As the wise know, what is seen is only ever a fraction of what is truly happening, and what is expected is only ever a fraction of what is truly there. While the notables of Regalia had felt some pressure due to a mysterious, sudden uptick in Purist-ideology violence, the worst was perhaps yet to come. There had been waves that had come and gone, but this one was different. Reports of violence built from a trickle to a steady flood, far greater than any individual Metropolitan police organization, do-gooder Vigilante group, or even Knightly Order Garrison could outstrip. Cells of the Wardens of Purity, Agatheritters, and other long-forgotten anti-Occult terrorist organizations had re-activated one by one and dug up arms caches scattered around the City. For while they had been unable to act for some years, a series of events had played out in their favor: the arrival of the Lothar Order in the Capital, its subsequent alliance with the Red Hunter Archon and tacit ignorance of the Draconic-aligned as enemies for the time being, and the absence of the Emperor. The back-door arrival of one of Aloria's strongest Red Hunters had not helped the matter at all. With the successful conclusion of several bounties on prominent City figures, not just the Crookback residents and slum Afflicted considered historically acceptable to hunt upon, the war was well and truly on. Mostly at night, backstreet fights broke out between Mage gangs and anti-Occult militias, as several prominent figures began to find themselves on hit-lists for targeted assassination attempts, and the tension in the air grew so thick it could be cut with a knife. The focus of all this seemed to cluster around a quaint estate in the back areas of the Nobles' quarters, the Rosaria Estate, caught between the road and the river. Having advertised itself as a safe haven for Mages for some years, it now found itself having to make good on that promise, as parties of distraught Elves from the Floral Court trickled in and found shelter within its walls. As each day ticks by, the cordon grows tighter: and with neither side backing down, it will surely come to a fight ... Story Premise:Purist on Occult violence. In the absence of law, Purist forces feel that they have a chance to score a lasting victory of intimidation. Occult forces act in self-defense, but are divided, and many of them still hate each other. A series of events will slowly escalate to a pitched siege of the Rosaria Estate, providing bonuses or debuffs for when the reckoning arrives. Whichever side then wins the battle, wins the eventline. Story Meaning: This is the closing chapter of the long Purist vs. Mage showdown that has been going since a sheep farmer in von Drachenburg land decided to start killing Mages in 2020 from an Event DM perspective. Future content will begin to rely increasingly on other plot points until enough time has passed that this plot dynamic can be considered "fresh" again. Factions: Anti-Occult faction, led by the Red Hunters, Lothar Order, and Purist militias. Pro-Occult faction, led by the Rosaria Circle, Aelrrigan Order, and Floral Court. Characters can participate on either side due to opportunism or aligning ideology. These are just the sides on day 1, because this entire story is happening because the Floral Court population got chased into the Rosaria Circle by threat of violence against them. Schedule: Three weeks maximum, one week minimum, based on player interest. We will adjust pacing as needed. Content: Smaller and larger missions, pending DM availability. Up until Sunday of this week (July 23), content is considered "preliminary," with no huge DMed events or missions while we plan and prepare. Players are encouraged to RP out nervousness about how this is going to escalate, as things happen off camera, NPCs they know are attacked, or worse. Please feel free to make up whatever you want. How do I participate?: Please sign up on the Google Form linked here and correctly fill out all entries. This will mark you as valid to be invited to Events going forward. This is for player characters, not NPCs.
