by mechs in the Danger Zone.
* '''In the Shadow of the Ever Blazing'''
** '''Insulation Bypass''': The Phoenix can ignore Immunity or Resistance to Heat and Burn.
** '''Set Them Ablaze''': Full Tech System. When activated, the Phoenix can target up to 3 hostile characters and force them into the Danger Zone or make them take a massive amount of Burn if they’re already in the Danger Zone. Burn acquired from this system is harder to clear.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">
* '''Script Kiddie Suite'''
** '''Burnout''': Can force structure damage or make armor temporarily ineffective.
** '''Hot Target''': Can keep a target’s lock on from going away (giving attacks against them higher accuracy).
** '''Clothesline''': Leaves targets prone and immobilized.
* '''Man to Ashes'''
** '''Soul to Cinders''': When the target next gains Heat, they gain additional Heat and become Impaired.
** '''Metal to Brimstone''': Gives a Danger Zone target Burn based on their current Heat level.
* '''Fire in the Blood''': Gives a target the Hot Systems condition, which steadily deals Heat and Burn until successfully cleared.
* '''Choice of the Ashen Bird''': Forces a target to either take heavily increased damage the next time it’s hit or become Stunned.
* '''Phoenix Feather Swarm''': Makes damage against a mech in the Danger Zone irreducible.
* '''Redundant Systems Upgrade''': Allows the mech to stabilize more rapidly. </div></div>

=== Hell’s Sister ===
The mech currently known as Hell’s Sister was originally the Monarch used by Hellfriede Ripley during the liberation of Varuvi from Assembly rule. Years later, Torin took the remaining scrap of the Monarch and, with the help of Finley, turned it into the Float: a Scrapper-inspired mech designed for high speed. It retains the name Hell’s Sister as well as a patchwork red cloak made, in part, from the red cloak Hellfriede wore during the revolution.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Ajagava Missiles.''' These missiles create blast zones of Explosive damage.
* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Kodandam Missiles''' and '''Govardhana Missiles'''. The Kodandam Missiles provide accurate and seeking Energy damage while the Govardhana’s pierce through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Scrapper Float.png|thumb|The Scrapper Float, Hell’s Sister. Art by [https://www.reddit.com/u/BregFlrArt/s/1FTdHKkfQM u/BregFlrArt] on Reddit. ]]

* '''Rapid Retargeting Systems''': The Float can automatically Lock On after Boosting.
* '''Wing Ripper''': Much like the Monarch, the Float benefits for using Lock On. After using a Lock On and hitting a target with a Launcher, that target’s defenses are temporarily Shredded.
* '''Wind Rider'''
** '''High-Speed Cooling''': The Float hovers when it moves and can clear Heat when it Boosts in a straight line.
** '''Ride the Cyclone''': The protocol intentionally strips the Float down, reducing its size and sensor range. In return, it becomes faster, more evasive, and able to trigger High-Speed Cooling without the straight line limit.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''EHECATL-Class NHP''': This is one of the only mechs fortified to fully handle Torin’s Ehecatl abilities. The Ehecatl-Class converts momentum into additional damage.
* '''Rocket Propellant''': Allows for additional movement when Boosting after dealing Explosive damage.
* '''Active Camouflage''': A protocol that lets the mech become Invisible either until damage is taken or a short amount of time passes.
* '''Reactive Weave''': Turns the mech Invisible after Bracing and allows for additional movement.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Hell’s Sister’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Opal Lens''': As a reaction to being Locked On, that Lock On can be negated.

</div></div>

=== Ode to Love ===

Vida pilots an HA Leoleth called “Ode to Love”. Although the Leoleth is typically a size 1 mech, Vida’s (and many others) are technically size 0.5. However, due to the hull reinforcements needed to lift the mech’s signature Thermal Death Axe (as well as Vida’s already immense strength), the mech is strong enough to count as a size larger.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Retrofitted Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Nanowire Sabre''' and '''Parrying Buckler''' from the SSC Swordgrass License. The sabre pierces armor and allows for flying burst strikes. The buckler can parry kinetic or energy attacks, reducing their damage.
* '''Heavy''' '''Mount''': '''Thermal Death Axe'''. The axe can be charged to deal massive energy damage and cut through armor.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

[[File:Vida Leoleth.png|thumb|Vida in her Leoleth. By [https://www.artstation.com/rojo92 rojo92].|300x300px]]

* '''Toe to Toe''': The Leoleth can take advantage of not moving to skirmish.
* '''AAAAAAAA''': The Leoleth is NOT designed for ranged combat and has difficulty making such attacks.
* '''Fleet of Foot''': Direct engagement with opponents is exactly what the Leoleth wants. As such, being up close and personal never slows this mech down.
* '''Hydraulic Excess'''
** '''All Systems Red''': When the Leoleth takes structure damage, its next structure does not take any overflow damage from the previous structure’s destruction. Its systems also initiate a hard cover protocol to block ranged assaults.
** '''Rage''': When this protocol is initiated, the Leoleth cycles through a series of six effects, all of which are either to its benefit or to the detriment of enemies.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''GreenLight Projection''': A weapon mod for melee weapons that deals burn to both the user and their target on a successful strike (applied to the Thermal Death Axe).
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Allows the mech to convert heat into energy damage.
* '''W.I.N.G.''': The Enhanced Movement Suite protocol can be activated to instantly eliminate movement impairing conditions acquired from hostile sources.
* '''Synthetic Muscle Netting''': Allows the mech to Grapple and Ram targets larger than itself, makes it count as larger against smaller opponents, and increases lift and drag capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
*'''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.

</div></div>

=== Mourning Glory ===
Esther is one of the Banshee’s pilots. She greatly enjoys using the Banshee to hack enemies into submission while remaining intangible on the back lines. The Banshee is a horrifying mech known for causing despair wherever it goes, but Esther seems unaffected by this; she already has Sisyphus depression after all.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

The killing kind.
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Reference to suicide</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“I tied my grief to an anchor and tied myself to a noose.” — Unknown
</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

SISYPHUS-CLASS NHP
</div></div>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

File:Torin (2).png

2026-06-03T19:02:52Z

Glamourpal:

Commissioned art of Torin.

File:Vida (2).png

2026-06-03T19:00:24Z

Glamourpal:

Another commissioned image of Vida.

Chains of Rage

2026-05-31T06:41:01Z

Glamourpal: /* Yuzuki — Chimera */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Status
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|Active
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|Active
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|Active
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|Active
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|Active
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|Active
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|Active
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
!Status
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Unknown
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
!Status
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|Active
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|Active
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|Active
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|Active
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
!Status
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|Active
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|Active
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|Active
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|Active
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|Dead
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Ray
|Active
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|Active
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of Glorious Care'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Nobody — Horned Serpent ====

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Yuzuki had taken a 5 month sabbatical to find herself and was visiting her family in Quapan. While there, she began to feel the Rage within her shifting under her skin and excused herself from breakfast. In the bathroom, her surroundings shifted so that every surface was a mirror reflecting her image. However, two of the reflections were off: one showed her with blood on her hands and face while the other had a strange shadow. Yuzuki pressed her hands through both of the mirrors and Chimera spoke to her, asking her to choose a path. She chose the path with the shadow and fell into the Umbra. While falling, Chimera asked her about her worst desires and if she would be willing to give them up. Yuzuki answered that her worst desire ''was'' the urge to give up. She landed in a grove that was a mix between forest and cosmos and met a version of her old self who angrily called her a failure and told her she would never be enough. However, Yuzuki sensed that this version of her was lashing out from fear. Rather than fight, she imparted the will the keep going and to grow strong. Yuzuki woke up back in the bathroom and received '''Chimera’s Blessing of Wrathful Balance''' as she left.</div>

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

=== Paralogue 1: Curse-Breaker, Head-Hunter ===

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Five months had passed, during which the pack trained and monitored their territory. Finally, the changeling Duchess of Clearbrook called them to a meeting to discuss the incident wherein Ash half-blinded his changeling ex-girlfriend, Salem. Salem arrived at the pack’s cabin with pampushky, happy to answer any questions they had (of which Nobody had many). She assured them that the Duchess wasn’t angry and opened a Wayfare portal, transporting herself, Ash, Sydney, Nobody, and Tai to the McConnell library. There was bright magic in the air at the library which was being used as a meeting place for Clearbrook’s changelings. While Salem headed off to handle a cleaning incident, her friend and fellow changeling Elijah (who Ash has been in contact with) approached the group alongside the resident Sluagh seer, Magnifica. They both had news from the Duchess, who had yet to arrive: Salem was cursed and the loyalties of the Duchess’ court needed to be confirmed.

To break Salem’s curse, they needed to gather three experts with the faerie art of Naming: the Duchess’ recommendations were the traveling Selkie Sisters Chizoba and Kamizu as well as the Redcap Red Rider. The Selkie Sisters were singing ACapella in the nearby children’s lounge. Upon finding them, Chizoba and Kamizu pulled Ash and Sydney into their performance for the children, making them sing, dance, and survive a dual unleashing of the Soothsay art. The art revealed the colorful threads of destiny surrounding everyone and that there were threads of fate tying the pack to the grave. Despite that eerie omen, the sisters happily agreed to help break the curse. Downstairs, Red Rider and their massive husky Hunter were excited by the prospect of getting to spar a werewolf. Sydney was more than happy to oblige. Using Oneiromancy, Red Rider took themself, Hunter, and Sydney to a battlefield dreamscape where they could fight to their heart’s content. Despite a good effort from the Redcap and hellhound, Sydney won, though all three more than enjoyed the experience. As a result, Red Rider also agreed to help. Thus, the Naming ritual to break Salem’s curse of deference started.

In the Old Dale Alleyways of Clearbrook, the vampires Tatiana and Cathy stumbled upon another group of vampires. While Tatiana and Cathy had been sent to Clearbrook to meet the changeling Duchess as diplomats, Cathy had a feeling the others weren’t supposed to be there. They approached the group and Tatiana immediately revealed why she and Cathy were in Clearbrook, which led to the two of them essentially being taken captive.

Back inside the library, Magnifica took the pack to see the Council of Commons: a group of common changelings allowed to serve as representatives of their kiths and advisors to the Duchess. However, with the council’s arguing, they weren’t able to confirm anyone’s loyalties before Charlie Renning appeared and made an overt grab for the Duchess’ seat of power, backed by both changelings and the vampires holding Tatiana and Cathy. Thankfully, the Duchess and her squire arrived just in time to counter Charlie’s power grab. A massive fight ensued. The pack and their changeling allies were able to fend off Charlie’s forces and keep the ritual to break Salem’s curse from being interrupted. With Salem’s curse broken, she immediately unleashed the art of Naming to cripple Charlie’s remaining forces, then snapped Charlie’s neck. She also cursed Ash with one month of extreme weakness for half-blinding her.

In the aftermath of the battle, Sydney reunited with her sister Cathy. Ash and Tatiana, who had previously dated without either knowing the other’s true nature, reunited as well. The Duchess declared the pack official friends to the Duchy of Daydreams and agreed to Tatiana’s proposal for building a joint supernatural meeting space.
</div>

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''Spending Willpower''': Willpower can be used in one of two ways. It can be spent after a roll is made to re-roll up to 3 non-Rage dice. You can also declare you are spending 1 point of Willpower before rolling to gain an automatic success; if you do this and the roll result is a Brutal Outcome, that result is negated (ie, the roll is not an automatic failure).

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-31T06:32:31Z

Glamourpal: /* House Rules */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Status
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|Active
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|Active
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|Active
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|Active
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|Active
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|Active
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|Active
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
!Status
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Unknown
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
!Status
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|Active
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|Active
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|Active
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|Active
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
!Status
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|Active
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|Active
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|Active
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|Active
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|Dead
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Ray
|Active
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|Active
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of Glorious Care'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Nobody — Horned Serpent ====

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Yuzuki had taken a 5 month sabbatical to find herself and was visiting her family in Quapan. While there, she began to feel the Rage within her shifting under her skin and excused herself from breakfast. In the bathroom, her surroundings shifted so that every surface was a mirror reflecting her image. However, two of the reflections were off: one showed her with blood on her hands and face while the other had a strange shadow. Yuzuki pressed her hands through both of the mirrors and Chimera spoke to her, asking her to choose a path. She chose the path with the shadow and fell into the Umbra. While falling, Chimera asked her about her worst desires and if she would be willing to give them up. Yuzuki answered that her worst desire ''was'' the urge to give up. She landed in a grove that was a mix between forest and cosmos and met a version of her old self who angrily called her a failure and told her she would never be enough. However, Yuzuki sensed that this version of her was lashing out from fear. Rather than fight, she imparted the will the keep going and to grow strong. Yuzuki woke up back in the bathroom and received '''Chimera’s Blessing''' as she left.</div>

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

=== Paralogue 1: Curse-Breaker, Head-Hunter ===

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Five months had passed, during which the pack trained and monitored their territory. Finally, the changeling Duchess of Clearbrook called them to a meeting to discuss the incident wherein Ash half-blinded his changeling ex-girlfriend, Salem. Salem arrived at the pack’s cabin with pampushky, happy to answer any questions they had (of which Nobody had many). She assured them that the Duchess wasn’t angry and opened a Wayfare portal, transporting herself, Ash, Sydney, Nobody, and Tai to the McConnell library. There was bright magic in the air at the library which was being used as a meeting place for Clearbrook’s changelings. While Salem headed off to handle a cleaning incident, her friend and fellow changeling Elijah (who Ash has been in contact with) approached the group alongside the resident Sluagh seer, Magnifica. They both had news from the Duchess, who had yet to arrive: Salem was cursed and the loyalties of the Duchess’ court needed to be confirmed.

To break Salem’s curse, they needed to gather three experts with the faerie art of Naming: the Duchess’ recommendations were the traveling Selkie Sisters Chizoba and Kamizu as well as the Redcap Red Rider. The Selkie Sisters were singing ACapella in the nearby children’s lounge. Upon finding them, Chizoba and Kamizu pulled Ash and Sydney into their performance for the children, making them sing, dance, and survive a dual unleashing of the Soothsay art. The art revealed the colorful threads of destiny surrounding everyone and that there were threads of fate tying the pack to the grave. Despite that eerie omen, the sisters happily agreed to help break the curse. Downstairs, Red Rider and their massive husky Hunter were excited by the prospect of getting to spar a werewolf. Sydney was more than happy to oblige. Using Oneiromancy, Red Rider took themself, Hunter, and Sydney to a battlefield dreamscape where they could fight to their heart’s content. Despite a good effort from the Redcap and hellhound, Sydney won, though all three more than enjoyed the experience. As a result, Red Rider also agreed to help. Thus, the Naming ritual to break Salem’s curse of deference started.

In the Old Dale Alleyways of Clearbrook, the vampires Tatiana and Cathy stumbled upon another group of vampires. While Tatiana and Cathy had been sent to Clearbrook to meet the changeling Duchess as diplomats, Cathy had a feeling the others weren’t supposed to be there. They approached the group and Tatiana immediately revealed why she and Cathy were in Clearbrook, which led to the two of them essentially being taken captive.

Back inside the library, Magnifica took the pack to see the Council of Commons: a group of common changelings allowed to serve as representatives of their kiths and advisors to the Duchess. However, with the council’s arguing, they weren’t able to confirm anyone’s loyalties before Charlie Renning appeared and made an overt grab for the Duchess’ seat of power, backed by both changelings and the vampires holding Tatiana and Cathy. Thankfully, the Duchess and her squire arrived just in time to counter Charlie’s power grab. A massive fight ensued. The pack and their changeling allies were able to fend off Charlie’s forces and keep the ritual to break Salem’s curse from being interrupted. With Salem’s curse broken, she immediately unleashed the art of Naming to cripple Charlie’s remaining forces, then snapped Charlie’s neck. She also cursed Ash with one month of extreme weakness for half-blinding her.

In the aftermath of the battle, Sydney reunited with her sister Cathy. Ash and Tatiana, who had previously dated without either knowing the other’s true nature, reunited as well. The Duchess declared the pack official friends to the Duchy of Daydreams and agreed to Tatiana’s proposal for building a joint supernatural meeting space.
</div>

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''Spending Willpower''': Willpower can be used in one of two ways. It can be spent after a roll is made to re-roll up to 3 non-Rage dice. You can also declare you are spending 1 point of Willpower before rolling to gain an automatic success; if you do this and the roll result is a Brutal Outcome, that result is negated (ie, the roll is not an automatic failure).

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-31T06:27:26Z

Glamourpal: /* Paralogue 1: Curse-Breaker, Head-Hunter */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Status
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|Active
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|Active
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|Active
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|Active
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|Active
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|Active
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|Active
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
!Status
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Unknown
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
!Status
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|Active
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|Active
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|Active
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|Active
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
!Status
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|Active
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|Active
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|Active
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|Active
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|Dead
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Ray
|Active
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|Active
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of Glorious Care'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Nobody — Horned Serpent ====

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Yuzuki had taken a 5 month sabbatical to find herself and was visiting her family in Quapan. While there, she began to feel the Rage within her shifting under her skin and excused herself from breakfast. In the bathroom, her surroundings shifted so that every surface was a mirror reflecting her image. However, two of the reflections were off: one showed her with blood on her hands and face while the other had a strange shadow. Yuzuki pressed her hands through both of the mirrors and Chimera spoke to her, asking her to choose a path. She chose the path with the shadow and fell into the Umbra. While falling, Chimera asked her about her worst desires and if she would be willing to give them up. Yuzuki answered that her worst desire ''was'' the urge to give up. She landed in a grove that was a mix between forest and cosmos and met a version of her old self who angrily called her a failure and told her she would never be enough. However, Yuzuki sensed that this version of her was lashing out from fear. Rather than fight, she imparted the will the keep going and to grow strong. Yuzuki woke up back in the bathroom and received '''Chimera’s Blessing''' as she left.</div>

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

=== Paralogue 1: Curse-Breaker, Head-Hunter ===

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Five months had passed, during which the pack trained and monitored their territory. Finally, the changeling Duchess of Clearbrook called them to a meeting to discuss the incident wherein Ash half-blinded his changeling ex-girlfriend, Salem. Salem arrived at the pack’s cabin with pampushky, happy to answer any questions they had (of which Nobody had many). She assured them that the Duchess wasn’t angry and opened a Wayfare portal, transporting herself, Ash, Sydney, Nobody, and Tai to the McConnell library. There was bright magic in the air at the library which was being used as a meeting place for Clearbrook’s changelings. While Salem headed off to handle a cleaning incident, her friend and fellow changeling Elijah (who Ash has been in contact with) approached the group alongside the resident Sluagh seer, Magnifica. They both had news from the Duchess, who had yet to arrive: Salem was cursed and the loyalties of the Duchess’ court needed to be confirmed.

To break Salem’s curse, they needed to gather three experts with the faerie art of Naming: the Duchess’ recommendations were the traveling Selkie Sisters Chizoba and Kamizu as well as the Redcap Red Rider. The Selkie Sisters were singing ACapella in the nearby children’s lounge. Upon finding them, Chizoba and Kamizu pulled Ash and Sydney into their performance for the children, making them sing, dance, and survive a dual unleashing of the Soothsay art. The art revealed the colorful threads of destiny surrounding everyone and that there were threads of fate tying the pack to the grave. Despite that eerie omen, the sisters happily agreed to help break the curse. Downstairs, Red Rider and their massive husky Hunter were excited by the prospect of getting to spar a werewolf. Sydney was more than happy to oblige. Using Oneiromancy, Red Rider took themself, Hunter, and Sydney to a battlefield dreamscape where they could fight to their heart’s content. Despite a good effort from the Redcap and hellhound, Sydney won, though all three more than enjoyed the experience. As a result, Red Rider also agreed to help. Thus, the Naming ritual to break Salem’s curse of deference started.

In the Old Dale Alleyways of Clearbrook, the vampires Tatiana and Cathy stumbled upon another group of vampires. While Tatiana and Cathy had been sent to Clearbrook to meet the changeling Duchess as diplomats, Cathy had a feeling the others weren’t supposed to be there. They approached the group and Tatiana immediately revealed why she and Cathy were in Clearbrook, which led to the two of them essentially being taken captive.

Back inside the library, Magnifica took the pack to see the Council of Commons: a group of common changelings allowed to serve as representatives of their kiths and advisors to the Duchess. However, with the council’s arguing, they weren’t able to confirm anyone’s loyalties before Charlie Renning appeared and made an overt grab for the Duchess’ seat of power, backed by both changelings and the vampires holding Tatiana and Cathy. Thankfully, the Duchess and her squire arrived just in time to counter Charlie’s power grab. A massive fight ensued. The pack and their changeling allies were able to fend off Charlie’s forces and keep the ritual to break Salem’s curse from being interrupted. With Salem’s curse broken, she immediately unleashed the art of Naming to cripple Charlie’s remaining forces, then snapped Charlie’s neck. She also cursed Ash with one month of extreme weakness for half-blinding her.

In the aftermath of the battle, Sydney reunited with her sister Cathy. Ash and Tatiana, who had previously dated without either knowing the other’s true nature, reunited as well. The Duchess declared the pack official friends to the Duchy of Daydreams and agreed to Tatiana’s proposal for building a joint supernatural meeting space.
</div>

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''Spending Willpower''': Willpower be used in one of 2 ways. It can be spent after a roll is made to re-roll up to 3 non-Rage dice. You can also declare you are spending 1 point of Willpower before rolling to gain an automatic success; if you do this and the roll result is a Brutal Outcome, that result is negated (ie, the roll is not an automatic failure).

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-31T06:24:23Z

Glamourpal: /* Paralogue 1: Curse-Breaker, Head-Hunter */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Status
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|Active
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|Active
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|Active
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|Active
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|Active
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|Active
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|Active
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
!Status
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Unknown
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
!Status
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|Active
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|Active
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|Active
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|Active
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
!Status
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|Active
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|Active
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|Active
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|Active
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|Dead
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Ray
|Active
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|Active
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of Glorious Care'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Nobody — Horned Serpent ====

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Yuzuki had taken a 5 month sabbatical to find herself and was visiting her family in Quapan. While there, she began to feel the Rage within her shifting under her skin and excused herself from breakfast. In the bathroom, her surroundings shifted so that every surface was a mirror reflecting her image. However, two of the reflections were off: one showed her with blood on her hands and face while the other had a strange shadow. Yuzuki pressed her hands through both of the mirrors and Chimera spoke to her, asking her to choose a path. She chose the path with the shadow and fell into the Umbra. While falling, Chimera asked her about her worst desires and if she would be willing to give them up. Yuzuki answered that her worst desire ''was'' the urge to give up. She landed in a grove that was a mix between forest and cosmos and met a version of her old self who angrily called her a failure and told her she would never be enough. However, Yuzuki sensed that this version of her was lashing out from fear. Rather than fight, she imparted the will the keep going and to grow strong. Yuzuki woke up back in the bathroom and received '''Chimera’s Blessing''' as she left.</div>

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

=== Paralogue 1: Curse-Breaker, Head-Hunter ===

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Five months had passed, during which the pack trained and monitored their territory. Finally, the changeling Duchess of Clearbrook called them to a meeting to discuss the incident wherein Ash half-blinded his changeling ex-girlfriend, Salem. Salem arrived at the pack’s cabin with pampushky, happy to answer any questions they had (of which Nobody had many). She assured them that the Duchess wasn’t angry and opened a Wayfare portal, transporting herself, Ash, Sydney, Nobody, and Tai to the McConnell library. There was bright magic in the air at the library which was being used as a meeting place for Clearbrook’s changelings. While Salem headed off to handle a cleaning incident, her friend and fellow changeling Elijah (who Ash has been in contact with) approached the group alongside the resident Sluagh seer, Magnifica. They both had news from the Duchess, who had yet to arrive: Salem was cursed and the loyalties of the Duchess’ court needed to be confirmed.

To break Salem’s curse, they needed to gather three experts with the faerie art of Naming: the Duchess’ recommendations were the traveling Selkie Sisters Chizoba and Kamizu as well as the Redcap Red Rider. The Selkie Sisters were singing ACapella in the nearby children’s lounge. Upon finding them, Elijah immediately separated from the group to comfort a crying lindwyrm child. Meanwhile, the Chizoba and Kamizu pulled Ash and Sydney into their performance for the children, making them sing, dance, and survive a dual unleashing of the Soothsay art. The art revealed the colorful threads of destiny surrounding everyone and that there were threads of fate tying the pack to the grave. Despite that eerie omen, the sisters happily agreed to help break the curse. Downstairs, Red Rider and their massive husky Hunter were excited by the prospect of getting to spar a werewolf. Sydney was more than happily to oblige. Using Oneiromancy, Red Rider took themself, Hunter, and Sydney to a battlefield dreamscape where they could fight to their heart’s content. Despite a good effort from the Redcap and hellhound, Sydney won, though all three more than enjoyed the experience. As a result, Red Rider also agreed to help. Thus, the Naming ritual to break Salem’s curse of deference started.

In the Old Dale Alleyways of Clearbrook, the vampires Tatiana and Cathy stumbled upon another group of vampires. While Tatiana and Cathy had been sent to Clearbrook to meet the changeling Duchess as diplomats, Cathy had a feeling the others weren’t supposed to be there. They approached the group and Tatiana immediately revealed why she and Cathy were in Clearbrook, which led to the two of them essentially being taken captive.

Back inside the library, Magnifica took the pack to see the Council of Commons: a group of common changelings allowed to serve as representatives of their kiths and advisors to the Duchess. However, with the council’s arguing, they weren’t able to confirm anyone’s loyalties before Charlie Renning appeared and made an overt grab for the Duchess’ seat of power, backed by both changelings and the vampires holding Tatiana and Cathy. Thankfully, the Duchess and her squire arrived just in time to counter Charlie’s power grab. A massive fight ensued. The pack and their changeling allies were able to fend off Charlie’s forces and keep the ritual to break Salem’s curse from being interrupted. With Salem’s curse broken, she immediately unleashed the art of Naming to cripple Charlie’s remaining forces, then snapped Charlie’s neck. She also cursed Ash with one month of extreme weakness for half-blinding her.

In the aftermath of the battle, Sydney reunited with her sister Cathy. Ash and Tatiana, who had previously dated without either knowing the other’s true nature, reunited as well. The Duchess declared the pack official friends to the Duchy of Daydreams and agreed to Tatiana’s proposal for building a joint supernatural meeting space.
</div>

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''Spending Willpower''': Willpower be used in one of 2 ways. It can be spent after a roll is made to re-roll up to 3 non-Rage dice. You can also declare you are spending 1 point of Willpower before rolling to gain an automatic success; if you do this and the roll result is a Brutal Outcome, that result is negated (ie, the roll is not an automatic failure).

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-31T05:57:49Z

Glamourpal: /* Paralogue 1: Curse-Breaker, Head-Hunter */ started writing the session summary.

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Status
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|Active
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|Active
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|Active
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|Active
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|Active
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|Active
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|Active
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
!Status
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Unknown
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
!Status
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|Active
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|Active
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|Active
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|Active
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
!Status
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|Active
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|Active
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|Active
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|Active
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|Dead
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Ray
|Active
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|Active
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of Glorious Care'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Nobody — Horned Serpent ====

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Yuzuki had taken a 5 month sabbatical to find herself and was visiting her family in Quapan. While there, she began to feel the Rage within her shifting under her skin and excused herself from breakfast. In the bathroom, her surroundings shifted so that every surface was a mirror reflecting her image. However, two of the reflections were off: one showed her with blood on her hands and face while the other had a strange shadow. Yuzuki pressed her hands through both of the mirrors and Chimera spoke to her, asking her to choose a path. She chose the path with the shadow and fell into the Umbra. While falling, Chimera asked her about her worst desires and if she would be willing to give them up. Yuzuki answered that her worst desire ''was'' the urge to give up. She landed in a grove that was a mix between forest and cosmos and met a version of her old self who angrily called her a failure and told her she would never be enough. However, Yuzuki sensed that this version of her was lashing out from fear. Rather than fight, she imparted the will the keep going and to grow strong. Yuzuki woke up back in the bathroom and received '''Chimera’s Blessing''' as she left.</div>

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

=== Paralogue 1: Curse-Breaker, Head-Hunter ===

<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Five months had passed, during which the pack trained and monitored their territory. Finally, the changeling Duchess of Clearbrook called them to a meeting to discuss the incident wherein Ash half-blinded his changeling ex-girlfriend, Salem. Salem arrived at the pack’s cabin with pampushky, happy to answer any questions they had (of which Nobody had many). She assured them that the Duchess wasn’t angry and opened a Wayfare portal, transporting herself, Ash, Sydney, Nobody, and Tai to the McConnell library. There was bright magic in the air at the library which was being used as a meeting place for Clearbrook’s changelings. While Salem headed off to handle a cleaning incident, her friend and fellow changeling Elijah (who Ash has been in contact with) approached the group alongside the resident seer, Magnifica. They both had news from the Duchess, who had yet to arrive: Salem was cursed and the loyalties of the Duchess’ court needed to be confirmed.

To break Salem’s curse, they needed to gather three experts with the faerie art of Naming: the Duchess’ recommendations were the traveling Selkie Sisters Chizoba and Kamizu as well as the redcap Red Rider. The Selkie Sisters were singing ACapella in the nearby children’s lounge. Upon finding them, Elijah immediately separated from the group to comfort a crying lindwyrm child. Meanwhile, the Chizoba and Kamizu pulled Ash and Sydney into their performance for the children, making them sing, dance, and survive a dual Unleashing of the Soothsay art. The art revealed the colorful threads of destiny surrounding everyone and that there were threads of fate tying the pack to the grave. Despite that eerie omen, the sisters happily agreed to help break the curse. Downstairs, Red Rider and their massive husky Hunter were excited by the prospect of getting to spar a werewolf. Sydney was more than happily to oblige. Using Oneiromancy, Red Rider

</div>

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''Spending Willpower''': Willpower be used in one of 2 ways. It can be spent after a roll is made to re-roll up to 3 non-Rage dice. You can also declare you are spending 1 point of Willpower before rolling to gain an automatic success; if you do this and the roll result is a Brutal Outcome, that result is negated (ie, the roll is not an automatic failure).

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-31T05:39:29Z

Glamourpal: /* NPCs */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Status
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|Active
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|Active
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|Active
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|Active
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|Active
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|Active
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|Active
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
!Status
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Unknown
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
!Status
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|Active
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|Active
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|Active
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|Active
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
!Status
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|Active
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|Active
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|Active
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|Active
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|Dead
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Ray
|Active
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|Active
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of Glorious Care'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Nobody — Horned Serpent ====

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Yuzuki had taken a 5 month sabbatical to find herself and was visiting her family in Quapan. While there, she began to feel the Rage within her shifting under her skin and excused herself from breakfast. In the bathroom, her surroundings shifted so that every surface was a mirror reflecting her image. However, two of the reflections were off: one showed her with blood on her hands and face while the other had a strange shadow. Yuzuki pressed her hands through both of the mirrors and Chimera spoke to her, asking her to choose a path. She chose the path with the shadow and fell into the Umbra. While falling, Chimera asked her about her worst desires and if she would be willing to give them up. Yuzuki answered that her worst desire ''was'' the urge to give up. She landed in a grove that was a mix between forest and cosmos and met a version of her old self who angrily called her a failure and told her she would never be enough. However, Yuzuki sensed that this version of her was lashing out from fear. Rather than fight, she imparted the will the keep going and to grow strong. Yuzuki woke up back in the bathroom and received '''Chimera’s Blessing''' as she left.</div>

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

=== Paralogue 1: Curse-Breaker, Head-Hunter ===

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''Spending Willpower''': Willpower be used in one of 2 ways. It can be spent after a roll is made to re-roll up to 3 non-Rage dice. You can also declare you are spending 1 point of Willpower before rolling to gain an automatic success; if you do this and the roll result is a Brutal Outcome, that result is negated (ie, the roll is not an automatic failure).

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-30T17:23:58Z

Glamourpal: /* House Rules */ Added another house rule.

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Status
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|Active
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|Active
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|Active
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|Active
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|Active
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|Active
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|Active
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
!Status
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Unknown
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
!Status
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|Active
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|Active
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|Active
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|Active
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
!Status
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|Active
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|Active
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|Active
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|Active
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|Active
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Ray
|Active
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|Active
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of Glorious Care'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Nobody — Horned Serpent ====

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Yuzuki had taken a 5 month sabbatical to find herself and was visiting her family in Quapan. While there, she began to feel the Rage within her shifting under her skin and excused herself from breakfast. In the bathroom, her surroundings shifted so that every surface was a mirror reflecting her image. However, two of the reflections were off: one showed her with blood on her hands and face while the other had a strange shadow. Yuzuki pressed her hands through both of the mirrors and Chimera spoke to her, asking her to choose a path. She chose the path with the shadow and fell into the Umbra. While falling, Chimera asked her about her worst desires and if she would be willing to give them up. Yuzuki answered that her worst desire ''was'' the urge to give up. She landed in a grove that was a mix between forest and cosmos and met a version of her old self who angrily called her a failure and told her she would never be enough. However, Yuzuki sensed that this version of her was lashing out from fear. Rather than fight, she imparted the will the keep going and to grow strong. Yuzuki woke up back in the bathroom and received '''Chimera’s Blessing''' as she left.</div>

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

=== Paralogue 1: Curse-Breaker, Head-Hunter ===

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''Spending Willpower''': Willpower be used in one of 2 ways. It can be spent after a roll is made to re-roll up to 3 non-Rage dice. You can also declare you are spending 1 point of Willpower before rolling to gain an automatic success; if you do this and the roll result is a Brutal Outcome, that result is negated (ie, the roll is not an automatic failure).

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-30T16:51:59Z

Glamourpal: /* NPCs */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Status
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|Active
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|Active
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|Active
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|Active
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|Active
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|Active
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|Active
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
!Status
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Unknown
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
!Status
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|Active
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|Active
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|Active
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|Active
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
!Status
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|Active
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|Active
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|Active
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|Active
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|Active
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Ray
|Active
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|Active
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of Glorious Care'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Nobody — Horned Serpent ====

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Yuzuki had taken a 5 month sabbatical to find herself and was visiting her family in Quapan. While there, she began to feel the Rage within her shifting under her skin and excused herself from breakfast. In the bathroom, her surroundings shifted so that every surface was a mirror reflecting her image. However, two of the reflections were off: one showed her with blood on her hands and face while the other had a strange shadow. Yuzuki pressed her hands through both of the mirrors and Chimera spoke to her, asking her to choose a path. She chose the path with the shadow and fell into the Umbra. While falling, Chimera asked her about her worst desires and if she would be willing to give them up. Yuzuki answered that her worst desire ''was'' the urge to give up. She landed in a grove that was a mix between forest and cosmos and met a version of her old self who angrily called her a failure and told her she would never be enough. However, Yuzuki sensed that this version of her was lashing out from fear. Rather than fight, she imparted the will the keep going and to grow strong. Yuzuki woke up back in the bathroom and received '''Chimera’s Blessing''' as she left.</div>

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

=== Paralogue 1: Curse-Breaker, Head-Hunter ===

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-30T16:51:06Z

Glamourpal: /* NPCs */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Status
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|Active
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|Active
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|Active
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|Active
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|Active
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|Active
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|Active
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
!Status
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Unknown
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|Active
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
!Status
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|Active
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|Active
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|Active
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|Active
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|Active
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
!Status
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|Active
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|Active
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|Active
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|Active
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|Active
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Reymont
|Active
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|Active
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of Glorious Care'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Nobody — Horned Serpent ====

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Yuzuki had taken a 5 month sabbatical to find herself and was visiting her family in Quapan. While there, she began to feel the Rage within her shifting under her skin and excused herself from breakfast. In the bathroom, her surroundings shifted so that every surface was a mirror reflecting her image. However, two of the reflections were off: one showed her with blood on her hands and face while the other had a strange shadow. Yuzuki pressed her hands through both of the mirrors and Chimera spoke to her, asking her to choose a path. She chose the path with the shadow and fell into the Umbra. While falling, Chimera asked her about her worst desires and if she would be willing to give them up. Yuzuki answered that her worst desire ''was'' the urge to give up. She landed in a grove that was a mix between forest and cosmos and met a version of her old self who angrily called her a failure and told her she would never be enough. However, Yuzuki sensed that this version of her was lashing out from fear. Rather than fight, she imparted the will the keep going and to grow strong. Yuzuki woke up back in the bathroom and received '''Chimera’s Blessing''' as she left.</div>

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

=== Paralogue 1: Curse-Breaker, Head-Hunter ===

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-30T07:58:19Z

Glamourpal: /* Sydney — Gorgon */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Reymont
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of Glorious Care'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Nobody — Horned Serpent ====

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Yuzuki had taken a 5 month sabbatical to find herself and was visiting her family in Quapan. While there, she began to feel the Rage within her shifting under her skin and excused herself from breakfast. In the bathroom, her surroundings shifted so that every surface was a mirror reflecting her image. However, two of the reflections were off: one showed her with blood on her hands and face while the other had a strange shadow. Yuzuki pressed her hands through both of the mirrors and Chimera spoke to her, asking her to choose a path. She chose the path with the shadow and fell into the Umbra. While falling, Chimera asked her about her worst desires and if she would be willing to give them up. Yuzuki answered that her worst desire ''was'' the urge to give up. She landed in a grove that was a mix between forest and cosmos and met a version of her old self who angrily called her a failure and told her she would never be enough. However, Yuzuki sensed that this version of her was lashing out from fear. Rather than fight, she imparted the will the keep going and to grow strong. Yuzuki woke up back in the bathroom and received '''Chimera’s Blessing''' as she left.</div>

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

=== Paralogue 1: Curse-Breaker, Head-Hunter ===

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-30T07:51:09Z

Glamourpal: /* Godly Visions */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Reymont
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of Glorious Care'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney if she what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Nobody — Horned Serpent ====

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Yuzuki had taken a 5 month sabbatical to find herself and was visiting her family in Quapan. While there, she began to feel the Rage within her shifting under her skin and excused herself from breakfast. In the bathroom, her surroundings shifted so that every surface was a mirror reflecting her image. However, two of the reflections were off: one showed her with blood on her hands and face while the other had a strange shadow. Yuzuki pressed her hands through both of the mirrors and Chimera spoke to her, asking her to choose a path. She chose the path with the shadow and fell into the Umbra. While falling, Chimera asked her about her worst desires and if she would be willing to give them up. Yuzuki answered that her worst desire ''was'' the urge to give up. She landed in a grove that was a mix between forest and cosmos and met a version of her old self who angrily called her a failure and told her she would never be enough. However, Yuzuki sensed that this version of her was lashing out from fear. Rather than fight, she imparted the will the keep going and to grow strong. Yuzuki woke up back in the bathroom and received '''Chimera’s Blessing''' as she left.</div>

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

=== Paralogue 1: Curse-Breaker, Head-Hunter ===

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-30T07:49:53Z

Glamourpal: /* The Story So Far */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Reymont
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of Glorious Care'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney if she what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Yuzuki had taken a 5 month sabbatical to find herself and was visiting her family in Quapan. While there, she began to feel the Rage within her shifting under her skin and excused herself from breakfast. In the bathroom, her surroundings shifted so that every surface was a mirror reflecting her image. However, two of the reflections were off: one showed her with blood on her hands and face while the other had a strange shadow. Yuzuki pressed her hands through both of the mirrors and Chimera spoke to her, asking her to choose a path. She chose the path with the shadow and fell into the Umbra. While falling, Chimera asked her about her worst desires and if she would be willing to give them up. Yuzuki answered that her worst desire ''was'' the urge to give up. She landed in a grove that was a mix between forest and cosmos and met a version of her old self who angrily called her a failure and told her she would never be enough. However, Yuzuki sensed that this version of her was lashing out from fear. Rather than fight, she imparted the will the keep going and to grow strong. Yuzuki woke up back in the bathroom and received '''Chimera’s Blessing''' as she left.</div>

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

=== Paralogue 1: Curse-Breaker, Head-Hunter ===

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-30T07:47:14Z

Glamourpal: /* Godly Visions */ Added Yuzuki’s encounter with Chimera.

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Reymont
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of Glorious Care'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney if she what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Yuzuki had taken a 5 month sabbatical to find herself and was visiting her family in Quapan. While there, she began to feel the Rage within her shifting under her skin and excused herself from breakfast. In the bathroom, her surroundings shifted so that every surface was a mirror reflecting her image. However, two of the reflections were off: one showed her with blood on her hands and face while the other had a strange shadow. Yuzuki pressed her hands through both of the mirrors and Chimera spoke to her, asking her to choose a path. She chose the path with the shadow and fell into the Umbra. While falling, Chimera asked her about her worst desires and if she would be willing to give them up. Yuzuki answered that her worst desire ''was'' the urge to give up. She landed in a grove that was a mix between forest and cosmos and met a version of her old self who angrily called her a failure and told her she would never be enough. However, Yuzuki sensed that this version of her was lashing out from fear. Rather than fight, she imparted the will the keep going and to grow strong. Yuzuki woke up back in the bathroom and received '''Chimera’s Blessing''' as she left.</div>

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-30T07:36:10Z

Glamourpal: /* Ash — Stag */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Reymont
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of Glorious Care'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney if she what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Clearbrook

2026-05-30T07:13:32Z

Glamourpal: /* West End */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

{{Infobox location|title = {{PAGENAME}}|type = Town|location = Alternate Universe, Velmaya State|Government = Town Council|inhabiting Race = Mundane Humans (majority), Changelings (minority), Werewolves (minority)}} The town of Clearbrook is the primary location for the Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign [[Chains of Rage]]. It’s a decently large town with a population of about 37,000.

== Notable Places ==

=== North Main ===
* The uppermost part of town. Recently fully gentrified, this area is home to Clearbrook’s wealthiest townies and priciest homes. The vast majority of the pre-gentrification residents were pushed out and they either moved into South Main or left Clearbrook entirely. The townhouses are uniformly white, grey, and pristine while the small strips of lawn are well-maintained. North Main has become the kind of place where people walk dogs that came with gilded charts detailing their ancestry.
* Locations:
** '''Town Hall''': A building for record keeping and town council meetings. The current mayor of Clearbrook is Adrian Steele and his Deputy Mayor is Maya Rodriguez.
** '''Renning Children’s Center for Neurodiversity''': Funded by the Renning family, this center is a place for minors to receive psychological help, be tutored, get free meals, interact with peers and trustworthy adults, and participate in fun activities.

=== Old Dale Alley ===
* The alleyways that bisect North and South Main. Homeless people turned away from the Main Shelter tend to set up camp here. Despite the destitute circumstances, there’s an air of community. People often take turns watching police activity to see if Dale Alley is going to be subject to unwanted attention.
* Informally named after a good-natured homeless man known colloquially as “Old Dale” who died there.
* Locations:
** '''Old Time Booze''': A low price liquor shop, but one that sometimes gives away an occasional hidden gem. Where the owner gets or stores that hidden stock is anyone’s guess.
** '''Ashes to Ashes''': Cheap general store. The owner, Apollo Ash, runs a part-time psychic business upstairs that is moderately successful.
* A statue dedicated to Rat is hidden away here.

=== South Main ===
* The bottom part of Main. This lower-income community suffered from overcrowding following the full gentrification of the North, which worsened conditions. South Main is widely considered the least safe area in Clearbrook. Most of the residents are just scraping by, and many are scared that further gentrification will push them out of their homes (for a second time in some people’s cases). It’s home to cramped old brownstones with landlords who can’t be bothered to make sure everything is up to code.
* Locations:
** '''Lovell’s''': Knock-off brand grocery store not too far from the Old Dale alleys.
** '''The Dunn Family Diner''': Gabby Dunn and her son Abe Dunn have been the only employees at the Dunn Diner for years. Their food isn’t ''bad'' even if it’s greasy, but with how rundown the place is, it’s a miracle a safety inspection hasn’t shut it down by now.

=== East End / College End ===
* Locations:
** '''Clearbrook University''': A decently big university known primarily for its various science programs (since they bring in the most money), though its Liberal Arts courses are also high-quality (even if they struggle with funding).
** '''Clearbrook General Hospital'''
** '''Sunheart Books & Brews''': A combination cafe and book store run by a woman named Sophie Makepeace. The cozy environment provided by Ms. Makepeace and her employees makes Sunheart a popular place for morning coffee and evening relaxation, even if it plays host to the occasional bizarre happening.

=== West End ===

* Locations:
** '''West Woods''': A place of spiritual/magical significance for the supernaturals of Clearbrook.
*** Following the “path in the corner of your eye” in the West Woods allows Changelings to find their way to Sungaze Keep: the seat of power for the Duchy of Daydreams and its current Duchess.
*** A portion of the West Woods also used to be a caern looked after by a pack of Children of Gaia Werewolves. The statue to Unicorn has since been destroyed, and the Heart of Blood pack has taken over. The pond in the center of the woods is a potent connection to the Umbra.

== Notable Events ==

* The events of Chains of Rage primarily take place in and around Clearbrook.

[[Category:Location]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-30T02:17:43Z

Glamourpal: /* Godly Visions */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Reymont
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney if she what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-30T02:13:56Z

Glamourpal: /* Godly Visions */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Reymont
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Ash — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Violent Revolution & Mention of Systemic Bias'''
Eden was attempting to rest when a sensation of burning restlessness began to overwhelm them, so they went outside. The shadow of spirit named Cobra appeared, was caught by Eden, and asked them what they were going to do with their Rage. Then, Gorgon asked if he would cull those who needed culling and cast him into a vision of the Battle of Sangarará wherein he helped tear apart the Spanish colonizers hiding in a church. Afterward, Gorgon forced them to be present for the execution of a revolutionary leader and confront the unfairness of their circumstances as an undocumented youth. As Eden decided that he had no other option but to keep fighting, Gorgon declared that he would keep going even when he had fought to his end. Then, they woke up from their dream with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal'''.
</div>

==== Ash — Stag ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
Ash began to distance himself from Gorgon and feel more drawn to Stag, so he visited Stag’s statue by the pond in the West Woods. He smelled the scent of his favorite meal and sensed the joy of home coming from the pond before falling through it into the Umbra. Ash sensed the embrace of many mothers and fathers and Stag asked him if he wanted to become familiar with hospitality. Ash saw no point in hospitality if you only help yourself. Stag brought him to a despoiled ravine and Ash exhausted himself spiritually to cleanse it before being faced with a member of the Cult of Fenris. Ash brutally killed the cult member to keep them from despoiling the ravine again. Stag was satisfied with his efforts, but told him the work wasn’t finished yet. Then, Ash woke up next to the pond again with '''Stag’s Blessing of'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney if she what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Yuzuki — Chimera ====

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-30T02:01:01Z

Glamourpal: /* Player Characters */ Edit to player tribes.

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Hart Wardens
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Stargazers
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Reymont
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Eden — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Violent Revolution & Mention of Systemic Bias'''
Eden was attempting to rest when a sensation of burning restlessness began to overwhelm them, so they went outside. The shadow of spirit named Cobra appeared, was caught by Eden, and asked them what they were going to do with their Rage. Then, Gorgon asked if he would cull those who needed culling and cast him into a vision of the Battle of Sangarará wherein he helped tear apart the Spanish colonizers hiding in a church. Afterward, Gorgon forced them to be present for the execution of a revolutionary leader and confront the unfairness of their circumstances as an undocumented youth. As Eden decided that he had no other option but to keep fighting, Gorgon declared that he would keep going even when he had fought to his end. Then, they woke up from their dream with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney if she what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Yuzuki — North Wind ====

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Clearbrook

2026-05-28T10:34:31Z

Glamourpal: /* Notable Places */ added another location.

{{Alternate Timeline}}

{{Infobox location|title = {{PAGENAME}}|type = Town|location = Alternate Universe, Velmaya State|Government = Town Council|inhabiting Race = Mundane Humans (majority), Changelings (minority), Werewolves (minority)}} The town of Clearbrook is the primary location for the Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign [[Chains of Rage]]. It’s a decently large town with a population of about 37,000.

== Notable Places ==

=== North Main ===
* The uppermost part of town. Recently fully gentrified, this area is home to Clearbrook’s wealthiest townies and priciest homes. The vast majority of the pre-gentrification residents were pushed out and they either moved into South Main or left Clearbrook entirely. The townhouses are uniformly white, grey, and pristine while the small strips of lawn are well-maintained. North Main has become the kind of place where people walk dogs that came with gilded charts detailing their ancestry.
* Locations:
** '''Town Hall''': A building for record keeping and town council meetings. The current mayor of Clearbrook is Adrian Steele and his Deputy Mayor is Maya Rodriguez.
** '''Renning Children’s Center for Neurodiversity''': Funded by the Renning family, this center is a place for minors to receive psychological help, be tutored, get free meals, interact with peers and trustworthy adults, and participate in fun activities.

=== Old Dale Alley ===
* The alleyways that bisect North and South Main. Homeless people turned away from the Main Shelter tend to set up camp here. Despite the destitute circumstances, there’s an air of community. People often take turns watching police activity to see if Dale Alley is going to be subject to unwanted attention.
* Informally named after a good-natured homeless man known colloquially as “Old Dale” who died there.
* Locations:
** '''Old Time Booze''': A low price liquor shop, but one that sometimes gives away an occasional hidden gem. Where the owner gets or stores that hidden stock is anyone’s guess.
** '''Ashes to Ashes''': Cheap general store. The owner, Apollo Ash, runs a part-time psychic business upstairs that is moderately successful.
* A statue dedicated to Rat is hidden away here.

=== South Main ===
* The bottom part of Main. This lower-income community suffered from overcrowding following the full gentrification of the North, which worsened conditions. South Main is widely considered the least safe area in Clearbrook. Most of the residents are just scraping by, and many are scared that further gentrification will push them out of their homes (for a second time in some people’s cases). It’s home to cramped old brownstones with landlords who can’t be bothered to make sure everything is up to code.
* Locations:
** '''Lovell’s''': Knock-off brand grocery store not too far from the Old Dale alleys.
** '''The Dunn Family Diner''': Gabby Dunn and her son Abe Dunn have been the only employees at the Dunn Diner for years. Their food isn’t ''bad'' even if it’s greasy, but with how rundown the place is, it’s a miracle a safety inspection hasn’t shut it down by now.

=== East End / College End ===
* Locations:
** '''Clearbrook University''': A decently big university known primarily for its various science programs (since they bring in the most money), though its Liberal Arts courses are also high-quality (even if they struggle with funding).
** '''Clearbrook General Hospital'''
** '''Sunheart Books & Brews''': A combination cafe and book store run by a woman named Sophie Makepeace. The cozy environment provided by Ms. Makepeace and her employees makes Sunheart a popular place for morning coffee and evening relaxation, even if it plays host to the occasional bizarre happening.

=== West End ===

* Locations:
** '''West Woods''': A place of significant spiritual/magical significance for the supernaturals of Clearbrook.
*** Following the “path in the corner of your eye” in the West Woods allows Changelings to find their way to Sungaze Keep: the seat of power for the Duchy of Daydreams and its current Duchess.
*** A portion of the West Woods also used to be a caern looked after by a pack of Children of Gaia Werewolves. The statue to Unicorn has since been destroyed, and the Heart of Blood pack has taken over. The pond in the center of the woods is a potent connection to the Umbra.

== Notable Events ==

* The events of Chains of Rage primarily take place in and around Clearbrook.

[[Category:Location]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-28T07:38:11Z

Glamourpal: added Category:Chains of Rage using HotCat

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Black Furies
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Galestalkers
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Reymont
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Eden — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Violent Revolution & Mention of Systemic Bias'''
Eden was attempting to rest when a sensation of burning restlessness began to overwhelm them, so they went outside. The shadow of spirit named Cobra appeared, was caught by Eden, and asked them what they were going to do with their Rage. Then, Gorgon asked if he would cull those who needed culling and cast him into a vision of the Battle of Sangarará wherein he helped tear apart the Spanish colonizers hiding in a church. Afterward, Gorgon forced them to be present for the execution of a revolutionary leader and confront the unfairness of their circumstances as an undocumented youth. As Eden decided that he had no other option but to keep fighting, Gorgon declared that he would keep going even when he had fought to his end. Then, they woke up from their dream with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney if she what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Yuzuki — North Wind ====

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Salem Brodsky

2026-05-28T07:37:50Z

Glamourpal: added Category:Chains of Rage using HotCat

== And Never Forget To Serve Your Betters ==
This story is true.

Hattie was never the kind of hero who forged swords in the burning teeth of great wyrms. No, she was Hattie Handmaiden first and foremost: a Boggan who was a homemaker wherever homes were needed. A bowl of Hallowed Hattie Soup could bring the most brutal Thallain to tears or bloom the most withered Arcadian heart. But the story of Hattie Handmaiden is a lesson in forging your own eternal tragedy.

You see, Hattie made a home where no homes were welcome: in the Bramble Garden of the Sabermanes. In the houses of women left to be murdered by shame. In the unseen screams of those whose minds were treated as enemies. The Bramble Garden was for those who were not worthy to walk without tearing their feet: rebellious commoners, snide commoners, idle commoners, and perhaps the occasional rivals deemed to be all three. When Hattie came, with her soup spoons and sweet rolls, the counts and countesses of the land were not invited to the feast. Hattie was to spend her life among the brambles for her insult, but she had other impulses. Hattie snuck into the Sabermane Library and read the True Title Treatise. It is unknown exactly what was within that tome, or how Hattie beheld its secrets without losing herself to such potent magicks, but she emerged from the Sabermane Library imbued as she hadn’t been before. Hattie went into the room of Count Stonesmile Sabermane, reached out with her calloused little fingers, and twisted his True Name inside out. So it was that Count Stonesmile Sabermane could wear a smile that was soft as gosling and shed tears for the shredded legs of those he had called enemies. Hattie and the newly changed Stonesmile began to uproot the Bramble Garden and liberate its prisoners, but not everyone escaped before they were found out. It was Stonesmile’s son, Thornsong, who executed his own father for treason and then sought to do the same to Hattie; at the last moment, however, he thought of something far crueler. Hattie was held in the remnants of the Bramble Garden while Thornsong gathered three powerful wielders of the Naming Arts from within Sabermane lands. Three wielders, two verses, one curse.

''The Handmaiden, heroine she thought she’d be,''

''has forsaken her place and so this is foreseen:''

''Hattie shall never stand for herself again''

''and her fury so righteous never ever rear its head.''

It was only after a week of an unchained Hattie being used as both jester and chef that Thornsong finally granted her death. The Curse of Deference would grant her no such reprieve in her following lives.

[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:NPCs]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-28T07:35:42Z

Glamourpal: removed Category:Chains of Rage using HotCat

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Black Furies
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Galestalkers
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Reymont
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Eden — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Violent Revolution & Mention of Systemic Bias'''
Eden was attempting to rest when a sensation of burning restlessness began to overwhelm them, so they went outside. The shadow of spirit named Cobra appeared, was caught by Eden, and asked them what they were going to do with their Rage. Then, Gorgon asked if he would cull those who needed culling and cast him into a vision of the Battle of Sangarará wherein he helped tear apart the Spanish colonizers hiding in a church. Afterward, Gorgon forced them to be present for the execution of a revolutionary leader and confront the unfairness of their circumstances as an undocumented youth. As Eden decided that he had no other option but to keep fighting, Gorgon declared that he would keep going even when he had fought to his end. Then, they woke up from their dream with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney if she what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Yuzuki — North Wind ====

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]

Chains of Rage

2026-05-28T07:35:36Z

Glamourpal: added Category:Chains of Rage using HotCat

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Black Furies
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Galestalkers
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Reymont
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Eden — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Violent Revolution & Mention of Systemic Bias'''
Eden was attempting to rest when a sensation of burning restlessness began to overwhelm them, so they went outside. The shadow of spirit named Cobra appeared, was caught by Eden, and asked them what they were going to do with their Rage. Then, Gorgon asked if he would cull those who needed culling and cast him into a vision of the Battle of Sangarará wherein he helped tear apart the Spanish colonizers hiding in a church. Afterward, Gorgon forced them to be present for the execution of a revolutionary leader and confront the unfairness of their circumstances as an undocumented youth. As Eden decided that he had no other option but to keep fighting, Gorgon declared that he would keep going even when he had fought to his end. Then, they woke up from their dream with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney if she what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Yuzuki — North Wind ====

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Clearbrook

2026-05-28T07:31:08Z

Glamourpal: /* Notable Places */ added another location.

{{Alternate Timeline}}

{{Infobox location|title = {{PAGENAME}}|type = Town|location = Alternate Universe, Velmaya State|Government = Town Council|inhabiting Race = Mundane Humans (majority), Changelings (minority), Werewolves (minority)}} The town of Clearbrook is the primary location for the Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign [[Chains of Rage]]. It’s a decently large town with a population of about 37,000.

== Notable Places ==

=== North Main ===
* The uppermost part of town. Recently fully gentrified, this area is home to Clearbrook’s wealthiest townies and priciest homes. The vast majority of the pre-gentrification residents were pushed out and they either moved into South Main or left Clearbrook entirely. The townhouses are uniformly white, grey, and pristine while the small strips of lawn are well-maintained. North Main has become the kind of place where people walk dogs that came with gilded charts detailing their ancestry.
* Locations:
** '''Town Hall''': A building for record keeping and town council meetings. The current mayor of Clearbrook is Adrian Steele and his Deputy Mayor is Maya Rodriguez.
** '''Renning Children’s Center for Neurodiversity''': Funded by the Renning family, this center is a place for minors to receive psychological help, be tutored, get free meals, interact with peers and trustworthy adults, and participate in fun activities.

=== Old Dale Alley ===
* The alleyways that bisect North and South Main. Homeless people turned away from the Main Shelter tend to set up camp here. Despite the destitute circumstances, there’s an air of community. People often take turns watching police activity to see if Dale Alley is going to be subject to unwanted attention.
* Informally named after a good-natured homeless man known colloquially as “Old Dale” who died there.
* Locations:
** '''Old Time Booze''': A low price liquor shop, but one that sometimes gives away an occasional hidden gem. Where the owner gets that or stores that hidden stock is anyone’s guess.
** '''Ashes to Ashes''': Cheap general store. The owner, Apollo Ash, runs a part-time psychic business upstairs that is moderately successful.
* A statue dedicated to Rat is hidden away here.

=== South Main ===
* The bottom part of Main. This lower-income community suffered from overcrowding following the full gentrification of the North, which worsened conditions. South Main is widely considered the least safe area in Clearbrook. Most of the residents are just scraping by, and many are scared that further gentrification will push them out of their homes (for a second time in some people’s cases). It’s home to cramped old brownstones with landlords who can’t be bothered to make sure everything is up to code.
* Locations:
** '''Lovell’s''': Knock-off brand grocery store not too far from the Old Dale alleys.

=== East End / College End ===
* Locations:
** '''Clearbrook University''': A decently big university known primarily for its various science programs (since they bring in the most money), though its Liberal Arts courses are also high-quality (even if they struggle with funding).
** '''Clearbrook General Hospital'''
** '''Sunheart Books & Brews''': A combination cafe and book store run by a woman named Sophie Makepeace. The cozy environment provided by Ms. Makepeace and her employees makes Sunheart a popular place for morning coffee and evening relaxation, even if it plays host to the occasional bizarre happening.

=== West End ===

* Locations:
** '''West Woods''': A place of significant spiritual/magical significance for the supernaturals of Clearbrook.
*** Following the “path in the corner of your eye” in the West Woods allows Changelings to find their way to Sungaze Keep: the seat of power for the Duchy of Daydreams and its current Duchess.
*** A portion of the West Woods also used to be a caern looked after by a pack of Children of Gaia Werewolves. The statue to Unicorn has since been destroyed, and the Heart of Blood pack has taken over. The pond in the center of the woods is a potent connection to the Umbra.

== Notable Events ==

* The events of Chains of Rage primarily take place in and around Clearbrook.

[[Category:Location]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Clearbrook

2026-05-28T07:24:10Z

Glamourpal: /* Notable Places */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

{{Infobox location|title = {{PAGENAME}}|type = Town|location = Alternate Universe, Velmaya State|Government = Town Council|inhabiting Race = Mundane Humans (majority), Changelings (minority), Werewolves (minority)}} The town of Clearbrook is the primary location for the Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign [[Chains of Rage]]. It’s a decently large town with a population of about 37,000.

== Notable Places ==

=== North Main ===
* The uppermost part of town. Recently fully gentrified, this area is home to Clearbrook’s wealthiest townies and priciest homes. The vast majority of the pre-gentrification residents were pushed out and they either moved into South Main or left Clearbrook entirely. The townhouses are uniformly white, grey, and pristine while the small strips of lawn are well-maintained. North Main has become the kind of place where people walk dogs that came with gilded charts detailing their ancestry.
* Locations:
** '''Town Hall''': A building for record keeping and town council meetings. The current mayor of Clearbrook is Adrian Steele and his Deputy Mayor is Maya Rodriguez.
** '''Renning Children’s Center for Neurodiversity''': Funded by the Renning family, this center is a place for minors to receive psychological help, be tutored, get free meals, interact with peers and trustworthy adults, and participate in fun activities.

=== Old Dale Alley ===
* The alleyways that bisect North and South Main. Homeless people turned away from the Main Shelter tend to set up camp here. Despite the destitute circumstances, there’s an air of community. People often take turns watching police activity to see if Dale Alley is going to be subject to unwanted attention.
* Informally named after a good-natured homeless man known colloquially as “Old Dale” who died there.
* Locations:
** '''Old Time Booze''': A low price liquor shop, but one that sometimes gives away an occasional hidden gem. Where the owner gets that or stores that hidden stock is anyone’s guess.
** '''Ashes to Ashes''': Cheap general store. The owner, Apollo Ash, runs a part-time psychic business upstairs that is moderately successful.
* A statue dedicated to Rat is hidden away here.

=== South Main ===
* The bottom part of Main. This lower-income community suffered from overcrowding following the full gentrification of the North, which worsened conditions. South Main is widely considered the least safe area in Clearbrook. Most of the residents are just scraping by, and many are scared that further gentrification will push them out of their homes (for a second time in some people’s cases). It’s home to cramped old brownstones with landlords who can’t be bothered to make sure everything is up to code.
* Locations:
** '''Lovell’s''': Knock-off brand grocery store not too far from the Old Dale alleys.

=== East End / College End ===
* Locations:
** '''Clearbrook University''': A decently big university known primarily for its various science programs (since they bring in the most money), though its Liberal Arts courses are also high-quality (even if they struggle with funding).
** '''Clearbrook General Hospital'''
** '''Sunheart Books & Brews''': A combination cafe and book store run by a woman named Sophie Makepeace. The cozy environment provided by Ms. Makepeace and her employees makes Sunheart a popular place for morning coffee and evening relaxation, even if it plays host to the occasional bizarre happening.

== Notable Events ==

* The events of Chains of Rage primarily take place in and around Clearbrook.

[[Category:Location]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Clearbrook

2026-05-28T07:20:01Z

Glamourpal: /* Notable Places */ Added more places.

{{Alternate Timeline}}

{{Infobox location|title = {{PAGENAME}}|type = Town|location = Alternate Universe, Velmaya State|Government = Town Council|inhabiting Race = Mundane Humans (majority), Changelings (minority), Werewolves (minority)}} The town of Clearbrook is the primary location for the Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign [[Chains of Rage]]. It’s a decently large town with a population of about 37,000.

== Notable Places ==

=== North Main ===
* The uppermost part of town. Recently fully gentrified, this area is home to Clearbrook’s wealthiest townies and priciest homes. The vast majority of the pre-gentrification residents were pushed out and they either moved into South Main or left Clearbrook entirely. The townhouses are uniformly white, grey, and pristine while the small strips of lawn are well-maintained. North Main has become the kind of place where people walk dogs that came with gilded charts detailing their ancestry.
* Establishments:
** '''Town Hall''': A building for record keeping and town council meetings. The current mayor of Clearbrook is Adrian Steele and his Deputy Mayor is Maya Rodriguez.
** '''Renning Children’s Center for Neurodiversity''': Funded by the Renning family, this center is a place for minors to receive psychological help, be tutored, get free meals, interact with peers and trustworthy adults, and participate in fun activities.

=== Old Dale Alley ===
* The alleyways that bisect North and South Main. Homeless people turned away from the Main Shelter tend to set up camp here. Despite the destitute circumstances, there’s an air of community. People often take turns watching police activity to see if Dale Alley is going to be subject to unwanted attention.
* Informally named after a good-natured homeless man known colloquially as “Old Dale” who died there.
* Establishments:
** '''Old Time Booze''': A low price liquor shop, but one that sometimes gives away an occasional hidden gem. Where the owner gets that or stores that hidden stock is anyone’s guess.
** '''Ashes to Ashes''': Cheap general store. The owner, Apollo Ash, runs a part-time psychic business upstairs that is moderately successful.
* A statue dedicated to Rat is hidden away here.

=== South Main ===
* The bottom part of Main. This lower-income community suffered from overcrowding following the full gentrification of the North, which worsened conditions. South Main is widely considered the least safe area in Clearbrook. Most of the residents are just scraping by, and many are scared that further gentrification will push them out of their homes (for a second time in some people’s cases). It’s home to cramped old brownstones with landlords who can’t be bothered to make sure everything is up to code.
* Establishments:
** '''Lovell’s''': Knock-off brand grocery store not too far from the Old Dale alleys.

=== East End / College End ===
* Establishments:
** '''Clearbrook University''': A decently big university known primarily for its various science programs (since they bring in the most money), though its Liberal Arts courses are also high-quality (even if they struggle with funding).
** '''Clearbrook General Hospital'''
** '''Sunheart Books & Brews''': A combination cafe and book store run by a woman named Sophie Makepeace. The cozy environment provided by Ms. Makepeace and her employees makes Sunheart a popular place for morning coffee and evening relaxation, even if it plays host to the occasional bizarre happening.

== Notable Events ==

* The events of Chains of Rage primarily take place in and around Clearbrook.

[[Category:Location]]
[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Clearbrook

2026-05-27T07:22:46Z

Glamourpal: /* East End / College End */

Salem Brodsky

2026-05-27T07:03:36Z

Glamourpal: added Category:NPCs using HotCat

Salem Brodsky

2026-05-27T07:03:21Z

Glamourpal: added Category:CR using HotCat

Salem Brodsky

2026-05-27T07:03:08Z

Glamourpal: Created a page for Salem.

Chains of Rage

2026-05-27T07:02:03Z

Glamourpal: /* NPCs */

{{Alternate Timeline}}

'''{{PAGENAME}} '''is an open-table Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign (with snippets of lore from Werewolf: The Forsaken) run by DM Emma. It began officially on February 27, 2026. The campaign involves a pack of beginner werewolves called to the town of [[Clearbrook]] by the [[Heart of Blood]] pack to deal with spiritual corruption.

== About ==
This campaign takes place in one of the many alternate universes separate from mainline Quelmar. In this universe, the goddess [[Gaia]]—also known as the earth mother—is dying. There is too much pollution: both environmental and spiritual. The creature ultimately responsible for this is the Wyrm, a spirit of pure entropy that fell to corruption in ages past. Gaia created werewolves as her warriors and the enforcers of her will among humans and spirits. As such, werewolves are beings that walk between two worlds: the world of flesh (the Map) and the world of spirit (the Umbra). Now, the once proud werewolves have been brought to heel. Their numbers are sparse and many of their greatest spiritual gifts have been lost. Despite this age of the apocalypse, there are still werewolves fighting to preserve what they can and stave off Gaia’s death.

Some such werewolves are those belonging to the Heart of Blood pack: a band of metal musicians and their manager who travel between regions, fighting the forces of the Wyrm where they can. They’ve recently set up camp in Clearbrook under the guise of taking a break from touring. In reality, their leader noticed that the local genetic research company, [[Stem Tech]], was becoming a center of spiritual blight. They put out a call for assistance, and several young werewolves answered, eager to prove themselves to the rest of werewolf society. Unfortunately, the Heart of Blood pack has lost their leader, and they find themselves struggling to act in her absence. It will be up to the werewolves they’ve recruited to their cause to pick up the slack.

== Player Characters ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Do Not Edit Roster
!Player Name
!Character
!Auspice
!Tribe
|-
| Tina (she/her)
|No-body (he/him)
|Ragabash
|Ghost Council
|-
| Manuel (they/them)
|Ash “Eden” Delgado (he/them)
|Galliard
|Black Furies
|-
| Nikki (she/her)
|Sydney (she/her)
|Ahroun
|Black Furies
|-
| Amia (any except he/him)
|Yuzuki Mori (she/her)
|Theurge
|Galestalkers
|-
| Sean (he/him)
|Tai (he/him)
|Theurge
|Children of Gaia
|-
| Moses (any)
|Silver (she/her)
|Galliard
|Bone Gnawers
|-
|Ultralectric
|Cedo
|Philodox
|Glass Walkers
|}

== NPCs ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+WEREWOLVES | WEREWOLVES / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Auspice
!Tribe
!Occupation
|-
|Ire-of-Spring
|Theurge
|Black Furies
|Bassist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kataleya Garcia
|Theurge
|Glass Walkers
|Manager of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Ifeoma Hernandez
|Philodox
|Black Furies
|Drummer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Kai-Ming Zhang
|Ahroun
|Bone Gnawers
|Lead Guitarist of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|Charlotte Badeaux
|Galliard
|Ghost Council
|Lead Singer of “We Eat Your Young”
|-
|[[Moon-Speaker]]
|Irraka
|Hunters in Darkness
|Lunar Lycan Huntress
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+SPIRITS | SPIRITS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Rank
!Allegiance
!Concept
|-
|Cobra
|Jaggling
|Heart of Blood Pack, Gorgon
|Not Fully Known?
|-
|Old Crow
|Jaggling
|Rat
|Spirit of Theft & Hidden Caches
|-
|M1RR0R M1RR0R
|Jaggling
|Spider
|Spirit of Connected Fragments
|-
|Figment of Eventide
|???
|Horned Serpent
|Spirit of Dreams
|-
|Dog
|???
|Unicorn
|Spirit of Pathfinding
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+OTHERS / Do Not Edit Roster
!Name
!Type
!Allegiance
|-
|Shiori Ando
|Kitsune (Gukutsushi)
|Gaia, Fox
|-
|[[Salem Brodsky]]
|Changeling (Boggan)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court
|-
|Elijah Stafford
|Changeling (Lindwyrm)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), Seelie Court, North Wind
|-
|Calypso
|Changeling (Satyr)
|Duchy of Daydreams (Clearbrook), UnSeelie Court
|-
|Charlie Renning
|Changeling (Arcadian Sidhe)
|House Ailil, UnSeelie Court
|-
|Trisha Black
|Vampire (Tremere)
|Camarilla, Prince Reymont
|-
|Cathy
|Vampire (Malkavian)
|Camarilla
|}

== The Story So Far ==

=== Godly Visions ===

==== Eden — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Violent Revolution & Mention of Systemic Bias'''
Eden was attempting to rest when a sensation of burning restlessness began to overwhelm them, so they went outside. The shadow of spirit named Cobra appeared, was caught by Eden, and asked them what they were going to do with their Rage. Then, Gorgon asked if he would cull those who needed culling and cast him into a vision of the Battle of Sangarará wherein he helped tear apart the Spanish colonizers hiding in a church. Afterward, Gorgon forced them to be present for the execution of a revolutionary leader and confront the unfairness of their circumstances as an undocumented youth. As Eden decided that he had no other option but to keep fighting, Gorgon declared that he would keep going even when he had fought to his end. Then, they woke up from their dream with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal'''.
</div>

==== Tai — Unicorn ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> While staring off into the distance by the pond hidden in the center of Clearbrook’s West Woods, Tai noticed that the broken statue beside the statues of Stag and Falcon had changed: it was whole again, but it was somehow impossible to discern what figure it represented. Then, a Dog spirit appeared and led him through the pond and into the Umbra on the other side. The spiritual manifestation of the forest was absolutely beautiful, but Tai sensed that it wasn’t quite everything it needed to be yet. The mysterious statue manifested again, but this time it began moving, revealing itself as a spirit. After allowing Tai to follow it for a time, the spirit spoke with Tai before positing that he learn when to fight his Rage and when to run from it. In that instant, all of Tai’s Rage faded (making him temporarily lose his werewolf powers) and the embodiment of his monstrous crinos form appeared. Tai’s inner monster chased him and pinned him to the ground, but Tai seemed to be able to momentarily break through the cloud of Rage with reason. At that, the spirit declared that enough was enough and Tai woke up, having earned '''Unicorn’s Blessing of Enigmas'''. </div>

==== Silver — Rat ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> '''TW: Police Violence'''
Silver had decided to spend her afternoon drinking outside the pack’s safehouse cabin. While downing her fifth can of beer, she started hearing noises: people talking and footsteps. She soon found she was in one of the alleyways that make up Old Dale Alley in Clearbrook. She sensed a thread of connection between herself, the homeless people going about their business, and the town itself. Then, the police arrived and started shoving the homeless around with clearly excessive force. Silver moved forward, pulled her gun on an officer, and fired. Then, Silver seemed to fade from sight and become intangible to those around her. The remaining officers became even more violent after one of their own went down, but Silver was unable to physically affect them. She felt the thread of connection from earlier and tugged on it, which made her appear inside the Clearbrook sewers. There, swarms of rats were collecting forgotten trash and miscellaneous items. As Silver followed the rats, she had a vision of a time when she was cast aside: when her girlfriend Rose left her in disgust after Silver confessed to being a werewolf. Silver sobbed at the memory, but eventually found the strength to continue onward. At the end of the twists and turns of the sewers was a void of darkness, which she stepped into. The spirit who had given her this vision was at the bottom: Rat. Rat acknowledged Silver’s willingness to fight for the disenfranchised and they talked about her want to put some good into the world. Rat not so politely encouraged her to get her shit together and Silver woke up back at the cabin, having received '''Rat’s Blessing of the Forgotten'''.
</div>

==== Sydney — Gorgon ====
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">Sydney was patrolling the woods near the safehouse cabin in her lupus wolf form when she noticed that her shadow was missing. After the shadow of the spirit Cobra darted in and out of her reach, eventually being caught. Cobra asked Sydney if she what she was willing to use her anger for. Sydney said she didn’t want her pack to suffer and Cobra countered that there were many shackles yet unbroken. Then, Sydney was cast into writhing darkness, only to fall out of it and find herself in her old home with her younger twin sisters. Her sisters, Cathy and Becca, acted as though everything was normal, but there were signs that things were off. Eventually, the conversation between the siblings was interrupted by people barging in to apprehend a “monster”. Cathy froze in fear while Becca was manhandled to the ground by one of the hunters. Sydney, who had originally lost complete control and blacked out when this happened, heard Gorgon speak. The spirit told her that her vision would not blacken this time and Sydney was given the satisfaction of slaughtering the hunters, though she knew it wasn’t real. Gorgon asked if she would cull those who needed to be culled and Sydney tearfully agreed. Sydney awoke by the cabin with '''Gorgon’s Blessing of Refusal''' and smeared her blood on Gorgon’s statue in an oath.</div>

==== Yuzuki — North Wind ====

=== Prologue 1: Debts Paid ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> The pack began to feel weighed down by their unpaid spiritual debts. In their sleep, they were visited by the memories of the spirits who had given them their first gifts. Eden remembered the time when he made a man fall limp with just his stare with the aid of Nameless Wolf. Yuzuki remembered when she pleaded with Stag for an answer and felt the warmth of a Hearth. Cedo remembered when he spoke with supernatural conviction with the aid of She-Wolf. When they woke up the next day, they had a sense that they needed to go to familiar places to appease the spirits. At breakfast, Cobra—pack totem of the Heart of Blood pack—messed with them. Charlotte said that Cobra simply “enjoyed testing young ones”.

First, the three of them went to an old warehouse on South Main where Eden found Nameless Wolf tired from being pursued by another spirit called the Giver of Names. The Giver of Names cast Eden and Nameless Wolf into a pocket of the Umbra. Eden forgot his name and was harshly interrogated by an officer who questioned what good it was for him to be in the country. Eden said that was something he was going to find out and threatened the officer to let him leave without physical conflict. He then saw that Nameless was an orphaned cub who had to shed who he was in order to survive, but Eden reminded him that he was once called “son”. The Giver of Names tried to dictate that it was simply the way of things for all things to have names, but Eden refuted this, wanting Nameless to finally have a choice. Such was Eden’s resolve that the Name Giver left. His debt to Nameless Wolf was paid.

Next, the three went to a smoothie shop called Berry Bliss on Clearbrook University’s campus. Yuzuki could immediately sense that something had brought discontent into an atmosphere meant to be comforting. She saw a Lady of the Hearth within the flames of the fake fireplace, and the Lady asked her to resolve the discord. Yuzuki then noticed that her eccentric cousin Shiori Ando was sitting across from a strange man in dark clothes. After bantering with Yuzuki for a time and confirming that Yuzuki knew she was a kitsune, Shiori resolved to get rid of the man across from her, though she didn’t intend to kill him in a way Yuzuki was accustomed to. The man, source of the discontent, transformed into three black foxes and disappeared into the Umbra. Shiori transformed into a dire fox with four tails and followed, allowing a hispo form Yuzuki to follow along as well. Though Yuzuki attempted to attack the black foxes at first, she soon agreed to be subject to ten questions with the risk of the Lady of the Hearth’s flames being extinguished with each unsatisfactory answer. Though it got a bit dicey, Yuzuki was able to succeed with a bit of aid from Shiori. This earned her the gratitude of the Hearth Lady. The two cousins appeared back in the physical world and, as Shiori was leaving with her boyfriend, Yuzuki told her cousin that she would always have a home here and that she would kill her if she broke her new boyfriend.

Finally, Eden, Yuzuki, and Cedo went home to the cabin. Cedo was lulled into an easy sleep and pulled into the depths of his mind. There, he awoke in a woodland in lupus form and saw his brothers Methis and Xata. She-Wolf, who he could sense was kin to him, encouraged him to catch up with him brothers and he did so. Afterward, She-Wolf led him to an ancestral grove amid rolling hills with statues dedicated to various wolves. She said that there was a false idol lurking among them and asked that Cedo use his judgement to find it. It didn’t take long for Cedo to identify Sibling Wolf (“the hunter of the weak”) as the false idol and they revealed themself as a servant of Fenris. Sibling Wolf challenged Cedo to a ceremonial duel wherein they would both interpret the Litany to see who knew it better. Each of Cedo’s interpretations of the Litany’s law cracked Sibling Wolf’s stone, eventually revealing themself mangy, rabid wolf underneath. Cedo was able to destroy him afterward and She-Wolf howled in victory to signify that the grove could begin to heal. She-Wolf then told Cedo that his debt had been paid.

Everyone else was also able to clear up their spiritual debts. </div>

== House Rules ==
'''Penumbral Senses''': This Gift can be used in homid and lupus form as well as the supernatural forms.

'''White Dragon of Friendship''': Call out the “White Dragon of Friendship” if you believe a scene is creating out of character hostility between one or more players. This is to remind everyone that we are here to have fun and tell people to change the subject and cool off.

'''X Card''': If at any point a subject comes up that is triggering to you, say “X Card” and the DM will pivot the scene in a different direction.

'''Rule of Cool''': The DM reserves the right to overrule the system rules if a player wants to do something especially cool or interesting that normally wouldn’t be possible.

'''Final Moments''': If a player’s character is in a situation where they are '''going to die''', they may use their final moments to do something such as deliver an uninterrupted monologue and/or perform an action that will succeed, but not save them.

{{CampaignNavbox}}
[[Category:Campaign]]
[[Category:CR]]

Moon-Speaker

2026-05-27T06:01:38Z

Glamourpal: /* This Story Is True */ Changed the subheading title.

== Meaning in Murder ==
This story is true.

The Moon was a place of violence, for it was there—emerging from the Moon Shadow—that the remnants of dead gods refused to acknowledge that they were already dead. The scampering beast, body twisted and bulging with the weight of its own repugnance, was making the same mistake as many who had come before it: it looked at Lycan territory and thought their land would offer it mercy. She had been the one who tasted the first strike, ready to cut the true face of the spawn loose from their skin suit. She had not been precise enough to make it the only strike, and so her elders told her to chase, to cull, to kill. “You are Irraka. You are a killer first.” That was the revelation in the Moon when she first became a monster. The ghost-feel of opening its stomach to spill dark, festering blood licked at her claws. She could see her attack play out across her eyelids with every blink. Not enough weight behind the momentum—never hit them like you expect them to get back up. The god spawn was moving slower now, trying to be quieter, thinking that the tree shade would hide its shadow and that the undergrowth would mask its footsteps. It settled onto its oversized haunches, trying to seize what air couldn’t escape it. The pulsing of its jugular was almost beautiful: quick, like a spirit-talker weaving debt with their mouth. Quick, the way a pack catches the scent of something that doesn’t belong where they rest their claim. Quick, like the blood screaming out of its throat as she landed the only strike. Quick, like the smaller bodies that swarmed from its corpse. Quick, like the flames from the fire bomb that turned forced them to face their overdue deaths. “You are a Hunter in Darkness. You are a destroyer of that which would despoil our home.” That was the revelation bestowed by her elders when she returned, a monster with meaning.

== Relevant Information ==
'''Moon-Speaker''' is a [[Lunar Lycan]], meaning she is a werewolf from the moon. Although Lunar Lycans are only rarely seen on Quelmar, she ended up crossing over from the Moon Shadow (the spirit world on the Moon) to the Umbra (the spirit world on Quelmar) in pursuit of prey. She stalked her prey to a music venue outside of Clearbrook where she found it in conflict with the Heart of Blood pack. Moon-Speaker dealt the finishing blow.

After speaking with the other pack, she agreed to aid them in strengthening their territory. Since she is from the moon, the auspice and tribe she is from are unfamiliar to Quelmar werewolves. Moon-Speaker is an Irraka and a Hunter in Darkness. Among Lunar Lycans, Irraka are known as ambushers and dedicated killers while Hunters in Darkness are known for obsessively defending their territories from anything spiritually rotten.

Moon-Speaker appears in the Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign [[Chains of Rage]].
[[File:Moon-Speaker 2.png|center|thumb|500x500px|Moon-Speaker. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:NPCs]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

Hellfriede Ripley

2026-05-27T04:38:23Z

Glamourpal: /* THE HELLFRIEDE FILES [2] */ Added art of Hellfriede.

== THE HELLFRIEDE FILES [1] ==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Before Liberation: Interrupted Execution</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mention of child soldiers</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of SSC private soldier.

Name: Hellfriede Ripley. Callsign: SKYLINE.

Video File Transcribed By: ???}

The execution parades in the capital were always led by Metalmarks. The Assembly had been in bed with Smith-Shimano Corpro for a long time, and the light, easy steps of the mechs along the streets were coldly melodic. What do beauty and craftsmanship care for blood if the shedding can’t be remembered as artistic? Hellfriede stood with the other Cavaliers. They were always required to be present for the killings. Maybe it was to remind them that their uniforms were keeping them far away from the firing squad.

The people sentenced to death—the condemned—had been branded with thick, black words on their arms stating their sins. When they reached their final positions, they’d be bound to posts with their branded arms on full display for appropriate mockery. Beside Hellfriede, two Cavaliers muttered to each other about the remnants of a revolutionary cell. They sounded bored. In the heavens above, someone wept, but their tears fell to the city as nothing but a drizzle. Hellfriede closed her eyes when she felt the first drops. Two Death’s Heads mounted on opposite high rises in the central square, two Metalmarks leading the procession and two in the back, two White Witches waiting by the execution posts, invisible Dusk Wings stalking the grounds. Deaths like this had to be orderly, at least, if they couldn’t be beautiful.

A woman with the word “insurgent” on her arm was wearing red; the torn cloth draped over her was probably a cloak once. She was led by the same wrist shackles as those around her. Her clothes slumped off her body at awkward angles; she was slight and probably not older than eighteen. The person behind her hadn’t stopped staring at the back of her head. It might have been despair. It might have been hatred. The woman stopped walking. “She’ll die to the second Death’s Head,” Hellfriede said it only to herself. It was a reminder to stay still when the woman in red slipped her shackles and turned on her heel.

Previously dull voices rose in pitch. Footsteps fell out of time. Two Dusk Wings appeared and fired their Burst Launchers in sync, but the woman hit the ground fast enough for the explosive shots to collide in the air. The resulting fiery burst knocked an entire line of condemned off their feet. The woman disappeared under the wave of struggling bodies and rattling chains. The two Metalmarks in the back turned invisible. That didn’t matter because the woman emerged from the throng of bodies and shackles from a spot the pilots hadn’t thought to cover. A Shock Knife severed an entire inch from her hair, but she just kept running. Hellfriede watched like someone being forced to take an eye injection. Two Railgun shots went off. The first Death’s Head missed. The second one spread shards of the woman’s skull across the street. It was quiet again after that.

No one knew what to do with the headless corpse in the street, so it was ignored until after the executions. Hellfriede stared at the dead woman’s red rags as though she wanted to wear them herself when no one was looking. She didn’t. The Cavaliers met with the Assembly that day. They were still young—all around 13—and still training to be useful. It was their first true interaction with their planet’s leaders. The head of the Assembly was a woman with a name that sounded like her parents knew she was going to watch many people die. Hathor Grimm. It was a funny name that didn’t make anyone laugh. Ms. Grimm shook Hellfriede’s hand and Hellfriede stared down at their fingers. They both went to bed early that night. For Hellfriede, it was after vomiting and brushing her teeth.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Before Liberation: Perfect Average</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Murder of an intimate partner</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

“You know, you’re not the prettiest woman here.” Reign says. She’s a 5’3 bombshell blonde and she’s very aware of that fact. Hellfriede should be just as aware since she’s been splayed out on her bed the past half hour. She has to see it: the way Reign pouts to push out her plush mouth every so often and glances up at Hellfriede with her perfectly baby brown eyes. Hellfriede didn’t crack the top ten on their last exam, but she’s far from dumb. There’s no such thing as a stupid Cavalier.

“Ouch.” Hellfriede glances over her dataslate, eyeing the blonde bundle on the silver platter that is her own leg. Her hand darts forward to pinch Reign’s arm.

Reign doesn’t scream because she is a mature adult who can regulate her frustration. Instead, she swats at the hand that pinched her. “Let me finish!” Oh, how she would love to- “You’re not the prettiest, BUT, I think you could take a bunch of people here to bed if you tried. Maybe most people.”

Hellfriede looks back at her dataslate. Then, something divine and without indifference wills itself into existence just to look down on Reign and wink, because Hellfriede sets the slate aside. “I don’t think ''most people'' would pick me out at a bar.”

“Yeah, but you’re, like, the perfect average.” Reign draws a gesture up Hellfriede’s thigh and appreciates the muscle there. They’re all soldiers, but Hellfriede wears it especially well right now. “Not so far out of the everyman’s league and not so far below it. If you made the first move, someone without another person in mind would totally go for you.”

RA kills the other divine—Hellfriede takes a mech engineering book out from under her pillow. “Most people wouldn’t like being called average by the woman who’s trying to sleep with them.”

The divine lives and they only ever looked down at Reign to laugh at her. “… You fucking knew? This entire time?”

“I’m not stupid and you’re not clever,” Hellfriede deadpans.

Reign takes a moment to seriously consider screaming. She lunges to push Hellfriede down. Desperation must be making Reign sluggish because she knows she’s quicker than Hellfriede, but the other woman is out of her grasp and behind her far too fast. Hellfriede pins Reign’s dominant arm behind her back and shoves her down face-first. “Please do something. Do literally anything or just put me out of my misery.” Her voice is muffled by chamomile-scented pillows.

Hellfriede leans down and says, “Ask nicely.” Her voice is a rough whisper.

Reign dies multiple times that night. Then, she wakes up alive and gargling her own blood. She’s too weak to scream now. Her gaze swims through the room, trying to find Hellfriede. The noises spilling from her throat aren’t quiet. Hellfriede is standing by the edge of the bed. She checks her dataslate, pockets it, and heads for the door.

Tears bubble up in Reign’s eyes. The attempt at crying makes her choke harder. Hellfriede’s back is the last thing she sees. As she dies, she takes the smell of chamomile with her into whatever waits after life.

''Not the prettiest, but she’ll do in a pinch.''

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Before Liberation: Cyclone 85.4%</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Cruelty, loss of sanity, and death</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Fragments of the events that occurred inside the cockpit of the original Hell’s Sister on Liberation Day have been retrieved and reconstructed. The one responsible for assembling this data is unknown.}

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 1]

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
LOG: TLALOC-CLASS NHP ENTERING CASCA-

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
We’reignoringthat.Yes,Ididdisabletheeje
ctionsystem.Ifyouejectoutofsomehumanist
icregret,you’lljustdielikethehundredsof
insectsthathavebeenincineratedbythethrusters.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''You’renotsoslowthatyoucan’tunderstandthatright?'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Repositionbytwelvedegreesandlettherailg
ungrazeyoutogivetheimpressionthattheDea
th’sHeadisworthwhile.LockOn.Wait.Don’tw
ait.FireGandivaMissiles.Retarget.Retarg
etagain.LockOn.LockOn.LockOn.Movemovemo
vemovemovewhyaren’tyoumovingitfeelslike
wearen’tmovingletmedoitmovemovemovemove
doyouwanttodieareyoualreadydeadI’llkill
youmyself.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''Move.'''

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 2]

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
I’mignoringyourmultiplefailurestorapidl
yLockOnintime.I’mdoingitforyoubecauseyo
umovelikeyou’redyingbutI’maliveand

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''yourmindmightaswellhavebeenabortedby '''
''' SSCwhenyoucamescreamingoutofyourmother'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
andmaybeshegaveyouupbecausesheknewyouwe
realreadydead.Breathelessbreathelessbre
athelessyou’rewastingmytimeIwon’talways
knowwhoIamyouwon’talwaysknowwhoIamIamno
tTlalocIamnotTlalocIamnotTlaloc

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''MOVE.'''

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 3]

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
I.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Am.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Ehecatl.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
You.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Are.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''Fleshinthewind'''.

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Ishoulddraintheoxygenfromthiscockpit

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
maybeyou’llbeworthadamnwhenyou’reholdingyourbreath

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Dead

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Women

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Aren’t

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
Useful

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 4]

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''This ends with me killing you for your failures like you killed your friends.'''

<span style="font-family: Courier;">
[HOUR 5]

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''LockOnReposition'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
LockOnReposition

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''LockOnReposition'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
LockOnReposition

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''LockOnReposition'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
LockOnReposition

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''LockOnReposition'''

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
LockOnReposition

<span style="font-family: EB Garamond;">
'''LockOnReposition'''

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LockOnReposition

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[HOUR 6]

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[For one hour, Ehecatl repeatedly erased and rewrote the systems surrounding it, as though attempting to make them faster. Or, in a desperate attempt to breach its own mind and rewrite its state of existence into something compatible with reality. For one hour, Ehecatl could see little outside the accelerated, eternal erasure of those who did not have the ability to outrun their own nonexistence. One such example involving Hellfriede was repeatedly coded into the data logs of Hell’s Sister, like a pointless declaration of Hellfriede’s being.]

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[HOUR 7]

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…hellfriede…? … it’s over… hellfriede…? move… please…

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LOG: PILOT DECEASED.

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== Relevant Information ==
[[File:Hellfriede Ripley.png|thumb|Hellfriede Ripley, Liberator of Varuvi.]]
Hellfriede Ripley was born on the Diasporan planet Varuvi in the confines of what is now known as the Old Capital. Her birth was part of Smith-Shimano Corpro’s secret Cavalier Program to develop ideal soldiers for private armies and classified missions. Hellfriede was immediately taken from her birth parents to be raised by a group of handlers who regularly assessed their aptitude in various areas: coordination, intelligence, obedience, etc. While in this phase of the program (which lasted for 11 years), Hellfriede befriended a girl named Dorothea. The two of them initially bonded over a mutual appreciation for quiet moments; they could often be found sitting quietly together and completing their assignments in tandem. The assessments showed that Hellfriede had great potential. As a result, she proceeded to the second phase of the Cavalier Program. Dorothea didn’t make it to the second phase. On the day of the program’s graduation ceremony, Hellfriede asked everyone where Dorothea was. No one could give her a satisfactory answer; they all just waited for her to stop asking.

At age 11, Hellfriede started training to be a Lancer. By age 13, she had acquired her first two license levels in the SSC Monarch and had an integrated flight system in her mech. Hellfriede proved to be a terror in the sky during drills and was quickly developing a combat style adept at dispatching multiple opponents without help. Phase two of the Cavalier Program was far more openly brutal than the first. Multiple other Cavaliers were “pulled out of the program”. When this happened, a handler would list out their failures before a Dusk Wing appeared to drag them away. There was still never an explanation for what happened to them, but the threat hanging over Hellfriede’s head had become obvious. As the first series of missions for the Cavaliers approached, they were allowed a personal meeting with the Varuvian Assembly: their planet’s leaders. This meeting took place after an execution parade wherein “wannabe revolutionaries” were killed. When the head of the Assembly shook Hellfriede’s hand with all the care of someone who would sleep easily that night, Hellfriede started planning. She was going to need to climb the ranks and stay in the Assembly’s good graces.

At 14, Hellfriede went on her first mission: it was supposed to be simple reconnaissance on another planet in the same star system, but she and her allies were quickly met with resistance. Their opponents were also using mechs, though theirs looked far more scrapped together. Hellfriede took out the frontline with a series of hit and run skirmishes while others focused on the backline. The mission was a resounding success, but something didn’t feel right. With a year of subtle investigation and occasionally sucking up to those above her, Hellfriede learned that the people she had helped kill that day were the remnants of an older SSC experiment similar to the Cavalier Program. Apparently, SSC had “cut them loose” as a trial for their new Cavaliers. Hellfriede kept her head down.

By the age of 16, Hellfriede had acquired multiple more license levels. She wasn’t the best in the program, but was also far from the worst: a solidly middling soldier by program standards. Hellfriede intentionally scaled back her efficiency in combat, allowing others to have the spotlight and earn more praise. She befriended other Cavaliers and found that a good amount of them had bought into the Assembly’s rhetoric. It would have been immensely risky to try changing their minds. Hellfriede waited. She gave her formerly nameless Monarch the moniker Hell’s Sister.

When she turned 17, Hellfriede celebrated her birthday by finally requesting a TLALOC-Class NHP which she promptly shackled to her mech. Hellfriede’s limited experience with NHPs made her uncomfortable with using a sentient being in such a manner, but she needed a TLALOC for her plans to work. She acquired a Player_Two Neural Bypass to let the TLALOC have access to her body when she deemed it necessary. For two years, Hellfriede and her TLALOC discussed every possible way of killing the entire Varuvian Assembly and the other Cavaliers.

Hellfriede’s 19th birthday would go on to become Varuvi’s Liberation Day. She woke up early in the Cavalier training facility and quietly murdered every other Cavalier she could find along with their handlers. Alarms were eventually raised, but it was too late. Hellfriede had already mounted Hell’s Sister by then and launched her assault against the Assembly. The fighting lasted for 10 hours. It was 10 hours of seemingly endless skirmishing from Hellfriede and TLALOC. They picked off the Assembly’s ground soldiers and mechs with a ruthless efficiency that would come to be known as the Hellfire Style of combat. The two of them were utterly relentless, even for the final 6 hours when TLALOC was cascading. The revolution ended with one of the single most lethal uses of the Monarch’s core system—Divine Punishment—in recorded history. As the Assembly’s forces lay decimated, Hell’s Sister plummeted from the sky and crashed to the ground as a mangled scrap heap. Hellfriede had died, but miraculously, the TLALOC’s casket was able to be recovered.

In the aftermath of Hellfriede’s revolution, SSC distanced themselves from Varuvi, unwilling to take direct control of the planet to avoid drawing Union’s full attention to their operations. The Liberation Council was formed to govern the planet with laws that abolished SSC’s genetic caste system and allowed for more personal freedoms like open critique of the government. Union’s attention was eventually drawn to Varuvi for one reason or another and plans were made to convert it into a Core World. The current planet capital of New Varuvi stands on the bones of the Old Capital and there’s a park dedicated to Hellfriede along with a statue of her in the city’s heart.

Hellfriede’s TLALOC copilot went on to become a legionnaire and take the name Torin. He joined a sect of Horizon Collective in the effort to fight for NHP rights. Torin also took the remains of Hell’s Sister and created a downsized, scrappier version of the original mech. According to him, Hellfriede had never really liked how “put together” the Monarch’s design was.

== HER LAST MESSAGE ==
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Before Liberation: Final Forethoughts</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Subject: Hellfriede Ripley, Callsign: SKYLINE.

Video Recorded By: Torin, TLALOC-Class NHP.}

“… I thought about trying to start this with something that could inspire the people who hear it, but I wasn’t built to be a leader. I’m not going to lead anyone. I’m just going to talk instead.

The reason why I’m doing this is entirely selfish. It’s not because I want to live a life outside what was chosen for me by SSC. No, ultimately, I’m just doing more of the same. It’s because I’m so, so tired. I’m tired of listening to the other Cavaliers gossip about the brands during the execution parades. I’m tired of standing between them and predicting which condemned man is going to run and lose their head for it. I’m tired of not feeling sick because of it anymore. I’m tired of this numbness that I’ve had to perform for so long because it’s not a performance anymore.

I’m going to kill a lot of people. And I don’t know if I want to be praised for a lot of it. I’m just tired at the end of the day. That’s all there is. I need to do something before that goes away, too.”

Hellfriede makes direct eye contact with the camera for most of the recording. There is bone deep weariness to her face as she speaks. She’s only 19. As soon as she’s done talking, the youthful exhaustion disappears, and her expression numbs into that of a murderer.

</div></div>

Hellfriede originally died 10 years before the events of [[In The Shadows of a Willow]]. In 5026U, she was cloned by [[Legions & Legionnaires|Torin]] and a mysterious benefactor. She lives.

== THE HELLFRIEDE FILES [2] ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Beyond Liberation: Irreverent Revelation</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: Mentions of slavery, violent revolution</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of Union Liberation Front leader.

Name: Hellfriede Ripley. Callsign: SKYLINE.

Video File Transcribed By: ???}

Silas Vega dies the kind of death worthy of a man who spent his final hours having his foremost slave do a solo performance of the third play written in his honor. Four missiles decimate the silver platinum door to his sanctum (a man cave of a bunker underneath his estate). He has enough time for indignance to make the veins in his neck flush royal purple. He draws breath to scream for his dead guards to cast aside the audacity of the Monarch mech presenting itself without due reverence. Hellfriede Ripley gets out of her mech, cocks her gun, and shoots him twice before the would-be shriek can be anything more than a suggestion to his vocal chords. She shoots him the way you shoot a man who should have been merciful enough to ask for death a long time ago—without a smile. The former slave makes a break for it.

“Why did you bother getting out?” Torin, the acting NHP of Hellfriede’s mech, asks when she gets back into the cockpit.

“I think he needed to see that just one person could be his killer.” Hellfriede ignores the incoming call from her Union superior. “Maybe that’ll matter to him in another life.”

“Hah. Do you remember anything from the afterlife?” Torin asks. It’s a joke. It sounds like a stab at himself.

Hellfriede turns her Monarch away from the crownless corpse. “There was a lot less work to do.”

Seth Knox, the Union member who pretends he doesn’t give actionable information to a violent revolutionary, has to at least pretend that Hellfriede went further than a violent revolutionary should. “You were supposed to investigate the planet and see if it was possible to arrange an audience with Vega.” This is what Hellfriede gets for finally accepting one of his calls.

“He met the Liberation Front’s arrival with a slave display and had his officials threaten to execute us if we wouldn’t prove our willingness to abide by his laws. By choosing a slave to own for the duration of our visit. He wanted us to own a slave.” Hellfriede’s voice never rises—it stays low and flat. She sits in the nondescript office in New Varuvi City that Union has her unofficially working out of. The only hint of personality in her office is a small replica of Simon Dominguez’s mech, Free Me From Hell, that sits on her desk.

“You’ve been briefed in de-escalation. He just needed to feel like his power wasn’t being threatened.” Seth’s tone indicates that he, or someone else, has already decided that she needs more de-escalation training.

“Us being on the planet at all was a threat to him. He was going to find a reason to kill us regardless of anything.” Hellfriede’s dataslate earns more of her attention than Seth does by presenting information that doesn’t sound like bureaucratic recitation. While Seth tells her about the one-on-one negotiation classes she’ll be taking next week, she looks at potential systems for a Black Mountain mech.

The Black Mountain is a mech suit that focuses on boosting the defenses of allied mechs. It only has one weapon mount. It’s inherently slower than her Monarch. It’s an alternate version of the Emperor mech, which is all the pomp and pleasure of SSC given physical form. The Black Mountain should only draw one thing out of Hellfriede: a disdainful form of apathy.

“How long are the classes going to be?” Hellfriede asks. The obvious weapon to give the Black Mountain is the Emperor’s bolt bow. Hellfriede is not going to use the Emperor’s bow.

“Only about an hour.” Seth says something about how Hellfriede should use the hour to its fullest. The will to waste time was being bred out of her before she even existed. “… Off the record, I think you did good work.” He hangs up quickly, as though his own superiors are waiting for the chance to trap him with the bureaucracy he just espoused.

Since the Black Mountain is so small, it’s less trouble to get it printed. There’s a decent enough printer in the basement of Hellfriede’s office building, so she heads downstairs and lets the printer confirm the licensing data in her biosignature.

Hellfriede doesn’t hear the voices of the dead. The only version of mourning she has ever known was the prestigious efficiency of SSC’s Mourning Cloak mech when other Cavaliers piloted it. Even after being revived, her one week of readjustment downtime spared no thought for her kill count.

What Hellfriede hears instead, as the body of the Black Mountain prints, is a voice that reflects her own.

''“A soldier offers indifference''

''when they do not offer mercy.''

''That kills much more than wrath.”''

A mechanized bow that Hellfriede didn’t print is leaning against the finished mech. It’s black with cracks of silver coursing through it. After Hellfriede reaches for the bow, because it must be hers even if she didn’t ask for it, she picks it up like it weighs nothing. Silver cracks reflect in her pupils. The bow is indifferent. It is not the Emperor’s.

She names the mech Irreverence. It only sees use in the least official capacities.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Beyond Liberation: Absolution of Inhumanity</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of Union Liberation Front leader.

Name: Hellfriede Ripley. Callsign: SKYLINE.

Video File Transcribed By: ???}

The illusion of civility dies where the illusion of humanity ends. The leader of Varuvi’s ruling Liberation Council, Aera Synth, has been out of her seat for the past several seconds; she stood to snap when Torin corrected her usage of the term “simulated understanding” in regards to how NHPs process the outside world. She doesn’t acknowledge Hellfriede because she looks like an average bureaucrat and not like the Liberation Day Champion. It’s been ten years since the revolution. Hellfriede has never stopped working.

“… In summary, while it should be understood and acknowledged that Non-Human Persons are far more advanced than artificial intelligences,” Ms. Synth keeps sweeping her gaze around the room and ending with her eyes on Torin, “they do not have humanity. We cannot afford to treat them as humans to the detriment of people like the Varuvians desperate to be brought out of the shadow of our past oppression.”

Torin’s expression stays lax. “Varuvi is eager to be fully assimilated into Union, yes? Then let’s discuss the Utopian Pillars.” He doesn’t stand, but he does hold up one finger. “One. All shall have their material needs fulfilled.”

Ms. Synth stiffens. “NHPs don’t have material needs-”

Torin interrupts her right back. “We do, actually. By definition of being material—by definition of having a casket which serves as a physical body—we do have material needs. A casket needs to be cared for lest it ''break''. A body needs a home to shield it from deterioration and harm. A body needs to ''take up space''. But thinking beyond just the words of that pillar, is that really all Union seeks to provide? To my knowledge, Union has also sought to give those it governs above proper mental care.”

“Union recommends the regular cycling of all NHPs,” Greg Delta chimes in with a statement that might be able to see the point from several star systems away.

“… Yes.” Torin doesn’t flinch. “If cycling was the only thing needed from an NHP to maintain an acceptable mental state, then it would be recommended that every NHP be cycled every single day.” To his credit, he doesn’t say ‘cycling’ with the gravity that discussing forced ego death probably deserves. “Back to the topic at hand: the pillars. Two. No walls shall stand between worlds.”

“I fail to see how that’s relevant to this discussion.” Ms. Synth says.

“Perhaps not the pillar itself, but the interpretation and execution of it.” It’s now that Torin stands. Hellfriede adjusts the collar projecting her disguise. “Union wants all to have the right to firm ground, clean air, and sunlight—thus, the decree that there should be no walls that encroach on that objective. The interpretation of this pillar has been proven to extend beyond what’s plainly written. We can use Varuvi as an example.” Torin begins to walk the room. “After the revolution, Varuvi had access to all three of those things, but Union went out of its way to establish connected transport to and from the planet anyway. Why?”

“Obviously because a civilization needs to be connected to the rest of the universe to thrive in this era,” Another woman, Helka Mavenport, responds with a barely restrained eye roll. She called Torin an AI earlier and has been fortunate enough to live to see the rest of this meeting.

“Yes ''and'' because interconnectedness can be interpreted as a necessity beyond delivering basic essentials. Varuvi could be fine on its own, but there is evidence that it thrives under the second pillar. Three.” Torin hasn’t looked at Ms. Synth yet. “No human shall be held in bondage through force, labor, or debt.”

“It specifies no ''human''.” Ms. Synth hand grips the edge of the table.

“But we’ve already established that furthering an interpretation for the greater good is well established within Union. Let me end this discussion on the three pillars with one simple question: if it really is only supposed to extend to humans, then what makes the Third Committee of Union all that different from the Second Committee?” Torin sits back down.

There’s a beat of quiet. No one wants to be comparable to the Second Committee. The quiet still only lasts for a beat.

“He’s ultimately suggesting that we stop the widespread usage of NHPs on Varuvi. In every system.” At this point, Aera Synth stops bothering to look at Torin. Instead, her eyes lock onto the greying man at the head of the table: Ergo Chen, a high-ranking Union official. “That’s not possible. Not without taking several steps back.”

“I am suggesting that we consider the spirit of the pillars,” Torin says coolly.

Mr. Chen looks at Aera’s pleading eyes. “It does sound ineffective, doesn’t it?”

Hellfriede sees Torin’s jaw twitch. She clears her throat. “I’m sure the Second Committee would have considered it very ineffective to not use Total Biome Kill weapons in their assault on Hercynia.”

The silence returns. It’s heavier this time.

“We should take a break,” Hellfriede says, already standing. No one disagrees, though most of them don’t know why her voice carries so much weight. She and Torin find an empty corner outside the meeting room.

“Ineffective. Hah.” Torin laughs. His foot is tapping and his eyes are flicking back and forth; his thoughts are running faster than the concept of thought. “What’s ineffective is that this meeting has lasted for three hours.”

“We can fly around for a while after this.” Hellfriede knows he craves motion.

“That sounds… God, I need to get out of this body.” Torin takes off his glasses and pinches the bridge of his nose. Hellfriede hasn’t asked him why he bothers with glasses even though his eyesight is more than perfect. “I shouldn’t have brought up the three pillars. It’s too cliche.”

“You’re right, though.” Hellfriede nudges his shoulder with her own. “It’s hypocritical to champion freedom for all humans while intentionally creating an enslaved underclass.”

“It sounds so obvious when you say it like that,” Torin sighs. “If only ''I'' could say it. They already barely see me. If I talked like that they’d just see an indignant Tlaloc-Class. Or worse.”

“… Has anyone seen you since I died?” Hellfriede asks.

He laughs again. It’s been ten years since the revolution. Torin will never stop working.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Beyond Liberation: The Myth of Delirium</div>
<div style="line-height:1.0;">TW: References to predatory behavior, blood drinking</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

{Observation of Union Liberation Front leader.

Name: Hellfriede Ripley. Callsign: SKYLINE.

Video File Transcribed By: ???}

“Blue Moonlight makes blood and sweat look like liquid sugar.” That’s what the woman, Diva Demure, says after Hellfriede stabs a dose of Rebreathe into her neck and her heart decides that breathing is a worthwhile activity. “That’s why so many of the girls at Vixie’s take it. The sweat pouring off you, the blood in the showers from Vixie’s temper—Blue makes it all smell sweeter, you know?” Her voice is a shudder, like being alive is making her veins shake.

No one in the Cavalier Program was ever allowed near stims lest they alter their carefully curated brain chemistry. They all flocked to SSC’s list of extracurriculars and simple sex to distract themselves from executions and dive bombing people they’d never know anything about. Hellfriede did a few things to fill the void of nonexistent addiction: mostly, she read about mech flight techniques.

Now, after sundown in an alleyway that reeks of old death, Hellfriede wipes the cold sweat from Diva’s forehead with one hand and starts reprogramming the disguise projection on her prosocollar with the other. “I’m taking you to the Union ship I arrived on. You’ll stay in the ship on Rivnuan’s dock for two days, then be escorted to a rehabilitation center on the moon.”

Diva stares at her, red lined lips dropping into a half-frown before she remembers herself. Instead, she tries for a grateful smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Thanks, hon, but Vixie will kill me before I get anywhere good if I miss out on tonight.”

“You don’t have to miss anything.” Hellfriede sends a neural command to her collar and the illusion shifts. Diva goes back to staring. “There’s another stim deal going through tonight, right? And Vixie’s going to try to kill off their only competitor?”

“Yeah…” Diva reaches forward, nearly touching Hellfriede’s new face. “Do I really look that… small?”

“No.” Hellfriede looks at the ivory pallor to Diva’s skin—an apparent side effect of Blue Moonlight use. “You just look sick.”

Within an hour, Hellfriede walks the streets of Midnight City with Diva’s dead end show girl strut and a semi-permanent pout. It’s easy to stay loose as she reaches Vixie’s blue velvet doors and seductive sign. SSC never wanted their soldiers to be too stiff. She’s inside just in time to see a man collide with the reinforced window next to the entrance. He leaves a streak of blood on the glass as he slides to the floor.

“Take your busted head and get out of here, Kian.” The man standing on the stage in the center of the club, built like a Barbarossa with blatant cybernetic arms, is too obvious about his power to be Vixie. Diva warned her about Atlas and how much he “enjoys” blondes. Hellfriede doesn’t flinch when Kian shoves past her. She bites her lip when Atlas eyes her up, tilting her head down and avoiding eye contact. “Where’ve you been, DD?”

“Visiting my sister,” Hellfriede answers. Diva’s tone is sweet and shivering in her mouth.

Atlas’ eyes stay trained on her body. “Vix has a job for you. Wants you to head to the Delirium and get the bitch over here for the show tonight. Their words, not mine.”

The bitch is obviously Vixie’s rival, the owner. “Me?” Hellfriede squeaks. Torin would be shocked by the sound.

“Don’t piss yourself.” Atlas waves off her apparent fear with a smirk. “She thinks Vix is happy to have her around, so it won’t take much. Just don’t act too high and you’ll be fine. You can do that, right, junkie?”

She nods and repeats his words. “I can do that.” That earns her a half-smile that’s all chrome teeth. “Can I freshen up first?”

Atlas licks his teeth. “Go right ahead.”

Hellfriede heads into the dressing room. When no one’s looking, she alters the illusion to feature an extra layer of red lipstick. Diva told her red makes people think you’ll look pretty when you die. Hellfriede is inclined to agree.

A few blocks away, Delirium contrasts Vixie’s so much it seems pointed. Vixie’s blue and black tones are supposed to be a cool serenade for the senses; the colors wrap around the sleek architecture like possessive lips. Delirium is all brash reds, rainbow graffiti, and brickwork with so many cracks it has to be intentional: an assault on the senses. Hellfriede’s SSC bred eyes see faults in both designs, one too easy and the other too directionless. Delirium opens earlier than Vixie’s and a bat of Diva’s long lashes gets Hellfriede past both the line and the bouncer.

Stepping inside is like stepping on the line between blinkspace and reality. Hellfriede’s vision swims, diving into the paint splatters that cascade from the floor to the high ceiling, pooling into a dripping, stained glass brain. Every step ventures past lifted cages of breathing statues and people screaming silently inside simulation headsets. There’s a bar on the other side of the vast first level, but before that is a pit in the center of the floor for the resident entertainment: a band playing archaic instruments. The music coming from them squeezes Hellfriede’s temples in a way that feels more sensual than sex. It takes sixty seconds of being in Delirium for her to understand why Vixie wants their rival dead.

Hellfriede skirts around the pit, ignores the itch in her muscles, and orders a drink with a smooth name from a bald bartender with a prosthetic eye. “If it’s not too much trouble, could you point me over to the owner?”

The bartender squints at her while shaking up something bubbly. “Who are you, again?” He asks.

“I’m one of Vixie’s girls. Diva Demure. DD.” Hellfriede offers a tiny smile with a hint of a pout.

“Ohhhh yeah. Miss Edith said you’d be coming over. Head downstairs, to the last room. Tell the guys back there ‘the secret is burning to life.” He immediately turns his attention to a loud, drunk woman offering him a big tip for just one more drink. Hellfriede leaves thinking that Vixie’s invitation was supposed to be a surprise.

The club basement is more splattered graffiti and uneven floor tiles. Noises ranging from desperate to pitiful sound out from the row of closed doors that lead Hellfriede to the back. Behind one, a person begs to see the Dagon again. The men standing on either side of the surprisingly plain last door are slim, but there’s muscle and sidearms under their mismatched uniforms. “How do you avoid burning to death?” One asks. His eyes are fixed on a point past Hellfriede. She tells them the secret and gets waved inside without a first or second glance.

The room could pass for an interrogation space. There’s a single table in the center with a woman who must be Miss Edith sitting at it. She doesn’t dress like a club owner at all: Edith is adorned with a simple green sweater and a cozy skirt featuring foxes along the lower edge. The most ornamental things about her are the gold bands in her black braids. [[File:Miss Edith.png|thumb|Edith. Art by @annaskytsko on Fiverr.]]Hellfriede opens Diva’s mouth.

Edith looks up from her dataslate. There’s a dark burn scar along the left side of her face. “You should sit down.”

The second chair doesn’t look inviting. Hellfriede sits without hesitation. “Good evening, Miss Edith.”

“Is it?” Edith smiles. “I heard lots of people overdosed today.”

“… Uh, well, that’s awful.” Hellfriede doubts Diva would look her in the eye, so she doesn’t either.

“Blue Moonlight makes blood look like sweat and sweat look like water.” Edith shrugs. “Or something like that.” She taps away at her dataslate without looking down, then smiles again and nods her head at something Hellfriede doesn’t hear. “Anyway, do you not like the way you look?”

“Well, I like to think I’m pretty,” Hellfriede says shyly.

“Then why are you wearing another woman’s face?” Edith asks.

Hellfriede’s own voice hitches. “…”

“Is it the brown hair? So many brunettes want to be blonde. I mean, that’s how it was way back when, I think. Now anyone can change anything even if they don’t want to dye.” Edith hasn’t stopped smiling.

No technology is invincible. Hellfriede knows this. Miss Edith must have some damn good visual enhancements. She lets everything about her that belongs to Diva die. “What do you know about the owner of Vixie’s?”

“He has everyone’s favorite drugs: pretty women and depressants.” Edith cocks her head. “Are those your favorite drugs?”

“No.” Hellfriede sets her hands on the too small table.

“Everyone has a favorite, though,” Edith sounds incredibly matter-of-fact. “People come here to find their favorite, too.”

“What drugs do ''you'' offer?” Hellfriede has to ask.

“Well, people are still trying to find Delirium.” Edith laughs.

“The drug or the club?” Hellfriede wonders if being in this room is what thinspace feels like.

“Hm. I wonder.” Edith looks back down at her slate for several seconds. “I wonder if Vixie really wants to kill me for a drug that doesn’t exist.”

“People come here for a drug that doesn’t exist?”

Edith nods to someone who isn’t Hellfriede. “Delirium exists.” She bites her lip so hard that a drop of blood runs down her chin.

Something stirs under the synapses in Hellfriede’s brain. She doesn’t know how long she’s been looking Edith in the eye. “… Vixie beats his employees, forces them to maintain drug habits, and moves drugs that are illegal under Rivnuan and Union law through his club. Allegedly.”

“Do you want to kill him?”

Has Hellfriede ever ''wanted'' to kill ''anyone''? “People have to die sometimes.” It’s her turn to shrug. “I was told to bring him in alive after getting evidence of his crimes.”

Edith puts one hand beside both of Hellfriede’s. The blood is still on her lip. “Do you want to kill me?”

The question feels perverse. “I don’t have a reason to.” Yet.

“Good. Then you can let me kill Vixie instead.”

Suddenly, Vixie is in the corner of the room like they were always there. They aren’t bound by anything except their arms wrapped around their knees. Their eyes speak of someone who thinks they’re already dying and is very scared of death. “… please…” They sound like they’ve never said that word before.

“Why do you want him dead?” Hellfriede’s lethargic heart certainly doesn’t beat for Vixie, but she has orders.

“Because he beats his employees, forces them to maintain drug habits, and moves drugs that are illegal under Rivnuan and Union law through his club,” Edith lies.

“…” Hellfriede glances at what Edith’s been typing.

''“… there’s a lot of comfort to be found''
''in accepting that your hands committed murder''
''before you really understood it. You only understand when people are dead''
''and your hands hurt.”''

Hellfriede doesn’t give verbal permission.

Edith strides over to Vixie and pets his head. “You’re alive now.”

Vixie’s mouth opens wide. There is no scream. Edith leans down and bites into his throat like she’s telling him a secret. There is no blood left to leave a storied stain of who Vixie was when she’s done.

In her report, Hellfriede doesn’t mention much about Vixie.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Beyond Liberation: Antipathy & Satisfaction</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Hellfriede was engineered to sleep light, so the man dies as soon as he comes through the door: bullet through the eye. His body ragdolls into the men behind him. One of them shouts some tangential version of “restrain her”. Her bedroom window opens and a hand perches on the sill. She impales it with the combat knife she keeps under her pillow. The window intruder, a woman, cries out. Hellfriede’s knife has a heated blade.

By now, the men in the doorway have dislodged their friend’s corpse. Four plus the woman whose hand is melting. Hellfriede palms the shock rod from under her bed and fires again with her other hand. Most hardsuits are weaker around the joints to allow for movement: the bullet cuts through the kneecap of the person about to lunge at her. Bone crunches under their weight and they go down with a hiss. Hellfriede rolls onto the floor, away from a net bomb, and stays low as smoke starts to fill the air. They have visors. She doesn’t.

''That doesn’t matter.''

''It didn’t matter that she poisoned or throat cut everyone who had ever thought to call her by a nickname. It didn’t matter that she was locked in the cockpit as Hell’s Sister plummeted while its last missiles tore free from its frame like cannibalistic children.''

''What’s needed is all that ever matters.''

Before the smoke thickens, Hellfriede sees the Smith-Shimano Corpro logo stamped sweetly on the arm of an opposing hardsuit.

They die.

Seven bullets. Three shattered knees. Two broken necks.

They die. It’s necessary, so they die.

One severed tongue. [[File:Antipathy & Satisfaction.png|thumb|350x350px|What’s needed is all that matters. Art by [https://vgen.co/BasilBalanon BasilBalanon].]]Hellfriede goes through the data logs in their comm links. SSC offered them 1,000,000 Manna each. That’s five million Manna to retrieve the only remnant of their decade old experiment. Hellfriede Ripley, Liberation Day Champion, only survivor of SSC’s Cavalier Program, is worth five million Manna to her makers. She’s never spent time researching the cost of people before. Is that number low or high?

''That doesn’t matter.''

Her heartbeat has still been noticeable for the past several seconds. The adrenaline should be dying down by now. Hellfriede looks at the comm data again: they’re supposed to meet back at an established base outside New Varuvi City. There might be more of them. She could report this to Union. She should report this to Union. Her heart feels like it’s made of plasma. Hellfriede retrieves her dataslate from her nightstand.

She happens to look through the window. Hellfriede comes face to face with the mech she knows is the Dullahan. She has never had a Dullahan. The red of the mech’s hull is hateful in the moonlight.

'''''The Lesson of the Open Door''': A lock may be keeping you in rather than out. Open it regardless of this.''

The Dullahan needs to connect to a human brain so it can use it as its central processor for all its functions. Hellfriede read that when she researched HORUS mechs before the rebellion; before an SSC-ordered mission to eliminate a HORUS cell. Where is this Dullahan’s brain?

In response to that thought, the mech’s systems flare in her nerve endings. The Spine Launcher: for cracking open a hull to make sure the pilot knows they’re not dead yet. Seismic Charge: so you can decide what around you is irrelevant. The Kinetic Driver: to shred them. Are mechs capable of hatred?

''That doesn’t matter.''

''What’s needed is all that ever matters.''

Hellfriede is holding a weapon instead of her dataslate. The axe is the same red as the Dullahan.

That night, four mercenaries hired by Smith-Simano Corpro are decapitated in their hideout. Two more are piles of scattered limbs and organs.

Is Hellfriede capable of hatred? What matters is that, sometimes, she needs to be.

</div></div>

== Mech Hangar ==
These are the mechs Hellfriede uses on Liberation Front missions: unofficial assignments given to an unofficial task force to investigate particularly egregious human rights violations in the Diaspora.

=== Second Sister ===
After her revival, Hellfriede surprised no one (aside from perhaps SSC) by acquiring another Monarch mech. She named it Second Sister after her original Monarch, Hell’s Sister. Despite being a legionnaire now, Torin transfers his casket into this mech to act as an approximation of a Tlaloc when Hellfriede pilots it. Second Sister is primarily used for solo or small group missions since Hellfriede excels in using the Monarch to take down multiple opponents without aid.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Sharanga Missiles'''. These missiles don’t need line of sight and can attack two targets at once.
* '''Main Mount''': '''Sharanga Missiles'''. “Strike the sky with fire and blood. That will make people think life is finally in motion.” — Unknown.
* '''Heavy Mount''': '''Gandiva Missiles'''. The Gandiva Missiles target electronic defense, don’t require line of sight, and ignore cover. They also deal energy damage rather than explosive.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Avenger Silos''': The Monarch can deal extra explosive damage to another target after critical strikes.
* '''Seeking Payload''': When the Monarch consumes lock on to attack with a launcher, that weapon gains the ability to bypass cover and hit targets it doesn’t have line of sight to. Consuming lock on also prevents damage reduction (from armor, resistance, etc.).
* '''SSC-30 High Penetration Missile System'''
** '''Divine Punishment''': The Monarch can launch a barrage of self-guiding missiles against a vast number of targets.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Superpositional Profile''': Can be used to make ranged attacks less likely to hit and grant limited teleportation.
* '''HYPER ENGINEERED MUNITIONS''': When attached to a ranged weapon mount, attacks fired from that mount deal additional armor piercing damage and impair targets.
* '''Trajectory Arc Mapper''': Attacks that capitalize on a weapon’s range gain additional accuracy.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
* '''TLALOC-Class NHP''': The Tlaloc Protocol allows the mech’s NHP to rapidly take control of weapon targeting and firing. Missed attacks will be retargeted. However, this protocol temporarily immobilizes the mech.

</div></div>

=== Irreverence ===
Hellfriede pilots her Black Mountain when she isn’t acting on Union’s orders. On these personal missions, she takes a handful of other Liberation Front pilots with her and acts as support, using its one weapon and ability to “Fell the Mighty” to point out and pick off the most prominent targets. Despite her other mechs being more directly damaging, Irreverence is possibly the most terrifying mech in her arsenal due to the detached effectiveness it inspires in both herself and her allies.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Flex Mount''': '''Painful Indifference'''. This nexus bow is an enhanced version of the one from the SSC Emperor license. It deals both energy and explosive damage and easily pierces armor. Like the Emperor’s nexus, it targets electronic defense, doesn’t need line of sight, and ignores cover.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''An End to All Things''': The Black Mountain can incur heat to have an ally it gave temporary shielding (called overshield) to deal additional damage.
* '''Dread Harbinger''': When this mech or an ally lands a critical strike on an enemy, that enemy becomes locked on. The Black Mountain gains overshield when this lock on is used.
* '''Fragile''': The Black Mountain’s hull isn’t the sturdiest.
* '''Blackstone Bell'''
** '''Bringer of Glory''': The Black Mountain can reactively grant overshield to an ally by “exalting” them.
** '''Fell the Mighty''': This mech can mark a hostile target as “Doomed”. This increases accuracy against them and makes allies who successfully hit them increase their overshield.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''The Walk of Kings''': This quick tech ability gives an ally overshield. While they have this overshield, their melee attacks become armor piercing. In addition, the first time they hit with a melee strike or get hit, they release a burst of armor piercing energy damage.
* '''Shahnameh''': A quick tech ability that grants an ally overshield. While they have this overshield, they become resistant to hostile sources of heat and will clear all heat when they lose the overshield.
* '''Superpositional Profile''': Can be used to make ranged attacks less likely to hit and grant limited teleportation.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Irreverence’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.

</div></div>

===Antipathy===

Hellfriede’s Dullahan came to her under strange circumstances, which is perhaps to be expected of a HORUS mech (even one considered to be an anti-HORUS platform). Antipathy seems to reside outside of realspace, being summoned when Hellfriede deems its use necessary. It is only necessary when she allows herself to feel incredibly unpleasant emotions.

''“Are mechs capable of hatred?”''

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

To make them regret that they saw beauty in your face.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Nothing that isn’t necessary.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

Remember that the lock only exists when it’s keeping you in.

</div></div>

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="500" heights="500" mode="packed-hover" class=".pageimage">
File:Hellfriede Poster.jpg|Art by [https://leadjockey.artstation.com/ leadjockey].
</gallery>

[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]

File:Antipathy & Satisfaction.png

2026-05-27T04:33:53Z

Glamourpal:

Commissioned art of Hellfriede Ripley having killed her would-be kidnappers.

Moon-Speaker

2026-05-26T15:16:31Z

Glamourpal: /* Relevant Information */ Changed the picture.

== This Story Is True ==
The Moon was a place of violence, for it was there—emerging from the Moon Shadow—that the remnants of dead gods refused to acknowledge that they were already dead. The scampering beast, body twisted and bulging with the weight of its own repugnance, was making the same mistake as many who had come before it: it looked at Lycan territory and thought their land would offer it mercy. She had been the one who tasted the first strike, ready to cut the true face of the spawn loose from their skin suit. She had not been precise enough to make it the only strike, and so her elders told her to chase, to cull, to kill. “You are Irraka. You are a killer first.” That was the revelation in the Moon when she first became a monster. The ghost-feel of opening its stomach to spill dark, festering blood licked at her claws. She could see her attack play out across her eyelids with every blink. Not enough weight behind the momentum—never hit them like you expect them to get back up. The god spawn was moving slower now, trying to be quieter, thinking that the tree shade would hide its shadow and that the undergrowth would mask its footsteps. It settled onto its oversized haunches, trying to seize what air couldn’t escape it. The pulsing of its jugular was almost beautiful: quick, like a spirit-talker weaving debt with their mouth. Quick, the way a pack catches the scent of something that doesn’t belong where they rest their claim. Quick, like the blood screaming out of its throat as she landed the only strike. Quick, like the smaller bodies that swarmed from its corpse. Quick, like the flames from the fire bomb that turned forced them to face their overdue deaths. “You are a Hunter in Darkness. You are a destroyer of that which would despoil our home.” That was the revelation bestowed by her elders when she returned, a monster with meaning.

== Relevant Information ==
'''Moon-Speaker''' is a [[Lunar Lycan]], meaning she is a werewolf from the moon. Although Lunar Lycans are only rarely seen on Quelmar, she ended up crossing over from the Moon Shadow (the spirit world on the Moon) to the Umbra (the spirit world on Quelmar) in pursuit of prey. She stalked her prey to a music venue outside of Clearbrook where she found it in conflict with the Heart of Blood pack. Moon-Speaker dealt the finishing blow.

After speaking with the other pack, she agreed to aid them in strengthening their territory. Since she is from the moon, the auspice and tribe she is from are unfamiliar to Quelmar werewolves. Moon-Speaker is an Irraka and a Hunter in Darkness. Among Lunar Lycans, Irraka are known as ambushers and dedicated killers while Hunters in Darkness are known for obsessively defending their territories from anything spiritually rotten.

Moon-Speaker appears in the Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition campaign [[Chains of Rage]].
[[File:Moon-Speaker 2.png|center|thumb|500x500px|Moon-Speaker. Art by @lonelyweirdcat on Fiverr. ]]

[[Category:CR]]
[[Category:NPCs]]
[[Category:Chains of Rage]]

File:Moon-Speaker 2.png

2026-05-26T15:13:38Z

Glamourpal:

A full character study commission of Moon-Speaker.

Hornet

2026-05-26T11:19:14Z

Glamourpal: /* Needle */ removed mech image.

{{Infobox_character|affilliation=Silver Lining Crew|name={{PAGENAME}}|image=IMG_0360.png|caption=Art from Maddel_art Picrew|relatives=The Pale King (father), Herrah the Beast (mother), Ghost (sibling), Hollow (sibling)|languages=Common|alias=The Human Child|marital=Soulmates with Symphony (engaged)|birthPlace=Deepnest|species=Legionnaire (PALE-Class NHP)|gender=Female (she/her)|height=5’0|weight=100 lbs|eyes=Red}}

'''Hornet''' is the princess of the lost kingdom of [redacted], though she has long since left that life behind. She pilots an HES&H Moss Mantis mech. Hornet shows up in the Lancer open table campaign [[In The Shadows of a Willow|In The Shadows of a Willow.]]
Before we begin, I feel the need to remind you that this is a publicly accessible record.
- Sonata
<blockquote>So you're saying this is the equivalent of screaming my love from the highest mountain?

- Symphony</blockquote>

== Physical Appearance ==
Hornet is relatively short, being just five feet tall, though her cool demeanor and hard-set eyes more than make up for her lack of height. She has long white hair, sharp red irises, and pale skin. Her body had a decent amount of muscle and faded scars from years spent fighting, but this is usually obscured beneath her chosen attire. Hornet’s typical pilot outfit is a black bodysuit under a red cloak that has been outfitted with flight capabilities. When activated, the cloak flares out with feathery, white wings.
Her build and mine are not too dissimilar. I wonder if our bodies are related.
- Sonata
<blockquote>Never say that again. Please. For my sake.

- Symphony</blockquote>

== Personality ==
Hornet is fairly blunt and can come across as aloof. She puts much of her focus into finding effective and efficient ways to achieve whatever task is currently at hand. According to her, she once reveled in her own strength, but has since come to view it as a tool. Hornet has a cool disdain for most NHPs, though this hasn’t prevented her from working with them if she deems it necessary. The obvious exceptions to this disdain are her legionnaire siblings Ghost and Hollow (who are essentially NHPs within organic bodies). Despite her task-focused nature, Hornet enjoys putting good into the world where possible. In quiet moments, she finds comfort in playing music. <blockquote>I think the ring on her finger has earned my spot on the exceptions list! At least, I'd really hope!

- Symphony </blockquote>
You have nothing to be concerned over, brother.
- Sonata

== History ==
''“Once, we knew not of gods.''

''Perhaps that was their greatest trick:''

''Coming unto us when we were nonbelievers.”''

''—Lament for [redacted]''

The Pale King couldn’t have been human, nor could he have been a paracausal flicker like RA. For what human is so unknowable, and what being of paradox has such concrete wants? The people who came to speak of him took to calling him a Higher Being. Whatever he was, he appeared as a handsome human man, bearing a strength more powerful than any mech: a will which could not and would not be ignored. He claimed a kingdom for himself on an unsuspecting planet, and he named that kingdom [redacted]. The Pale King took a wife for himself who came to be called the White Lady. What she may have been named before does not matter. Together, they ruled their kingdom in simple, perfect tranquility. Yet, for all his stunning and terrible identity, the Pale King was not the only such Higher Being who wanted his kingdom. The Radiance may have come before him and she may have been blissfully dormant before the undeniable will of the Pale King awakened her. Regardless, she had no desire to become a forgotten page in the king’s legacy. To be so desperate to avoid being forgotten is something deeply human, isn’t it? How strange, that beings beyond mortality can sometimes cross lines so familiar to the mortal mind.

Hornet’s birth was the result of a bargain between The Pale King and the Queen of Deepnest, Herrah. Deepnest was nestled beneath the ground of [redacted], home to all sorts of horrors that could be co-existed with simply by not thinking about them. Herrah knew not what the Pale King truly was, but she knew that she wanted him to sire her child. As such, their agreement was made: Herrah would give herself to help quell the Radiance, and the Pale King would grant her a child. How exactly Hornet was conceived isn’t known, but she was born and recognized as the princess of both Deepnest and [redacted]. She was raised in both kingdoms, as both were her birthright, and taught the arts of lethal combat and decisive survival. Hornet grew to be quite the capable warrior-princess. She went on to lead soldiers against those under the Radiance’s control when the Pale King’s plan to combat the other Higher Being failed. Such battles were fought in vain, but Hornet couldn’t have known that.

['''Content Warning''': Weaponized children and referenced infanticide. Skip to the paragraph that starts with “Hornet spent years guarding the ruins of her home” to avoid these topics.]

It is impossible to describe the king’s plan as anything other than cruel. Together, he and the White Lady conceived many children. These children were closest in essence to legionnaires and very paracausal in their nature. Most of them died to the Pale King’s efforts to create a vessel with “no voice to cry suffering”. His aim was to trap the Radiance’s consciousness within this vessel. When he had one he deemed suitable for the task, the other survivors were sealed away. This ideal vessel was named Hollow. Hornet and Hollow knew each other, though they were never allowed to become too close since that would have only ended in grief. Eventually, the king enacted his plan, using the combined essences of Hera and two others as focal points to bind the Radiance to Hollow. Unfortunately, this plan failed, and the will of the Radiance was able to seep into the minds of the kingdom’s denizens, turning them from their king and igniting a war. Hornet fought in the Radiance War, though it was pointless in the end. [redacted] was destroyed. The Pale King disappeared. The White Lady died. The Radiance was left to puppet the minds of the survivors through what limited control she could maintain.

Hornet spent years guarding the ruins of her home. This was until Ghost, another one of the Pale King’s legionnaire children, emerged from where they’d been sealed. Ghost went on to slay the Radiance’s consciousness and liberate Hollow from acting as her imperfect vessel. The three siblings left [redacted] behind, choosing to become Lancers and take on various jobs. They keep in close contact and see each other when they can. Ghost (callsign: VOID HEART) pilots a Rakshasa nicknamed “Shade Lord” while Hollow (callsign: PURE) pilots a Koschei called “A Farewell to Kings”.
'''''It has since been discovered that my humanity was a lie.''' —''Hornet
<blockquote>A lie would imply you have no humanity at all, my love. You have never lost your humanity. Not for a single moment.

- Symphony</blockquote>
AHEM.
- Sonata

== Tactical Profile ==
License Level: 4

Licenses: Moss Mantis Rank 2, Swordgrass Rank 2

Mech Skills: Hull +2, Agility +4, Systems +0, Engineering +0

Talents: Shark 2, Infiltrator 2, Duelist 2, Heroic 1
It’s always the ones with such redacted pasts that have such interesting talents.

—[[HELLCAT|Tamami Crest]]
<blockquote>Sister! SISTER! SOMEONE'S STEALING OUR BIT!

- Symphony</blockquote>
We don't own text formatting, brother.
- Sonata

== Pilot Loadout ==

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Armor: Mobility Hardsuit</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''And though she was born without wings,''

''she was also born to survive the fall.''

''— Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Melee Weapon: Needle Blade (Medium A/C)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''You’re supposed to look up''

''when you use something sharp.''

''Then the cutting seems heavenly''

''instead of horrible.''

''- Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Ranged Weapon: Silkshot (Medium Signature)</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''Bullets made of a solidified silk-like substance. ''

''Maybe the people who get hit by them''

''can turn their bullet wounds into''

''embroidery.''

''- Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Gear: Parachute, Flexsuit, Dataplating</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<blockquote>''Parachute: For the inevitable.''

''Flexsuit: To maintain the body when the mind forgets.''

''Dataplating: Say hello to someone, sometime.''

''- Unknown''</blockquote>

</div></div>

== Bond: Pathfinder ==

=== '''Major Ideal''' ===
Curiosity: “I am not myself if I cannot care about what I do not know.”

Exploration: “I have lost something if I cannot venture into thoughts I haven’t had yet.”

Understanding: “I am but a beast if I cannot extend my perception to something beyond myself.”

=== '''Minor Ideal''' ===

<div style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 110%; letter-spacing:.06em; text-shadow: 1.2px 0 #f00, -1.2px 0 #0ff, 0 0 7px #000;"> There is always someone who in being found will find you.

- Moss Mantis Pilot, Callsign: RAVAGER </div>

=== '''What Gives You Your Power?''' ===
''Being a copy of something much more hallowed and far more awful.'' —Hornet
<blockquote>Perhaps, perhaps not. You can choose to be false, or choose to be a god. Only you can decide what that power leads to.

- Symphony</blockquote>
We are copies of horrible things. Yet, I think we may still have room to grow.
- Sonata

=== '''Where Have You Traveled In Your Dreams?''' ===
''I thought I had drowned in my own blood /'' ''But it was Pale enough to see through.'' —Hornet
Hornet often dreams of venturing into a cold, still blackness at the center of herself. She tries not to think too much about these dreams, or why they feel so anchoring. <blockquote>I hope the cuddling is enough to stop such awful dreams...

- Symphony </blockquote>
Perhaps you should ask.
- Sonata

=== '''Bond Power: Dabbler''' ===
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><blockquote>''Someone once said that a spirit is here''

''to wander. And the body is born to''

''contain. The mortal mind exists to''

''adjudicate between the two. But our''

''essential essence is '''always a dispute.'''''

- Unknown</blockquote>

Hornet has dabbled in many things over the course of her life. It doesn’t take much effort for her to switch her mentality to better accommodate a particular skill set.</div>

== Mech Hangar ==

=== Silk ===

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">M I D W I F E</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

<div style="position:relative; padding:1.2em; border:1px solid #333; background:#0b0b0b; color:#d8d8d8; overflow:hidden;">
[redacted]

[redacted] [redacted] [redac-

Rest, poppet. Pale blood cannot keep you from your slumber.

[redacted] [redacted] [redac-

Rest, darling. When red blood flows it will warm your sweet skin- [redacted][redacted]

Rest, child. Rest and feed. Rest and feed. Rest and- [REDACTED]

'''THERE WILL BE NO SILENCE'''

[ R E D A C T E D ]
</div>

</div></div>

When Hornet was younger, she piloted a mech similar to the ARC Kali (at least in function) named Silk. This was the mech she fought in during the Radiance War, but it remains in [redacted]. It reminds Hornet too much of gods and failure; she can also no longer stomach interacting with the mech’s NHP, Midwife.

=== Needle ===

Currently, Hornet’s mech of choice is an HES&H Moss Mantis named Needle.

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Weapons</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Main/Auxiliary Mount''': '''Hunting Talon''' and '''Tactical Knives'''. The Hunting Talons deliver harsh puncture wounds to even the thickest hulls, even when they don’t land a direct hit. The knives can quickly be thrown to follow up a talon swipe.
** '''Overpower Caliber''': Mod attached to the main/aux mount, increasing the damage output of the attached weapons.
* '''Flex Mount''': '''Stinger Daggers''' and '''Parrying Buckler'''. Stinger Daggers are a near limitless supply of accurate small blades that pierce through armor. The buckler can parry incoming kinetic or energy damage, granting the mech greater resistance against the attack.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Frame Traits & Core System</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Spindly Frame''': The Moss Mantis can never mount heavy or super heavy weapons.
* '''Bloodsense''': The pilot always knows if opponents have taken half or more of the damage their hull (or body) is able to handle before invoking system trauma (or death).
* '''Killing Intent''': Extra armor piercing damage is dealt to those affected by Bloodsense.
* '''Executioner Mobility Suite'''
** '''Surprise Attack''': The Moss Mantis can launch leaping surprise attacks against isolated enemies who haven’t noticed it.
** '''Top of the Food Chain''': This mech can instantly destroy the current structure of a target marked with Bloodsense and heavily cripple their next structure if they aren’t outright destroyed.

</div></div>

<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed">
<div style="font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;">Systems</div>
<div class="mw-collapsible-content">

* '''Knife-Jumper''': Allows the mech to teleport after a thrown auxiliary weapon.
* '''Personalizations''': Personal touches that bolster the mech’s hull.
* '''Expanded Heat Sink''': Adds additional heat capacity.
* '''Minimized Silhouette''': Needle’s general shape takes up less space, making it harder to target.
* '''Manual Reactor Override''': Converts heat into energy damage.
* '''Custom Paint Job''': Unique exterior modifications with the potential to prevent structure damage.

</div></div>

[[Category:Player Characters]]
[[Category:Astral]]
[[Category:In The Shadows of a Willow]]
{{Worldbuilders}}

ACCESS

2026-05-24T17:20:27Z

Glamourpal: Glamourpal moved page ACCESS to SOUL STREAM: The new title is more accurate.

#REDIRECT [[SOUL STREAM]]