Scions of the Divinity [IC] [Game]

[Mytical]

Lupo

Lupo has not learned yet how to back down from a challenge, and female or no, he treats all of his opponents the same..as something to take down. Immediately into his boxing stance, out of habit, he will wait till the creature closes to give her the old boxing stand by the ONE/TWO .. a quick jab followed by an uppercut. If that knocks her out he will head toward the other to help this guy, if not he will keep on his toes to keep her from pinning him like the other has pinned his guest.

Kiki

She stands up straight, gives a slight bow. "If my family has called, it is my duty to answer. I am not sure if I believe what you say, but my honor demands I at least give you a chance to convince me I am what you say."

[Chanlin]

Riley - Room 909 - Now a Zombie Grave

Riley stares bug eyed at the Draugr. "Holy shit..." she says clearly still in disbelief mode. Then she gathers herself, looks at them looks at Holtzman, then back at them. "That was fuckin' cool. Like straight out of Skyrim." She hops up pumping a fist, "If I get to see more of those, then hell yeah, count me in."

Liam - In get the hell of the streets mode

Liam shrugs his shoulders seeming to take everything in stride, "Oi've seen all sorts a weird shite while Oi was on t'e ERU. Guess t'is tain't much more o' a stretch now is it?"

[Jay 2K Winger]

Lupo - Room 630

The Bacchae that Lupo punches lets out a cry as she's pummeled, but she proves to be a lot more resilient than one might think. She stumbles and falls over, but she trips up Lupo as he tries to go assist Brighton. She almost flows back to her feet, and now he can see another inhuman trait to the attacker. She has rectangular pupils, like a goat's. She bares her teeth again in a gruesome smile, and she comes in with another few swings, but nothing an accomplished boxer can't handle. His retaliatory strikes, however, don't seem to be slowing her down any.

And then... Lupo hears a voice, and the events around him slow to a crawl. "Lupo, My son." The voice is deep, rough, a soldier's-- no, a general's voice, weathered and gruff. "You will smash Our foes like a hammer. Fight. Make Me proud." Lupo would feel... it was like his blood was on fire, as he felt something... unlock within him. He felt... stronger. More focused.

And then he felt a weight on his hands. A glance would reveal a shimmer of light, and he saw he had a shining metal cestus on each hand. He could feel that they would make his punches much more powerful.

Then events return to normal speed, the Bacchae not yet noticing that Lupo's got weapons, as Paul Brighton manages to loop a length of chain around the neck of the one grappling with him.

Kiki - Room 510

Anna and Art both nod, as she rises and nods to the door. "Let's walk. Give Art a chance to clean up a bit."

As they step into the hall, Kiki would feel her perceptions slow to a crawl, and a voice would intone in her head. A light, soft voice, feminine and somehow conveying the sense of colors. "Kiki, My daughter. You will tease out Our enemies' secrets. I am proud of you."

She would feel a gentle weight around her neck, where she would find a pendant hanging on a silvery chain. The pendant itself was crystal, prismatic, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow, and she would know it was capable of changing shape. Of elongating into a handy dagger, or flattening into a lens.

With this, she also feels a sensation of something... unlocking. Her blood feels briefly like it's on fire, but then this fades, and she feels a sort of rush.

Then the world returns to normal and Anna blinks, momentarily turning. "Ms. Toshioto?" she asks, apparently not seeing her. "Where'd you go?"

Riley - Room 909

"Yeah," Holtzman sighs. "Skyrim. Except draugr are real, out of real Norse legend." He looks around. "We should probably get some place more secure. What I have to tell you does not need to be heard by anyone else's ears. Let's get up to my room." He takes out his cell phone. "I'll make a call, get this cleared up."

He ushers Riley out to the elevator, while he makes the call. "Hey, it's me. Could-- wait, is that you, Hoffman?... no, I-- no, wait--please stop talking and let me say it. ...yes. Room 909, the Hilton in Branson. You can-- Solomon's in town? That's good news. Yeah, a couple of draugr, decapitated. Thanks, love ya."

They get off on the 7th floor, going to room 714. Holtzman locks the door behind him. "Okay, so... you know now that the myths are true. And you know that you're a part of all this." He explains how things are for the Aesir. They are battling the forces of the jotnar, the frost giants, plus the fire giants of Musphelheim, desperately trying to stave off Ragnarok, and recruiting their children in the World to help fight the War on Midgard.

As well, Himy Holtzman, who identifies himself as a son of Heimdall, tells Riley Thorsen who her father is. As she hears this, her perception slows, and she hears a voice. A very prideful voice, strong and clear. "Riley, My daughter. You have a role to play in preventing Ragnarok. I will tell you more in time."

Riley would feel a rush, a sensation like her blood were briefly made of fire, and then this fades, but leaves behind a sensation that she's become somehow... more. And in her hands, she finds she's holding a gleaming blade, a curved dagger with an engraving on the side like a lightning bolt.

Liam - Ripley's

Mac Dubh nods a bit, in respect, as Liam takes it in stride. "Not bad, then. Ye'll probably adapt well to t'e whole kit 'n caboodle then. Shouldna be long before yer Mam contacts ye--"

As if on cue, Liam's perceptions would slow to a crawl and a voice would speak to him. It conveyed eternity, maternal pride, and endless patience. "Liam, My son," it sas, "We need strong warriors in the battles to come. You shall lead Us to victory. Be strong and make Us proud." He would feel a burning rush go through him, as though his blood had caught fire, and then it passes, but leaves behind a sense of newfound power and resilience.

His perceptions would return to normal, and Liam would find himself holding a large iron blade, single-edged and inwardly curving, not unlike a kukri. The edge of the blade shimmered with otherworldly light. Mac blinks slightly. "Bloody 'ell, that was quick. Looks like She gave ye a falcata, too."

GM NOTES

Doo-doo-doo-DOO

Everyone is now a freshly Awakened Scion, with access to a divinely-crafted item. The item can be summoned out of the aether with a focus of will, and returned there by the same.

Lupo Virtus has been granted extra strength and stamina by Mars, as well as a pair of cesti. He has not yet been given his divine focus item to give him any new divine abilities.

Kiki Toshioto has been gifted with her focus item by Iris, a rainbow crystal pendant, capable of changing into a small dagger or into a type of lens, through which she can tease out secrets. With this item, her ability to 'blend in' has been enhanced into invisibility, which she can turn on and off at will. However, it cannot hide her from someone using their own divine abilities of perception.

Riley Thorsen has been gifted a dagger by her divine parent, while her odds-calculating ability has received an upgrade, enabling her to predict outcomes more quickly. She has not yet been given her divine focus item to give her any new divine abilities.

Liam O'Keefe has been granted extra strength and stamina by Danu, as well as a falcata (an ancient Celtic blade). He has not yet been given his divine focus item to give him other divine abilities.

[Mytical]

Lupo

Since the weapons are just extensions of his hands, Lupo doesn't change tactics. He knows how to fight, and no she demon will get the best of him. He automatically goes into the furious body blows that he has used to take down much bigger targets then this. He will deal with hearing voices after the fight, the fight was all that matters.

Kiki

Kiki..is not taking the voice quite so well. She was panicked, looking around trying to see WHO had just spoke to her. When asked where she went, she couldn't answer for a moment. Her mind was having a lot of trouble making sense of things. Finally she squeaked. "W..wh..what d-d-do you mean...I'm right...right here?!"

[Chanlin]

Riley - Room 714

Riley gives the dagger a few test thrusts and spins it around once in her hand marveling at its craftsmanship. "Ok... so that was weird." She subconsciously causes the dagger to wink out of existence startling her at first.

"Holy..." she exclaims. Then the dagger winks back into existence. "Ok... now that is cool." She winks it out and back a few more times. "I could get used to this." After making the dagger blink back and forth a few more times she catches the eye of Holtzman who seems to be wearing a look that says Really...

She shrugs, "What, you gave a video game and anime geek access to hammerspace..." She sighs, "Alright, so what now?"

Liam - That Museum

Liam's eyes go wide. Still holding the Falcata his jaw drops, "Was t'at... I mean... t'e... " He stammares, "Me mam is t'e feckin Danann!" He finally manages to choke out.

Doo-doo-doo-DOO

(OOC: You have acquired the falcata, to use the falcata equip it to a C button and then press that C button )

[Jay 2K Winger]

Lupo - Room 630

The Bacchae was able to withstand strikes from a mortal, but now she's taking strikes from a Scion, one just coming into his power, which is being enhanced by divine cesti. The wind is driven from her lithe body, and after a flurry of strikes and a final uppercut to her jaw, the Bacchae is knocked out cold, and missing a few sharpened teeth.

Meanwhile, Paul Brighton has managed to loop a length of his chain around the last Bacchae's throat, tightening it and then letting the divine sunfire surge through the links. The Bacchae gives a choked wail before being reduced to ash. Coughing and rubbing his throat where the she-creature had been choking him, Brighton looks to Lupo and blinks. "Looks like your Father spoke to you," he says, nodding to the cesti. "You'll probably hear from him again soon, when he'll give you something like this." He holds up a hand, where Lupo will now notice the gold ring on his middle finger, embossed with a sun symbol. "A focus item. Weapons are one thing, but a focus item like this lets you channel more of your new abilities."

Kiki - Outside Room 510

At Kiki's outburst, Anna's eyes suddenly snapped to look... well, not quite at her, but in her general direction. The other Scion's eyes narrow slightly, and then there's a shimmer of silvery light to her eyes, and then they track straight at her. "Oh," she says. "There you are. Okay, calm down, hon, and ... well, try letting yourself be seen."

A slight tuning of her willpower will enable Kiki to be seen, and once she does so, Anna nods. "Okay, I'll explain. Let me guess: you just heard a voice in your head? Don't panic, that was your Mother, Iris. And that," here she points at the pendant, "is what we call a focus item. We're only part-divine, us Scions, so not all of our special abilities work properly unless we have one. Unless I miss my guess, that pendant of yours lets you turn yourself invisible."

Riley - Room 714

Holtzman shrugs. "A lot of us have the same kind of reaction, at first," he says with a rueful smile. "But it only works on items of a divine or supernatural nature, and only if they've been attuned to you." He spreads his hands. "So hiding your wallet there to keep it safe from thieves wouldn't work."

Then he smiles a bit. "Well, you heard from your Father, I trust. Now you're almost a full-fledged Scion. Once you get a focus item from your Father-- which probably won't be too long-- you'll be able to tap into more of the abilities you've inherited from Him."

He checks his phone. "For now, though, you go ahead and prep for the poker tournament, but ... well, keep your eyes open. The Titans have agents in play somewhere in the area, judging from what I heard from our resident intel-broker. The draugr are a definite clue. I'll do some sniffing around, myself. But for now, don't let on that you're any different. You're freshly Awakened, so you won't trip their radar unless you overtly display any sign of it."

Liam - That Museum

Mac Dubh smiles a bit at Liam's initial reaction to suddenly receiving a weapon and hearing a voice in his head. "Aye, that's about normal fer the newbies," he agrees. When Liam stammers out who his Mother is, however, even Mac looks surprised. "Yer feckin' WHAT?" He looks taken aback, and then taps his forehead with a knuckle and gives a slight bow. "Honored ta meet ye, then, O'Keefe. Yer Mam doesna have many children, and them as She does, they usually have great destinies."

He strokes his beard a bit. "Right, then. She hasn't given ye yer focus item yet-- it's like a wee geegaw or something, lets ye use yer 'superpowers' better. Won't be long till She does, I think. Meantime, I'll keep me eyes peeled ta find out where the Fomori are hidin'. You, you keep yer eyes open around the hotel. I think whatever's gonna happen, 's gonna happen there. Just... ye'll feel when something's wrong. Trust me."

[Mytical]

Lupo

Not wanting the third to get up, Lupo just calmly walks over and snaps her neck. He has never been the chivalrous type, and an enemy is an enemy. He looks at the other guy. "Well...somebody talked to me..and called me son. I have no idea who, or how, or anything like that. All I do know is I like a good fight. So they want a fight, lets give them a fight."

Kiki

Kiki swallows, but it is clear these people are telling the truth. Which means she was honor bound to help in any way she could. "Ok..I believe..how may I help my family?"

[Chanlin]

Liam - Headed to the Hotel

Liam nods to Mac Dubh and starts to head out. He stops short realizing the falcata is still in his hand. "Um... Oi can't go out wit' t'is. Why exactly didn' mam see fit to have it come wit' a scabbard?" Just as he finishes asking and turns his thoughts to hiding the weapon, it vanishes.

He stares at his now empty hand a moment, "Oh. Well t'en I suppose Oi'll see ye when t'e time comes." He inclines his head once more and heads out in the direction of the hotel.

Riley - Room 714

Riley nods, "Right... poker tournament. I wonder If I'll get to play against that Cajun fellow again. He was good." She looks at Holtzman as a thought occurs to her, "Hey should I be going back to my old room? Or is it like... compromised now?"

[Jay 2K Winger]

Lupo - Room 630

Brighton nods. "Spoken like a son of the war god," he declares. "You didn't get too battle-crazy there, so you're probably the son of His Mars aspect. That's a relief, at least." He nods at the cesti. "Those you can sort of will in and out of existence-- I'm simplifying for now." He flicks his wrist, and the golden chain wraps around the corpse of the remaining Bacchae, which is likewise engulfed in sunfire and reduced to ash. "If I were you, I'd ... I dunno, go relax down in the lounge or something. If there are any more Bacchae or their allies down there, they won't start anything in public. Meantime, I'll call up our 'cleaner' to secure the room, clean up the ash."

He thinks for a moment, then gestures. "Where's your cell phone? I'll send a text out to our IT specialist, and she'll put you in the loop."

Kiki - Outside Room 510

Anna smiles a bit tightly. "I'm glad to hear that." She thinks a moment. "Tough to say what you'll be doing. For Art and me, well, we're the children of the Goddess of the Hunt. We get a call some monsters are stirring up trouble, we go and ... take care of it. But Iris? Iris is the Rainbow Goddess. Granted, that means she sort of oversees the boundaries between the mortal realm and the divine realm, but..."

The huntress frowns. "That pendant... your Mother wouldn't have given you a tool good for only one thing... try to feel something about it, can it do anything else?"

Liam - Leaving the Ripley's Museum

Mac Dubh nods. "Word of warning before ye leave, boyo. If'n ye see MacBride, don't try to take him on by yerself. He's one of us, but he's gone rogue. There's reasons why none of the attempts ta take him down have worked." He takes out his cell. "I'll send word ta our operator that yer on board. If she sees anything, she'll call ye. Code-phrase is 'Emerald Eire.'"

Riley - Room 714

Holtzman frowns. "Yes, your room is compromised for the moment. Solomon will clean up the mess, and send your bags down to the desk. Our operator should get you set up in a new room quickly enough." At the mention of the Cajun, he tilts his head. "Carrefour? I think it's likely you will. He's been invited to take part in the tournament as well."

He taps in a text on his cell phone. "Our operator should put you in the loop soon. She'll contact you if anything specific to you comes up. She'll use the code-phrase 'Nine Realms.'"

[Mytical]

Lupo

Lupo shrugs. "I can relax when I am dead. I will go to the training room, there will be people there. For some reason I have much more energy then most. Maybe from Mars." He will go to the training room and train.

Kiki

Kiki tries what is suggested, trying to feel what the necklace might be able to do.

[Chanlin]

Riley - Waiting around the Lobby

Riley shakes her head as she leaves Holtzman's room. "Code phrase..." she chuckles. While she's waiting for her new room she heads down to the lobby and flops down on a couch in front of the lobby TV.

Liam - On the way to the Hotel

Liam nods and leaves without a word. Code phrases and the like are old hat for him so he doesn't even bat an eye at the idea. He decides to walk to the hotel to let things sink in.

[Jay 2K Winger]

Lupo - Hilton Hotel Gym

Usually these sorts of places have a few workout "bums" around, either of the sort who can't pass a gym without doing a few reps, or the kind who go there in the hopes of showing off what they got in a vain effort to boost their ego by comparing their "cuts" to someone else. Lupo's familiar with the type, of course, being something of the first type.

But the gym, instead, has only one guy working out, by the gym mats laid out for those types that like to do grappling, working out against a heavy bag. He's a pretty big guy, too, with his back to Lupo. He's wearing black workout pants and a sleeveless UnderArmor-style top his fists and wrists taped up. He's a bit tanned, clearly someone who takes pains with his appearance. A more careful look will note a few faded scars on his arms. Along with these were some extensive tattoos, some of which looked military, a look which was only emphasized by the man's shaved head.

The gym is ... rather more expansive than Lupo might have expected for a hotel, even a Hilton. It has a machine for every muscle group, free weights, treadmills, ellipticals, and at least one of every kind of workout machine Lupo might have expected to find.

It's not until after Lupo's been working out for a bit that the other man finally speaks up. "Lupo Virtus," the man states. "I was wondering when you'd drop by."

The man turns around, revealing a face that... well, the man's easily a couple decades Lupo's senior, but he's aged pretty well. Even so, his face bears a efw of those faded scars as well, and his eyes tell the story. They've got that infamous 'thousand yard stare' to them, and look as old as the world. He looks familiar, too...

And that's when Lupo would recognize the voice. The same voice he heard upstairs when he was fighting that Bacchae. At that moment, just who was addressing Lupo would become clear: his Father, Mars, the God of War.

Kiki - Outside Room 510

As Kiki focuses on the crystal pendant, it suddenly shifts shape in her hand, sliding to nestle into her palm, cylindrical and slightly grooved as if made for her fingers to grip, while one end elongated and gained a sharp point and an edge. Anna whistles. "A nice little stiletto... very handy. But not a warrior or hunter's weapon. Your Mother must intend for you to be a spy."

As if to emphasize this, the crystal shifts shape again, flowing back into its original shape, before it flattens out, becoming thin and translucent, and shaped not unlike a lens. If Kiki were to hold it up to her eye, she'd see the world framed in prismatic hues, but Anna would glimmer with the same silvery light as she'd seen around her bow. A glance around would show faint trails where Anna had been walking or standing, and there were other colors faintly in the air.

And Kiki then knew, thanks to some divine connection she had with the crystalline lens, that those trails meant there were other Scions and also 'monsters' in the building.

Riley - Hilton Hotel Lobby

The lobby TV was set to the History Channel, of all things, where they happened to be taking a divergence from their usual WWII-heavy focus to talk about the French Revolution, highlighting the bloody upheavals that France went through during those troubled times.

But whatever Riley was up to, another voice interrupts. It's another person watching the news. An older gentleman, red-blond hair and a mustache, looking like your average middle management type. "Tragic business, isn't it?" the man asks conversationally. "Though it makes for at least vaguely interesting reading, doesn't it?"

He chuckles. "It's always fun to see how the littlest of things can trigger a monumental upheaval in everything. That incident there, for example," he said, pointing to the screen, where one riot was being detailed, "was because the price of bread got too high. And from there, things escalated, until you had people like Robespierre cutting off heads left and right. You read much history, Riley Thorsen?"

The voice was still conversational, a bit instructional, and then Riley might recognize it. As she turns to look at him, she'd see that the man was looking right at her, smiling like the cat that got the cream. And she knew then, who she was looking at: her Father.

Liam - En Route to the Hilton

Although Liam know he's taking the same route he'd taken to get to Ripley's, the way back seems... different. Maybe part of it is just him seeing things with new eyes now, but he could have sworn that it was still relatively urban the way he'd gone. So why is this route going through a park?

Liam would feel a definite sense that something was amiss, but ... there is no sense of danger. "Be at peace, no harm shall come to you for the moment."

The voice is instantly recognizable. The same voice he heard in his head not too long ago. It has a musical cadence to it, tinged with a Celtic lilt and accent, and a woman, clad in simple, loose, though hardly diaphanous, robes stepped barefoot out from behind a tree.

"Liam O'Keefe, I am glad you have embraced your destiny," says Danu, mother of the Tuatha de Denann.

GM NOTES

Obviously, the gods you're meeting don't look like their traditional depictions. Some creative license, and... well, when the gods come into the mortal realm, they take on mortal shapes, and can generally appear how they like, with some limitations.

Both Mars and Danu have somewhat intercepted Lupo and Liam, and taken them to a place that's sort of Somewhere Else. They haven't exactly left the mortal realm, but if someone were to go to the location where they should be based on GPS or something like that, they wouldn't be there. Chalk it up to the gods doing what they like because they're gods.

[Mytical]

Lupo

Lupo looks at the man, who's stance definitely speaks of a seasoned warrior, and immediately thinks "What it would be to go a few rounds in the ring with him, what I could learn" eve if instinctively Lupo knew he would last maybe a split second .. IF this man was feeling generous. He would still do it, he would never back down from a challenge, he doesn't know HOW to back down..but he also knew he'd have as much chance as a newborn infant against Ali when Ali was in his prime.

"You are the one who spoke to me, in my head, a bit ago. It is interesting to finally meet you."

Kiki

Kiki still is taking everything in..she doesn't quite have the mentality of Lupo who has learned to 'roll with the punches' (pardon the pun). She thinks awhile before saying. "This...item..it lets me see things. I don't think we are the only ones around here. According to this..more things like those you destroyed.and more like us are around."

[Chanlin]

Riley - In the Lobby

Riley glances over at the man speaking to her... "I thought you'd be... I dunno... taller maybe." She gives him a silly grin. "So um... now I know who you are. Who was mom?"

Liam - Frolicking in the Park

Liam regards the woman before him for a moment. "Ye will forgive me if Oi don't call ye mom Oi hope." His face remains neutral, "Oi just don't t'ink of ye t'at way yet."

[Jay 2K Winger]

GM NOTE -- Gonna take away the boldface for the Gods' speech now. Just for ease of reading.

Lupo - Mars' Gym

Mars looks back at Lupo levelly. Lupo is used to opponents sizing him up, but this is on a whole different level. Mars' stare gives the impression that he's reading every move Lupo could make and preparing a counter to every single one. "The Greeks called me Ares, the Romans called me Mars. You can call me by whichever you want." Then he pops his neck and gestures to the mats. "If you want to be a warrior, then show me what you got."

He smiles a thin, cold smile. "You won't win," that much even Lupo knew, "but a Father should always help his children aspire to be better." Mars moves over to the mats and slides into an easy fighting stance. "All right, come on." He smirks. "If you manage a knockdown or takedown, I'll give you this."

With a flick of his wrist, he displays a gold chain, one that is worn around the neck. Lupo can feel the power in it, and Brighton's words about a 'focus item' may come back to him. This must be the one that Mars intends for him to possess... if he can impress his Father...

Kiki - Outside Room 510

Anna nods as Kiki says this. "We knew there were going to be more of us around, and more of them, too. The Fate-watchers say something is going to happen around here, so they called in a bunch of us. I think I saw Paul Brighton, one of our recruiters, in the lobby. So it makes sense there'd be more than just us three."

She leans against the wall. "The monsters we fight are called Titanspawn. They're creations of the Titans, the mythical beings that the gods overthrew in antiquity. Way I understand it, the Titans got imprisoned in the Underworld, but they broke out some time ago, and have been trying to amass enough power to ... well, it varies from Titan to Titan. Some of them want to destroy the world, some of them want to conquer it, or reshape it as they see fit..." She waves this off. "Some of the spawn are typically monsters like those harpies, and they're mostly used as shock troops, but some of them can disguise themselves well enough to look human. They're more dangerous."

She takes a deep breath and lets it out. "And some mortals will make deals with the Titans and their spawn. Me, I'd hunt them same as any monster, but Mother forbids it. There are others who work to take down those kinds."

"There are Scions that betray the Gods to join the Titans as well." This comes from Art Mooney, who steps out of the room. To Anna, he says, "I dumped the bodies outside for our cleaners. But the room's compromised. Hoffman's working on getting that smoothed over." Back to Kiki, he sighs. "There are a few Scions out there who, for various reasons, join up with the Titans. Sometimes they get brainwashed, sometimes they are deceived, some of them hate the Gods, and then you get some who just want to watch the world burn."

Something about the way he says that makes Anna start. She blanches as she turns to Art. "You're talking about MacBride." Kiki, as a private investigator, would probably see the signs. Whoever this MacBride is, Anna Green is utterly terrified of him.

Riley - In the Lobby

Her Father shrugs mildly as he folds his hands behind his head, smirking. "You should know better than that, Riley. Me and my sort can generally take on whatever forms we require when we're in Midgard." He shrugs again. "I think her name was 'Some Lady.' Sorry, but I'm usually too busy to pay attention to details like that." He frowns slightly. "...now you have me feeling guilty about it. Stop that."

He smiles again and gestures about the lobby. "But you're keen enough you can probably see what I mean about little actions causing big consequences. Take the old adage about the want of a nail: 'For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost. For want of a rider, the message was lost. For want of a message, the battle was lost. For want of a message, the kingdom was lost.'"

He points at her. "You're the odds-maker. You can see the odds of things happening. Well, with the right action, you can shift those odds from infinitesimal to inevitable." He grins. "It's great fun."

Liam - Danu's Glade

Danu nods. "Understandable," she says. "You were left with a brute of a man, someone ill-suited for fatherhood. But sometimes, for someone to grow strong, one must endure." She smiles softly. "And you have always endured, as have I and the emerald lands that I and Mine protect."

She moves slowly through the grasses and trees, a few buds flowering in her wake. "In these modern times, however, Me and Mine must look further afield to protect Our own. And, in some cases, police Our own." It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to deduce that she's talking about MacBride. Mac Dubh had said that MacBride was 'one of them.'