The expulsion of ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRES from London was a complete success. Forced spreading of the TREATMENT through bites allowed the transient population to spread the effects further and further North. The fighting was careful, lasting over the course of two weeks and moving systematically from the South, across the Thames, and out into the unknown wilds of the North. The movement was steady, and fighters rotated consistently to avoid bargaining and injury, resulting in low casualties and zero non-hostile fatalities. 

The safety did not last long. Thirteen days after the ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRES were expelled and militias returned home to various FACTION-aligned territories, and the bodies raised by the ADMINISTRATORS returned to their resting place, a great quake shook London. 

The ground split open. Fog began to billow from the myriad cracks along the city, all on major roads and walkways. The holes ran too deep and too dark, but it is not the depth that is a threat, but the fog itself. It silvers in the moonlight, and causes disappearances. There are survivors who have passed through, but most vanish. Those that do return report a moonless sky filled with burning comets, great forests, and the death of rationality and good sense. 

Across the city, ANOMALIES have increased in subjective intensity. To bring to note; the gaze of the Eye seems to drive people mad, causing them to cower and shelter from it; scouts and pathfinders attempting to remap London without the vampires find themselves lost as they can only turn right in Chiswick and the marks left bleed; the Thames Barrier transfixes all who look at it, and leads to temporary partial blindness; and most troubling, all major population centres appear to suffer some bespoke horror.

Concurrent with these events, leyline magic appears unstable, as if ‘wobbling’. Research has revealed that the leylines themselves are vibrating much like a plucked string, leading to the event being dubbed ‘the shift’, ‘the shake’, ‘the strum’, and ‘the wiggle’. 

The ADMINISTRATORS have reason to believe that not only will these events not stop, but they will grow in intensity until the movement of the leylines is under control.

The telecommunications network seems to have become something new and strange. Starting in SURVIVALIST territory but rapidly spreading, the phenomenon swiftly encompasses the entirety of London, although the TRADITIONALISTS have some built-in countermeasures to keep it better under control.
It’s not that the network isn’t working. Calls get through. But they aren’t the only things coming through. Snatches of conversation are heard, things said in the past, things that might be being said somewhere or might conceivably happen in the future. The telecoms network is somehow broadcasting things that didn’t happen, but could have.
The phenomenon shows no sign of abating.

It is widely known and accepted that the areas around London are largely uninhabitable for two major reasons. The first is the arcano-radiation left over from the Collapse that poisons much of the ground and makes a good deal of the air unbreathable. The second reason is the monsters; creatures either created with or mutated by magic. They are innumerable and have an utterly incalculable level of diversity that has made the basic initial attempts at cataloguing completely impossible.
While being completely antithetical to life, the ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRES acted as natural predators keeping the vast majority of monsters out of London’s borders. This has now changed. With the mass movement of the Artificial Vampires into the current habitat of many of these monsters, the response has been varied. At the beginning, many ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRES were slaughtered but as the months wore on and the treatment wore off, their ferocity returned and they fought back fiercely. Many monsters have been sighted nearing London’s borders, perhaps eager to flee to the one place that is sure to not have the Artificial Vampires that cause them so much trouble.
Survivalist scouts have identified huge swarms of many legged locusts the size of cars heading toward the city. They seemed to herald what appears to be a gargantuan beast of stone or rock sporting strange pustules across its skin that spew acid. Small flying bundles of lightning and exposed nerves have been spotted above Heathrow along with larger four winged birds with beaks that split into fanged maws. The river has seen an influx of strange glowing creatures that have turned the water a bright green and had numerous clashes with the Pilgrims’ River Serpents. To the south, some Evolver outposts have noted growing numbers of fleshy red trees beginning to appear in random places, they leak a burning viscous fluid when touched and at night seem to move closer.
This is only the beginning.
If something is not done soon, London risks being overrun by these creatures which could pose an even greater threat than the Artificial Vampires if allowed to get out of control.
There are a number of feasible solutions but most will not work without dedication to it. Too many different approaches will cancel them out.

After the collapse of the Leyline Nexus, great cracks in the earth opened up, and spewed vast clouds of acrid fumes from the depths. Rolling banks of corrosive smog swept across London, wreaking destruction. Repairing the damage done was difficult and extremely costly. 

London is alone. The world is silent. There is barest of barest trickles of information from the occasional refugees that survive the journey but that is only of the south of Britain. Outside of the scant, cryptic truths of divination, the rest of the world is a complete mystery.
It may be possible to change this.
Piercing the communications black out upon London is a process that will take far longer than a single Summit of communications. First, it must be learned whether there is no word because there are no messages being sent or there is something preventing them from reaching London. It has long been theorised that perhaps the radiation above London is preventing radio signals from passing through. There are two main ways of testing this.

NO PROJECTS FUNDED

Not everything has snapped properly back into place. The central Campus District is off, askew, shifted one step to the left and two inside itself. In a word, it’s uncomfortable. In fact, it is impossible; a space in which it feels as if geometry and sense break down, where there are five right angles to a full turn, streaks of light in the eyes even when it’s dark. Only it’s not – measurements have been taken. Everything is exactly as it was.

Everyone, from pupils to peers, has begun to act worried. It always happens after someone moves though the central district, but then it follows them. The first sign is an inability to sleep. No matter where, or how, or how much padding they have, they feel as if they’re being prodded awake. Different people report different experiences, whether it is mental or physical, but the outcome is the same. Once the tiredness hits, they can never be comfortable. Their clothes fit wrong, their bodies are wrong. They are misshapen.

People have taken to corrections, as they’re known, reworking their dorms, their clothes, their bodies. None of it works, but the more extreme surgical cases have led to visits to the infirmary, and a small handful of deaths. Most refuse medical aid, and need to be taken under sedation. Without immediate intervention, this threatens to tear the ERUDITES down from the inside.

To make matters worse, the cult that formed around Ramiel appears to be immune to the effects. Even those members kept in detention in the central district have had no trouble sleeping, claiming the light keeps them pure.

Last year, a cult took hold of Ramiel of the Spires, a teacher in the College of Floralists, to his apparent confusion, and escaped ERUDITE territory with him, and several banned or restricted texts. Though the staff and students were recovered, the texts were not, and the origin of the cult remains unclear, only that its followers begin to deteriorate when separate from Ramiel’s “light”, and that even after they have been quarantined, the cult is spreading.

Current intelligence suggests that other members of Ramiel’s class, less infected but still afflicted in some capacity, found these texts by some means and began following the ‘teachings’ of the cult in private. 

Claiming to offer knowledge of one’s actual position in things, the cult has dramatically grown in size during the dysmorphia outbreak (see Situation Report I), and now pose a blatant threat to the Peer Council’s authority. Somehow, this infection inoculates them from the widespread outbreak, and though the Erudites are perfectly protected from the enemy without, this sun-cult poses itself as a potential enemy from within.

In the tunnels beneath London, the rat-creatures dubbed ‘Wombles’ continue to flourish. They are a species of large, highly social tunnel-dwellers with some instinctive ability to perform leyline magic. They seem to be right on the verge of sapience, but haven’t quite reached it. They have tool use, complex social structures and simple magic, but not yet language or abstract thought. 

Recent contact with people was initially fruitful, before the creatures were spooked by one of their dead being taken for investigation. Performing an act of leyline magic, they hid their underground nests and retreated from people for the time being. 

Though initially encountered in ERUDITE territory, scouts suggest that they aren’t limited by the borders observed by factions of people. The furtive rodents have been sighted increasingly far afield, although always underground. 

It becomes increasingly apparent that they’re able to communicate with one another across great distances. In many ways, all their nests across the underground represent a single connected group; where the attitudes of one nest change, so too do all the others. This means that it seems any overtures towards an encountered Womble will be recognised by the whole species.

Left to their own devices, the Wombles will continue to breed – as some point out “like Rats” – and to spread across London’s underworld, probably avoiding people where possible until something prompts a change in attitude from them.

The question facing delegates, then, is how to approach them.

With more pressing matters resolved, the Mentors’ Council is now able to turn their attention to what matters most to the ERUDITES: Research. It is possible to funnel resources and personnel into the creation of a new Advanced Research Initiative. This initiative will focus on completing research projects and requests that have been put forward over the years by Peers and Mentors but have been of too low priority to follow up. Only one of the following research projects can be properly funded due to the amount of investment that it will take from the Mentors’ Council. While more may potentially be funded in future, this first project will send a powerful message as to the priorities of the ERUDITE delegates. Some projects will require assistance from other factions and, if chosen, may signal which relationships the Erudites value, if any.  Please also be aware that while these projects will research methods, not all will be able to implement their results without further projects.

The following research proposals are available.

 Note that these are abridged versions of each proposal, for full proposals please speak to the Mentors’ Council

Motion: Small scale production of more permanent treatment for AVs –– Look into synthesis of the chemical compounds of the AV treatment or alternate ingredients, using Jay as a test subject
Curing the Artificial Vampires will be a difficult and costly measure though this changes dramatically depending on what is meant by curing.

Mutations are common in EVOLVER territory. In fact, they are praised. The amount being performed at the moment, however, is all but impossible to keep up with. Discussions at the conferences have begun to revolve around an idea of insufficiency. Survivors have been purposefully wandering without protective clothing into areas of highly concentrated radioarcanum, and waiting until they feel something shift under their skin. Interestingly, the affected seem mostly to grow rapidly in size, and with it, hunger. Strange new cravings arise, most often for raw, bloody flesh. The medical consequences have been difficult to keep note of, as some of the afflicted cannot fit through the doors of Queen Mary’s Hospital, and associated territories do their best to contain their own, albeit similar, oddities. In all of them, growth seems to be the common trend.

In farming outposts, plants have ruptured from the ground, and have started to rush towards the skies with what can only be described as purpose; a veritable will of their own. Great rumbles stamp across the unclaimed lands between towns. Every EVOLVER knows that there is something greater than them, something that sees kin and kith as little more than pests, at best as cattle.  Two splintering movements have formed, one to placate whatever lies above, another to climb higher and higher, and cast a skybound throne to the ground. Both need to change, to evolve, to grow, and will go to any lengths to ‘better’ themselves, even if it means abandoning their health, their bodies, even their minds.

The Evolver territories are close to going dark. Communication between outposts is done almost entirely through couriers as using the radios for anything outside of emergencies is unthinkable. Most facilities burn candles and braziers for light and warmth these days; it is a relief that the cold months are coming to an end.

Some generators, cobbled together to run on the bio-fuel, manage to keep the most basic of facilities running but the vast majority of the Evolver buildings are cold and dark. Many of the machines that were working for a time have broken, unable to adapt properly. Even if a new fuel source is now found most of the old generators are too far gone to be able to use it.

There are many arguments and great amounts of unrest among the populace . Something needs to be done before the Evolvers are brought either to their knees or the stone age.

Following the removal of ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRES from London, various surviving communities south of the city have decided to attempt to begin new lives in the relative safety London now offers.

First encountering the Evolvers, many desired to move on however this was hampered by the arrival of unidentified creatures. Transit slowed to a halt.

Among the refugees are some communities who operate outside of EVOLVER cultural standards. Most notably of these are the people of Redsky Grove, a small village of no more than 700, though other refugees have banded together with them. The Grove operates as a small, collective society. Though they accept the new world, they rely on old world traditions as well as Domus-derived methods to survive the low-technology and poor-yield crop typical of the post-war world.

Some currents in the fellowship would have the villagers adapt and abandon their collective ways. Others would see the creation of an enclave quarter they could stay, or a colony managed by the EVOLVERS. Others still would have the removed, exiled, or forcibly adapted so they do not threaten the EVOLVER way of life or teach the young to fear and reject biological adaptation. A small voice wishes to experiment, to find out how they have survived.

At a deadlock, the Fellowship requests the SUMMIT facilitate the debate and fund a project of the delegates’ choosing. If nothing is done, it is assumed that the refugees will disperse amid Evolver territory. Some will conform naturally, others may cause violence and political disorder whether it is from their rejection of Evolvers or Evolvers’ rejections of them. It will be highly varied, difficult to measure, and difficult to control.

There are some who believe the snapping back of the leylines is not merely a natural phenomena, but a message. A message that magic is angry at its warping by mortal minds, that the hand that guides does not take well to being guided. First spread in rumours, but quickly spiralling out of control, calls for martyrdom have become louder and louder across all PILGRIM territory.

The movement has a  leader, that much is certain, but locating them is a difficult, even impossible task. No mundane or magical methods of detection have led to a culprit, even with physical evidence left behind. A message, and a severed hand. The message reads “If a rose fells a lion, it must be plucked”. The hand has an iron nail driven through the palm. With no doctrine, there’s no clear heretical movement, not even an emerging heterodoxy. What it is causing is disruption. Work stations are being abandoned, rituals neglected, with the only message left being rose petals, or bramble thorns, or a scrap of paper bearing the image of a rose, or a hand and nail. Clerics have attempted to stifle the flow of information, but the effort has proven futile, and as it spreads, more and more work is abandoned. Soon, the PILGRIMS will not be able to support themselves. 

The Council of Authority has arrested those who have abandoned critical posts, and, unable to understand them, sent them to the Council of Faith for questioning. Without fail, and without communication, they give the same information in the same dreamlike state. An abridged and paraphrased version follows:

“This is not Trust, but Taking. Our rituals and machines drive the point deeper. The Hand screams. We must remove ourselves from it.”

Uncertain as to how to proceed, the Councils have requested the SUMMIT intervene.

The Pilgrims have a broadly syncretic and pluralistic religious structure, with most of Earth’s faiths being present among their number to some degree. Matters of theology – where they don’t involve the presence of magic – are left to individual faiths to determine for themselves.

For the most part, this has allowed many religious groups to coexist alongside each other, united by a shared  belief in the Pilgrims’ understanding of magic but able to practice different faiths more or less autonomously.

The problem with this, of course, is that while the pilgrims are fairly pluralistic, they still hold a more unified doctrine with regards to the presence of magic, and how to interpret magic from a religious perspective. Disagreements along this doctrine, then, are far harder to set aside as they aren’t about Earth’s pre-existing faiths and instead crack the very foundation the Pilgrim project was built on.

Such a divide has been emerging among the Pilgrims for some years now, but has recently come to a head. The debate is over the meaning of the leylines and how the faithful should interact with leyline magic. Two schools of thought have emerged, and both have gathered vehement support among different sections of Pilgrim society; the debate between them divides faiths and churches as the old religions are split by this out-of-context problem.

One side of the debate calls itself the Ministrative Movement. They hold that the leylines are alive and aware, capable of feeling pain, and capable of being harmed. They argue that the use of leyline magic to harvest this source of power is inherently exploitative, attempting to subjugate this living force of magic to mortal wills, which flies in the face of basic Pilgrim principles.

The other side calls itself the Brookes Integration Principle, after the writings of the theologian Eliza Brookes. Brookes’s writing argues that it is right and proper for Pilgrims to live lives that fully incorporate magic, and that the force of magic actively offers its aid. As such, Brookes argues that Pilgrim settlements should be built around the structures of leylines, to allow the effects of leyline magic to have their greatest effect. Further, she argues that declining to utilise leylines is actively rejecting the power and intent of the world’s living magic, which flies in the face of basic Pilgrim principles.

Clearly, these two schools of thought cannot coexist. If an official position is not arrived at, the religious argument is likely to spill over into active conflict, potentially even resulting in the Pilgrims splitting.

St Pancras’s C h u r c h remains.

Beneath it, some unseen spiritual force lurks, unseen and quiescent, waiting for new mortal minds to wander into its grasp, to be added to its hypnotised congregation. 

To contain the threat, the entrances have been bricked up. A tall wall built around the c h u r c h manned by armed guards to prevent anybody going in or coming out. Those who had been exposed to the c h u r c h thoroughly debriefed, given therapy and then – as they’re re-introduced to society – carefully prevented from further exposure to the spiritual Thing waiting in the dark earth beneath the c h u r c h. 

But perhaps its influence doesn’t end at the wall of bricks meant to contain it. Graffiti proliferates across London in the form of the upturned crescent or the man hung from nails in his ankles. Crows flock in high places about the church, their dark eyes gazing at the place, and then disperse into the wider city.

Perhaps whatever was encountered in the c h u r c h was merely mushrooms above ground, spreading their spores, and a vast network of spiritual mycelia has already spread across the city. 

There are no worshippers, no prayers and congregations, no reconstructions of that inverted idol in the c h u r c h, but somehow the thing beneath St Pancras is like a nail hammered into the awareness of all who learn of it. It becomes impossible to ignore. Something must be done, the quiescent thing-that-would-be-a-god must be acknowledged one way or another. The question asked of the Pilgrims is how to address it.

The Summit has identified a number of situations where material investment by the Pilgrims will see effective results.

Motion: We seek a project to transmute the magical radiation above the city so that it protects like the ozone layer without polluting our air or obscuring our view of the sky.

Before any transmutation can take place, first full research must be done to correctly understand the magical radiation above the city. With careful sampling and readings, you will likely be able to develop proper methods to safely control the radiation as you wish.

From Gilgamesh to Gallahad, from the first Qin Emperor to the slumbering Endymion, to seek life has always been to seek death.  Watching hordes of vampires travel past them at the guns of ‘criminals’ and ‘terrorists’, PURIST residents have, one by one, begun to succumb to despair. The despair itself does not last long, however, soon replaced by an all-consuming drive to live, to seek out new power that might save them. They do not wish to corrupt themselves with magic, but they seek, in the world that is, a way to prolong their own lives. 

Many have become poisoned, or broken genetic directives in the hubris that they could not stray. Others still have begun to question the authority of the First Minister, or indeed seek the nameless title as their own form of immortality. Unless someone puts a stop to the madness, the PURISTS will destroy themselves and each other in a desperate attempt to outlive the apocalypse without becoming impure.

Purist adaptation to their new homes in the northern reaches of London has largely been successful, as base infrastructure has been built up, the population settled into place, and defences established. 

A recurring problem has emerged over the last few years, dubbed ‘Moon Sickness’. The incidents started small and infrequent, but have grown in both frequency and scale.

Each time, it starts the same. Complaints about drinking-water quality, typically a bitter aftertaste and subtle iridescent sheen on the water’s surface. Shortly after these complaints emerge, people start falling sick. The symptoms often resemble starvation or gastrointestinal problems, with the patient growing increasingly gaunt and feeble over time. The death rate is low (although not negligible), with most affected instead being rendered disabled through fatigue. 

As well as the physiological effects of the sickness, there seems to be a mental component. Thinking becomes increasingly disordered, with those affected being easily confused and struggling to recognise obvious patterns in their lives. These mental symptoms fluctuate strongly, spiking during the new moon (or during lunar eclipses) and receding to a manageable state while the moon is visible. Likewise, confined spaces and darkness seem to make the mental symptoms worse. 

Most concerning, however, is what happens to the few who die of Moon Sickness; their corpses rapidly decay, becoming infested with mycelium-like threads that soon break the body down to an iridescent slime. 

Medical specialists among the purists do not yet have a cure for the issue, but do have various treatments that help alleviate the symptoms and slow the disease’s progression. While people do die, the prognosis is more optimistic than it once was. This would be comforting to many, if not for the rapid spread of the problem.

Purist scientists have studied those suffering the malady, and the bodies of those who die of it, and come to the conclusion that the cause is found – as suggested – in tainted drinking water. There’s a toxin, seemingly of biological origin, causing this, and increased exposure makes the problem worse. Something is in the ground under Purist settlements, that’s leaking into their pipes and reservoirs and getting people sick. Speculation as to what this might be abounds, but the best current guess is that its the remnant of some sorcerous weapon of the great war, that struck just outside the wards shielding London and has tainted the groundwater ever since.

There has been some debate among Purist leaders as to how to handle this issue; the problem is clearly magical in origin, but Purist society – from the regular man on the street to the upper levels of government – is deeply reluctant to rely on magic to cure it. If a sensible, scientific solution can be found – one that can be empirically studied and replicated, and doesn’t rely on sorcery – that would be highly preferable to Purist leadership.

PURIST territory runs across old world train tracks, but is not connected to the wider network due to non-attendance of the First Summit. Connection would be useful to the wider interests of London, as a network would link directly to concerns such as the Idol and other ANOMALIES. The PURISTS also have the most direct link to the wastes North of London, including the areas settled by ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRES.

Due to non-attendance of the First SUMMIT, the PURISTS are not connected to the wider communications network present throughout London. However, due to the smaller scale nature of performing this task for one FACTION, further opportunities are available.

NO PROJECTS FUNDED

The continued survival of the various people within the SURVIVALISTS’ territory relies on a number of factors, chief among which is the ability to communicate. With individualist militias and gangs making up the bulk of society, it is only through trade between these groups that those without weapons or farming equipment can eat, travel, and tend to other business. It is only because of a deal between the Kings and the Water Carriers by the ‘reservoirs’ that all people are given safe and mostly clean water. 

These relationships are breaking down.

At first, it began small. Reports of a tall figure, whistling all the way, always just out of sight, around the corner. Then, things started going missing. Then everything broke down.

Different factions accuse others of sending this ‘Sheriff’ after them. Nobody exchanges anything. Thameside gangs have taken to throwing negotiators in the river, Heathrow shoots at the ground if anyone gets too close. Fortunately, there’s no chance of any of this boiling over to war, nobody wanting to seem to be the authority for everyone else to rally against, but that’s small comfort. Within various communities, people are turning on each other, ousting their leaders, or splintering into smaller, even more individualist groups, or even just to individuals. All SURVIVALISTS are left to reckon with the fact that there may be more dangerous problems then who gets to rule the waste.

They can still hear the whistling, the Sheriff is just around the corner. Some days, they’re accompanied by the sound of straining rope, or the click of a pistol.

Whether from the threat of the Sheriff, the aftermath of the first SUMMIT, or the aid provided by the TRADITIONALISTS in building housing, or any other reason many cliques within the SURVIVALISTS find their way of life is being threatened. A way of life without the overreach of a government that failed, where no one is ruled by the tyranny of the majority. Many SURVIVALIST communities believe they have a healthy, stable living, as stable as one can get in the post-apocalypse, where every voice matters and nothing moves unless everyone can agree, or someone has the will just to do it.

Faced with this threat, many leaders and spokespeople have requested the intervention of the second SUMMIT, allowing trusted delegates to make the decision having seen the threat first-hand, as well as having experience with the ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRES that caused so much destruction in the first place. The ADMINISTRATORS present the following as the most viable solutions to prevent the deterioration of the SURVIVALISTS’ freedoms.

If nothing is done, the SURVIVALISTS will remain as they are, but will have no control over the influence other FACTIONS can have on the loyalty of their members.

With many of the more pressing issues against the collected Survivalist communities dealt with, there is a chance for the leaders of different groups to coordinate for a large-scale building project. Whatever building this is will be in a centralised location; it will be available to, and owned by, all Survivalist communities and gangs instead of just one. A collectively owned building such as this will help the Survivalists form a more coherent identity as a faction strengthening internal cohesion.

There are a number of possible building options but only one of them can be selected. None of the options are desperately needed but they will make a statement about the future of the collective Survivalist faction. It will be possible to build some of the other options in future provided conditions remain good.

Motion: Would like to do a “census” (of own people) to know who is living where and where large populations are, etc etc – preparation details for war with the purists (framed as a war thing to avoid libertarianism)

As the Survivalists are a scattered and difficult to direct population with many actively avoiding being detected by their peers. It will take careful, dedicated, and coordinated hands to fully catalogue every member. It will also take careful, dedicated and persuasive words to coax many out of hiding.

The fog rose from the Thames late one night. It had sat there, making the water seem silver and white, for three days, then, all at once, it blanketed the streets of Westminster, to Chelsea, and Fulham. It spread across the whole of TRADITIONALIST territory. Streets went quiet, for the most part, but the Civil Guard soon found themselves dispatched to deal with more and more reports of theft, assault, and other violent activity. 

Soon after, a number of ‘false’ reports began to emerge of glowing red eyes peering through the fog. Rumours spread and spread until two weeks later, nearly every citizen could attest to hearing the sound of a great wolf howling in the night.

After that, the streets went dead. Citizens protested until the Guard were sent on nightly patrols, but even they were affected, becoming twitchy and paranoid, firing on nothing, or wandering off into the fog, returning next morning with strange wounds and no memory. 

People quickly became worried of some internal threat, hiding somewhere. Some people began tearing at walls, others began to cast blame. They never trusted their neighbour, they say, they hoarded ration cards and forged their books, and now their teeth are too long, just look at them! The parties of Parliament have begun to splinter, openly attacking each other. The Londoners accuse the Reds of trying to undermine democracy. The Reds accuse the DAG of having known the fog would spread. The DAG accused the Londoners of promoting attacks on Lycans. Lacking orders from a fractured Parliament, the Guard does their best to keep order, but as fighting breaks out and nightly attacks get worse, it becomes hard to tell where the wolf is, who acts out of desperation, and who’s taking the chance to settle a score. The difference at this point doesn’t seem to matter much. As Red cadres begin to organise workforces, DAG petitioners prioritise magical care, and Londoner bureaucrats scramble to seize old world goods from the black market, it looks like the fragile alliance of powers is breaking down. 

The Cabinet and Speaker have successfully sheltered themselves in the Paddock, and have convinced a few loyalists to distribute messages. They urge unity, but require the intervention of the SUMMIT to ensure it lasts longer than a few weeks.

NO PROJECTS FUNDED

The next TRADITIONALIST election will arrive in a matter of weeks, but after the threat of conflict has become apparent to citizens following the events of the first SUMMIT, concerns have been raised about the security of the affair. More precisely, many worry that hostile powers would subvert their democracy and undermine their principles. Parliament has provided a handful of alternative methods they believe are likely to alleviate this threat, however the means to implement them quickly and effectively rely on the resources of the SUMMIT. As such, delegates are empowered to make this decision in the interests of the FACTION. 

Should no option be taken, Parliament intends to continue their debate, and decide on a method themselves, but will not be able to engage in any meaningful change prior to the election.

The egg chirps but there is not yet any sign of hatching. The only other notable changes are that it is now far warmer to the touch and those who are within its presence feel suddenly happier. There seems to be some form of mood improving aura around it. Perhaps the creature inside senses the efforts being made for it and reciprocates the affection.

A number of schools have started sending in decorations made by the children to populate the nursery and many have started affectionately referring to the egg as ‘Little Yolky’.

While doing nothing is an option, there are further steps that can be taken.

Fulham rests uneasily. Within one greenhouse, the plants have grown into something new. Unnaturally mobile and unusually intelligent, and carnivorous.

It seems they want to feed on any animal life that stumbles into their little garden. Vampires, lycanthropes, humans and warlocks all seem to attract their hunger. But fae? Fae seem to get a pass. And whatever they feed on, they learn from, taking on their prey’s traits and capabilities

Now that the immediate danger of the ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRES has passed, the TRADITIONALISTS are able to focus their attention towards other projects. All parties in parliament have agreed to the following suggestions, but at present time can only concentrate their efforts on one. They have asked it be the decision of the DELEGATES in exchange for the assistance of the SUMMIT in providing the necessary resources.

Motion: 102 log corps and knights Avalon to be dispatched with medical corps support to locate and non-lethally subdue lissa harper to hold as test subject

Lissa Harper was not among the Artificial Vampires that were expelled from the city. The Administrators looked for someone matching her appearance and of the few found, none answered to the name Lissa Harper.
Someone potentially matching her description was sighted beyond London in the wasteland beyond the border. She appeared to be travelling with a group of other young women and acting incredibly erratically. When a group of treated Artificial Vampires approached the group, the women ripped them apart with their bare hands.

Study into various strange phenomena afflicting LONDON leading to the Second Summit had produced the conclusion that there was an underlying cause between them. Those familiar with energy magic came to posit that leylines followed the natural patterns of the ecosystems above them, and that changes to those ecosystems would, inevitably, result in changes to the leylines beneath. It was suggested by those familiar with such magic that the rapid expulsion of Artificial Vampires – an extremely dominant apex predator – from LONDON had resulted in the leylines being forcibly yanked out of position to follow them, and then settling imperfectly into new arrangements, left quivering in the aftermath of the upheaval. 

Though the initial effects of these thrumming leylines had been addressed by the affected factions, the underlying cause remained, and the leylines continued to churn dangerously. 

The effort to still them was spearheaded by teams of ERUDITE geographers, who consulted maps of LONDON to identify key points of intervention. 

These locations were universally concealed under thick fog, within which paths shifted and locations grew increasingly distorted, as the landscape rearranged itself in response to the Leylines’ turmoil. Teams attempting to penetrate these mist-shrouded locations swiftly became disoriented and lost, failing to find the leyline confluences required for their work.

To ensure that these missions succeeded, the might of the ADMINISTRATORS was turned towards the problems. Once more, disciplined lines of veiled corpses walked themselves like automata into the fog and established beachheads within, creating defined pathways for mortal magicians to travel through. By all accounts, this should not have been possible, and the constantly shifting nature of the space should have affected the ADMINISTRATORS the same as any others. Outside observers have concluded, then, that some element of the ADMINISTRATORS’ basic nature was able to impose order and structure, with many concluding that such structure derives from the enormous weight of the oaths connected to the ADMINISTRATORS’ collective intelligence.

However it was achieved, the ADMINISTRATORS’ were able to allow mortal sorcerers access to the leyline confluences. Here, it was discovered that they were not alone in the fog, and other, stranger monsters stalked the abandoned streets, seeking to prey upon and pick off intruders within their mist-shrouded territory. Creatures out of human nightmares, manifestations of the deepest primal fears and anxieties, saw the presence of people made of warm flesh and blood as a smorgasbord of easy victims.

To protect the sorcerers from the depredations of such creatures, the ADMINISTRATOR-bodies present formed a perimeter, linking arms to physically interpose themselves between the encroaching monsters and the magicians under their care. 

This, then, left the mortals to perform the actual work of stilling the leylines themselves. Hands thrust into the churning earth, grasping onto the writhing veins of elemental power within and wrestling them into position. The degree of precision and effort required was immense; unlike the delicate confluences of leylines encountered at Summits, these confluences were heavy and unstable, with the task at hand more like trying to bathe an angry cat than adjust a carefully-balanced block tower. 

Ultimately, this pattern repeated across over a dozen key points across LONDON. ADMINISTRATORS ventured into the fog to secure the location, holding off encroaching monsters from within the fog with their own bodies, and buying energy mages time to make the necessary adjustments. With each such expedition, the leylines grew a little calmer, and their convolutions grew a little less violent, until the final few adjustments were surprisingly simple to perform, simply holding a throbbing vein of energy firmly in place until it grew still.

With this achieved, the fogs receded once more, and as they vanished so too the horrors lurking within them faded away as if they had never existed to begin with. LONDON returned to whatever passes for normalcy in the current day.

For some time now, the communications grid of LONDON had been malfunctioning. While it initially seemed that the network was haunted, the truth turned out to be stranger.

In practice, the communications network of LONDON turned out to have become a huge, magically inflected neural network that was hallucinating plausible but incorrect signals. After some discussion, it was decided to leave the basic infrastructure in place, but to rip out all the infected technology and replace it. 

The phenomenon was identified as being confined to the telephone landlines, and other technology connected to it, such as fax machines. This is what needed to be replaced. 

The first step was to shut down the entire network and leave it inoperable while the replacement was conducted.

The effort to remove and replace the wiring of the telephone network was significantly more disruptive than the initial efforts to restore the network to working order. With most houses in LONDON connected to a landline, the work to remove every connection was hugely labour intensive. In uninhabited zones, the principle effort was sending out a team of technicians guided by Alexander “The Spider” Brown’s expertise in the routes through the city’s underworld, and accompanied by armed guards, who were able to work brutally quickly to rip out any potentially infected wiring.

Where it gets more complicated is when it comes to inhabited areas. Many people’s homes needed to be drastically overhauled even while they still lived within, resulting in huge disruption to people’s daily lives as teams of electricians pulled wire out of the walls.

Within some parts of LONDON, the work was more or less accepted, with only minor grumbling by those affected. In other areas, however – particularly those more isolated or more reliant on such technology – the move proves somewhat unpopular, and complaints are raised with local leadership. 

Once all the phone lines had been removed, the second wave of work began, with technicians led by one Sciezka “Radiohead” Nowak, a well known radio expert among the SURVIVALISTS, and the hardware itself provided by Alistair Sinclair’s New Avalon Foundation.

New wiring extended across LONDON over the old channels, newly made telephones installed in residences and places of work once more. Again, there was some degree of grumbling, but this time far less virulent as the citizenry were happy to have technology restored.

Finally, everything was in place. The entire telephone network had been torn out and replaced, and lay in a vast copper web under the surface of LONDON. All that remained was to switch it back on and hope that the mad hallucinations of the network hadn’t persisted.. 

And so, on a September evening, gathered representatives of the various factions came together to throw the switch. There was a collective held breath as the representatives waited to see if the problem had been solved-

And it had.

LONDON now has a fully functional telecommunication network, that is entirely free of ghosts, hallucinations and other supernatural weirdness. Now, at last, a phone is simply a phone; it does what it is required to do, and no more.

With the use of the ritual Behold the Shivering Embrace, dozens of experts in zoology were able to observe the host of creatures approaching LONDON through the safety of the ADMINISTRATORS’ eyes. They spent days documenting the creatures as best they could making detailed descriptions of appearance, physiology, and behaviour. A number of ADMINISTRATOR bodies were sacrificed so that they could be consumed allowing the researchers a close look at the digestive functions and typical food.

From these findings, they have been able to make an extremely rough categorisation system determined by aggression and how easy they will be to direct. The categories are:

• Category A: High aggression, difficult to direct
• Category B: High aggression, easy to direct
• Category C: Middling aggression, difficult to direct
• Category D: Middling aggression, easy to direct
• Category E: Low aggression, difficult to direct
• Category F: Low aggression, easy to direct

There is hope this can be expanded into a more in-depth categorisation system with more time and study. As with most creatures, the best way to attract or repel is through the senses; smells tend to be the best with sound as a close second. However, as could be expected, different creatures are attracted and repelled by different things with a lot of cross over and some creatures drawn to the thing that repels others. All of these were carefully noted down with a lot of initial testing done. For example by strapping different scent distributors to ADMINISTRATORS and seeing what chased them. Outside of the above categorisation system, a far more complex system was written up of behavioural directives and habitats they are likely to gravitate towards and a basic framework of behaviour predictions.

With the data collected, it was then passed over to the medical and engineering teams working together across LONDON. Scent traps were constructed from scavenged materials while purified esters were concocted by teams of scientists, many of them presided over by Edelgaurd Ermentude Emmerich who directed a lot of this stage of the process. Broadly, they focussed on the scents that had the greatest overlap with more specific scents prioritised for the highly aggressive.

While these were being created, the original researchers carefully mapped out where the network should be set up based upon the predicted behaviours and needs of the creatures. It was not perfect. It was known that it would not be perfect. But it was a start.

The ADMINISTRATORS set up the scent traps just as the first chunk of the horde reached LONDON. A wave of vicious flying things, bundles of thorny sinew streaking through the air; then a thing like oozing yellow lichen, hundreds of tentacle wreathed sheep, and gigantic rolling stones that unfurled into rock like armadillos. All of these and more approached from all around. Many ADMINISTRATORS were crushed underfoot in the initial approach.

Like rivers splitting, they veered off in different directions. Some drawn in, others repelled, they funnelled themselves into no man’s land between the faction territories, filling into the areas. For the most part they were kept away from the roads but it is advised that more robust measures be put in place for the future.

As predicted, it wasn’t perfect. An EVOLVER farm was trampled by a trio of multi-legged crystalline rhinoceros. Multiple SURVIVALIST hunting bands reported conflicts between the so called ‘Kebab Beasts’ (an odd half-centipede half-ferret creature with long meaty tendrils that already lived in the territory) and the new coming creatures including something being referred to as The Eyeball. So far, no cohesive descriptions could be given for The Eyeball.

More clashes have been reported between various water based creatures and the Pilgrim River Snakes. Thanks to the safe haven provided to them, the snakes have a place to shelter and recover. Perhaps of note, the Thames Barrier’s repulsion abilities work on all of the creatures coming to LONDON. Other anomalous areas have similar effects on the creatures as they do typical kith. The London Eye was reported as having a vast number of different organisms swarming around it, sitting passively and staring at it for days at a time. 

There are more reports of accidents and conflicts between clumsy or aggressive creatures and factions. It will take a large period of adjustment for all of the inhabitants of LONDON to learn to co-exist. But for now, there is a relative equilibrium that has been reached.

At the second SUMMIT, various DELEGATES with expertise in the manipulation of Leylines put their expertise to good use. Hands thrust into the nexus of raw, elemental energy, reshaping the flow of the land and with it reforging the world into a new shape. 

Like so many powerful technologies in the past, it was inevitable that something would go wrong. 

The balance in the Leylines being adjusted collapsed catastrophically. The channels through which raw elemental essence flowed ruptured and split, and the seething stuff of magic spilled forth. 

The damage propagated, cracks and rips forming across the whole Leyline network. Those connected to the Leylines, through a third eye or otherwise, were overwhelmed with sympathetic pain. 

LONDON shuddered. The earth heaved, shook, and then all that uncontrolled power found its escape. Grate cracks and vents opened up in the earth, spewing vast clouds of noxious gasses into the atmosphere. Rolling banks of corrosive smog swept across LONDON, dealing horrific damage. Hostile weather warnings were issued, and the population took shelter inside their homes and scrambled to locate or improvise gas masks. 

It took the work of many dedicated teams of Leyline specialists to repair the damage done, nudging the channels back into position so that the splits could heal over. Initial efforts were coordinated from the Evolver nightclub Lowline, with the club’s owner – Sebastian Rolmarer – rapidly organising teams of energy magicians and underworld explorers, and outfitting them with protective equipment. 

The work was difficult, as the most damaged Leyline confluences were where the toxic fumes were belching forth most strongly, resulting in many of the magicians being injured or sickened by their exposure. Personal Protective Equipment mostly managed to shield them from the worst of the fumes, but even so there were two casualties and over a dozen hospitalised among the first response teams.

With the initial damage undone and the leylines healing, the problem then became the fumes themselves. LONDON’S air was, for the time being, still. For the time being, all that could be done was to sit and wait for the weather to shift. 

After three days, it did. Rain swept across the city, pulling the pollutants from the air in a deluge of sulphurous filth. The residue of the event formed foul-smelling puddles and stained everywhere the rain touched. This did, at least, make it easier to breath, but over time the tainted rainwater drained into the storm drains and from there into the river itself. 

As people ventured from their homes again, an effort began to clean up the damage done. Streets were scrubbed clean, buildings decontaminated. The sick were able to be gathered up and brought to hospitals and other healing centres to receive treatment. 

In the end, the impact of the event was minimal. Citizens were able to be evacuated from the worst affected areas in a timely fashion, and to shelter as the foul vapours passed. Much of the protocols used to weather the disaster were the same as had been used during the recent magical world war to protect from enemy weapons of mass destruction, and likewise much of the protective equipment used was left over from that time.

In the end, through the swift action of the DELEGATES at the SUMMIT and various local authorities, a much greater disaster was averted. Although many were hospitalised with chemical burns or suffered respiratory problems, the worst was avoided. 

The only two fatalities of the event were the two Leyline specialists who ventured into the writhing nests of damaged Leylines to repair them, and were overcome by the same raw elemental forces that the citizenry were evacuated away from.

Some months after the disaster struck and was averted, a monument to their sacrifice – a bronze statue of the two magicians – was erected on the side of Trafalgar square, staring defiantly towards the Leyline confluence where they gave their lives to save the city.

Iterations upon iterations had been done under the personal direction of Philomena Roberts and Null who spent many long hours and sleepless nights drawing up designs under clouds of concrete waste. With materials sent by Sarah Laxley the feeling of wrongness that had come from many of the designs had begun to be understood. 

Until finally, one grad student watched a wasp’s nest while eating his lunch. The wasp flew to the bags of concrete dust and gathered some of it into its mouthparts, then flitted away. It left the student to stare at the pile of grey reclaimed rubble with an increasing sense of despair, his eyes unfocused and thousands of small dots clouding his vision. The grey wrongness began to sweat, crewed and softened by saliva. Particles lifted and re-settled, forming hexagonal honeycombs that nested inside one another in an endless inward spiral. The rubble softened into ramps, the jagged edges curled into thresholds, and suddenly a thousand pathways yawned open, each one a dark, wind-smooth throat that led somewhere alive. A hive, a great hive, with a thousand pathways through it, where a surge of energy could rush through the space without suffocating small larvae and damaging wings.

A city had taken shape in the grey matter; no measurements had clouded his thoughts, no thoughts of taking the grey and quantifying it. There had been no need because he had known what must be built. A hive, not in the shape humans made to extract from the earth, but a hive to live in. To create in. To flow ideas through as natural as air.

The student had taken the designs he’d drawn to Null, holding them out to see if they were affected, and started to fold and shape them, tape and glue, add sticks and mud and twigs to the shape until, at last, he had made it.

This creation had been beautiful, organic and perfectly sized for a human to wander without restriction. There had been no need for stairs; the gentle slopes had led you any which way you sought to go, no need for heating and cooling because of the well-made insulation of wattle, daub and brick. They would have heated water running through the bottom of the building. They would have electricity from the river. They would have windows and gentle curved walls to direct wind through interior tunnels. They would have places to filter the rain that collected along the side of the structure.

It was to be sized perfectly for a human to live in, intuition having guided every part of its creation.

Once the buildings were demolished under Sarah Laxley and Philomena Roberts’ supervision the construction had started and it was guided by measurements and planning but also by the intuition of the builders. A construction worker lamented that the flooring of the building was not stable enough and so it was braced; an architect walked through a floor and discovered that it was perfect for collecting the strong breeze from the air currents to direct into the lower floors; a student in the basement felt a sense of wrongness standing in a section of the lab which was walled off and sealed away to allow the leylines to flow through soil and water instead of punching through concrete and steel. A river under their feet that sang with a deep, subsonic hum which vibrated up through the soles of your feet, warm as fresh blood. No longer being pinned like a butterfly by cold, dead rebar and turning the song brittle with static and agony.

The building had twisted naturally; treelike structures shot up from the ground made of steel and iron with growing living companions around them to create sky bridges where the leylines sat just under the earth and could not be walked on. Above, a canopy of glass and broad, waxy leaves caught the nuclear dust, holding it far above their less hearty siblings below as their undersides dripped with purer condensation. At once it sheltered the soil from the nuclear fallout up above, as a shield of steel, iron and man made dreams standing between the earth and sky to protect that small life that blossomed in the dirt.

Layers of life had come to the ERUDITE labs and they were made whole again.

When approached by the Mentor council about submitting himself to testing, Ramiel of the Spires all but begged them to do so. He reports a significant decrease in his quality of life, inability to sleep due to stress, and constant anxiety that he will accidentally infect someone else. Even with the warnings that this would likely be strenuous, he was desperate for this to somehow be ended.

Along with Ramiel, a large number of participants were taken in from volunteers among the Pupil population to effectively test how exactly this ‘infection’ takes place. It has already been thoroughly concluded there is no physical/biological infection taking place, this is purely mental.

In controlled laboratory settings, Ramiel performed various actions while observed by different test groups. Under Edelgaurd Ermentude Emmerich’s leadership, test groups were all carefully monitored for changes and then thoroughly questioned afterwards to see if cult-like behaviour had emerged.

Ramiel’s speech was ruled out quickly. While occasional uses of magic triggered it there seemed no significant correlation. Finally, the source was determined: Light. Whenever Ramiel created light, whether this be through magic or from something as mundane as turning on a lamp, the infection took place on any who witnessed it first hand. Recordings of it did not have the same effect.

With the source determined, Ramiel was taken for the next stage of testing. Brian Von Bonstetten helped devise a series of special filters that light produced by Ramiel could be viewed through. With the infection determined, the participants for this stage came from those already infected as they always had a strong physiological response to viewing Ramiel’s ‘light’. The filters blocked different aspects of the light such as colours to see if this had any effect. Cameras were also placed around with different filters to see if there were any visible aspects to the light that could be determined as irregular. For the tests themselves, Ramiel sat at a table and repeatedly turned a light bulb on and off.

Initial testing showed strong evidence that the issue was not in the visible light but something in the infrared light. Through incremental tests, it was found that there was a highly specific wave band that, when blocked, prevented whatever aspect of the light reaching the cult members, often causing confusion and distress. Further magical testing revealed what had been missed. When isolated, Sparks Flying Through Copper found that this specific wave length had some form of strange interference along with it that was concluded to be extra information. She was able to ascertain that this information acts like some kind of virus: a memetic virus. It could also, she said, be classified as a ‘cognitohazard’. A form of information that by absorbing it does some form of harm to the body.

It was at this point that an explosion took out a large part of the testing facility. A number of participants and researchers were heavily injured including Ramiel. Research had to be put on a sudden hold as many individuals had to be rushed into medical treatment. As this was taking place, an impromptu investigation took place. While it initially appeared to have been an accident involving a burst gas pipe, it was caught that there was in fact evidence of foul play. Further investigation concluded that, for whatever reason, the research was sabotaged. Who caused the sabotage and why remains unknown but the meaning seems clear. At least one person within the ERUDITES does not want memetic viruses studied. Despite, or possibly because of, this threat, Sparks Flying Through Copper redoubled her efforts into researching this memetic virus and understanding its structure.

So far, she has been able to outline a simple set of rules for correctly identifying a cognitohazard.

• Though there could be different transmission forms, the virus is transmitted through information not through any physical matter
• Infection can take place anyway that information can be transferred
• Once infected, it is difficult to clear the infected individuals as it seems resistant to magic
• Infections can cause both psychological and physiological changes in its victims

With one discovered, it is inevitable that more exist out there. This has been confirmed by the discovery of the Maenad Cognitohazard by the TRADITIONALISTS.

After an initially tense first contact, further contact continued to be made with the Wombles, largely by ERUDITE researchers, with many teams under the direction of the Fae known as Fungus Spreading Beneath The Soil that had been pursuing research into the new lifeforms emerging in LONDON. 

The process was slow. The first step was to acclimate them to human (and human-shaped) presence, so that their initial reaction wasn’t one of fear or hostility. Some study went into investigating the foods most sought out by the creatures, and it seemed that they favoured meat over plants, and in particular energy-dense offal. Eggs were another treat, and – once they have become familiar with it – dairy products.

So, researchers slowly worked on creating a situation where the Wombles came to associate human presence with these foods being available. Over time, they introduced these foods first to key sites where research was to take place, and then once the Wombles had become accustomed to foraging there, made their presence unobtrusive but known, so that the Wombles grew used to foraging around human researchers. 

This process took time. The Wombles were initially skittish and easily riled up, but in time they came to understand that the researchers didn’t pose a threat. This allowed them to observe the Wombles in their environment much more freely. 

One thing that soon became apparent was just how quickly knowledge seemed to propagate through the Womble species. Information seemed to spread first through local individuals through social contact, and then – once those individuals returned to their nest – would abruptly be transmitted to other nests through mysterious means. 

This phenomenon was confirmed by means of a simple test; a favourite food – eggs and chicken livers – was placed in a puzzle-box, where the Wombles could see and smell it but not access it to eat it. The mechanism to open the puzzle box was not immediately apparent, but could be easily learned through investigation by the Wombles. It was seen that, once a Womble in a given foraging area had figured out the knack, those near to them would be shown the same knack until they too could access the reward. 

Once the individuals with this knowledge returned to their nest, similar puzzles were placed in other foraging grounds with no in-the-flesh social contact with the first nest. The Wombles who encountered these puzzles immediately knew how to open them, as if having been taught at a great distance by the first nest.

A hypothesis was formed that the Wombles’ nests formed a more important part of their nature than previously realised. It was known that they incorporated the remains of their dead into these structures as part of the building process, and it was suggested that this allowed the nest to become linked to the broader leyline networks, along which the Wombles were able to transmit information. In this way, much like whale pods using the water to carry their vocalisations over many miles, the Wombles were able to communicate socially with other Wombles very distant to themselves. 

Cross-referencing the locations of Womble nests to other magical phenomena supported this; the Wombles tended to nest close to known Leyline sites. They tended to avoid the nexuses where multiple Leylines met, instead tapping into the long strands that formed the central channels of the network. This habit of nesting turned out to be to their benefit; when the Leylines were damaged by recent activities, the worst of the fallout tended to be around the meeting-nexuses and clusters of the lines, while the longer trunks and channels proved less dangerous, and so the Womble population escaped the worst of the disasters. 

Complex social organisation across physically distant nests was identified as key to the behaviours of these animals. The underworld is not a hospitable place, with food often scarce and many larger, more threatening monsters inhabiting the tunnels. The Wombles seemed to show coordination between nests, with little conflict over overlapping territories and the most dangerous sites avoided even by nests that had not personally encountered that threat. 

Within nests, too, social organisation was complex and highly cooperative. Individual wombles tended to associate fluidly based on need, forming teams to hunt or forage at times, and at other times retreating to prepare tools or tend to their young on an individual basis. Social hierarchies among the Wombles were fuzzy and had less impact on their socialisation than among other rodent species. The strongest pattern was a deference shown to age, with the oldest Wombles generally being dominant over the younger. This was most pronounced where there was a parent-child relationship, but other familial relationships likewise reproduced similar age-based hierarchies. 

However, there was a wrinkle in this dynamic. A few Wombles were observed to be socially different to their peers. Though physically indistinguishable from others, emerging sporadically across litters and equally between sexes. They tended to stand aside from the normal age-based hierarchies, being treated by most individuals as an equal regardless of age or familial relations. These Wombles spent less time in hunting and scavenging, and more time in the maintenance of nests and the raising of young. When researchers tested Womble cognition, it was these individuals that tended to show the greatest potential. Though all Wombles were capable of complex thought and planning, it was these individuals who generally displayed the strongest capacity for more abstract thought and were capable of the most dramatic leaps of logic. 

Though no formal scientific designation has been given to these individuals at this time, researchers began colloquially referring to them variously as “wizards”, “philosophers”, and “dreamers”. 

Research into the magical capabilities of the Wombles was another fruitful area of study. Their ability to connect to and work with Leylines was established early, but it was unclear if they had any affinity for other forms of magic. 

Early research suggested that Binding magic had little role for them. Though without the use of language it would be impossible to properly assess if they were capable of forming or manipulating oaths, studies of their social structures suggested that their lack of formalised hierarchies or structures of dominance and control (outside of familial relations) reflected a lack of aptitude for Binding; those hierarchies they displayed did not seem to be voluntarily entered into, as would be typical of Binding magic, and instead seemed to be simple biological functions. Likewise, they showed no differences in behaviour towards researchers who had themselves sworn oaths pertaining to them, and did not seem to register such acts in any way.

Likewise, Blood magic seemed to have little effect on them. Exposure to dyscrasic blood showed no real effect on the Wombles, and they showed little interest in dyscrasic blood samples or individual researchers under dyscrasias. Likewise, a few researchers skilled in working with the humors were able to have close contact with some of the more tame and friendly Wombles, and while they were able to make some manipulations of the humours (through non-invasive methods such as massage and grooming, so as not to spook the animals), they found that these adjustments had little effect and – like any other animal – they did not display true dyscrasic abilities.

The third set of experiments was more promising. Wombles were introduced to various objects that recorded observed Omens, and the responses were immediately noticeable. Though having no concept of the context of these items – many were written accounts that the Wombles were, obviously, unable to read – they seemed to find them fascinating and prized access to them. Those individuals identified as “philosopher” Wombles showed the greatest affinity, and in many cases the items were taken by the Wombles and incorporated into their nests. Further, Wombles seemed to show a knack for identifying Omens; in many cases, researchers would find the Wombles they studied fascinated by some insignificant place or object, and upon studying the subject of that fascination realise that it was displaying some form of minor Omen. 

As a result, though their minds remained simple and less adept at abstract reasoning, limiting their engagement, the conclusion was drawn that the Wombles had some affinity for Divination magic alongside Leyline magic, and that both forms of magic were most strong in those individuals identified as “philosophers”.

By this time, a strong relationship had been established between researchers and the Wombles they studied, with frequent friendly contact. The next phase of the work began, an attempt to enhance the creatures cognition, with the long-term goal of uplifting them to full sapience so that they might stand alongside humans, fae, lycanthropes and vampires.

This task was always going to prove challenging. Early attempts proved futile as, while the Wombles could be taught new methods and learned new information – and this would rapidly propagate across the species from nest to nest – there would inevitably be an upper limit to the Wombles thinking, and anything above that was simply beyond their capabilities. Further, the breeding-cycle of the Wombles was rapid – as is typical for rodents – and subsequent generations showed no inborn Lamarckian aptitude for skills learned by their parents.

So, a new approach was attempted, proposed by magicians directed by the pioneering philosopher and alchemist Edelgaurd Ermentude Emmerich. Rather than teaching the Wombles and hoping that knowledge would enhance them, a more direct magical intervention would be attempted. 

There existed already various petty magical rites and procedures used with animals, to ease the process of training domesticated animals. Simple things, like herbal concoctions which would allow a dog to be trained more swiftly. These petty magics were adapted to suit the Wombles, and then used by researchers in their interactions. 

The results were significantly improved. Wombles of all types showed an interest in these magics, although they were of particular interest to “philosopher” Wombles. In many cases, the Wombles would take the various magical charms and talismans used back to their nests and incorporate them. In a few cases, there were even Wombles observed attempting to recreate these items with the same crude technologies they used to make stone and glass blades and other tools, although the results were largely ineffective.

However, over the course of several months – a few breeding cycles – nests that had incorporated these talismans showed encouraging results. The proportions of “philosopher” Wombles being born was dramatically increased with each generation, until after five generations only “philosopher” Wombles were being born in multiple nests. Likewise, as time went on, the Wombles ability to recreate learning-enhancing talismans grew from an ineffectual mimicry to a known technology, and Wombles were observed building functional – if simple – talismans directly into their nests as the nests expanded. 

It was around this time that another encouraging development was observed. Wombles were observed being able to recognise images in art, being able to distinguish simple representations of themselves, humans, the predator and prey animals they encountered in the underworld, and various materials they would scavenge for tool-making. Over time, it was observed that they would make markings in key spots – mostly gnawing shapes into the sides of tunnels – to signify important locations. Though crude, these markings seemed to be symbolic representations; the Wombles would mark the locations of useful fungi with etched mushroom-shapes, or a garbage deposit with useful glass with simple representations of a bottle. Similar marks proliferated, engravings of horrible monsters with big teeth where a predator lived or a complex tangle of lines in the tunnels leading to a leyline nexus. Though the Wombles seemed to lack any spoken language, they were able to store simple information through pictorial representation. 

Then, one day, only a few weeks before the third summit, another cognitive breakthrough. A Womble has shown signs of distress to a researcher, although the cause was unclear. After some frustration as the Womble tugged at the researchers clothing with its little hands, it resorted to another method; in the dirt of the tunnel floor, it scratched a simple V-shaped image of a rodent mouth, with simple marks for the prominent incisors and rear molars. Then, squeaking indignantly, it drew many jagged lines radiating from one tooth in particular before digging at that same tooth to produce a little pit. 

Inspection of the Womble in question discovered that the animal had, in fact, developed a painfully abscessed tooth in the position indicated in the diagram. It had then drawn a researcher’s attention to its distress and used a simple picture to communicate the nature of its discomfort, likely in the hope that the researcher would be able to aid it. (Sentimental researchers will be pleased to hear that the infected tooth was, in fact, treated by painkillers and antibiotics by a researcher with veterinary training). 

The significance of this incident cannot be overstated; a Womble had displayed a comparatively sophisticated theory of mind, and used it to communicate its thoughts to a human through symbolic language. In a fascinating turn of events, some researchers theorised that Wombles may develop written – or at least pictographic – language before they developed spoken language.

Three teams were deployed to the largest growths of psuedoflora (aka plant specimen 327) around LONDON. Due to the entering of areas of anomalous magic, the teams took the time to properly prepare. They wore heavy layers of anti arcanoradiation clothing, had a number of specially made anomalous detectors and special collection devices developed by Fungus Spreading Beneath the Soil.

The groups headed out and one by one lost radio contact with the ERUDITES. The first returned a week later unsuccessful having been forced out of the anomalous zone by what they described as tentacles of dirt, monsters that tore through the ground like water and giant frogs with venomous fangs. The second returned a short while after that with several small samples but many heavy injuries. They described glass shards that swarmed together like stinging insects to slice through skin, muscle and even bone. Their samples consisted of two blossoms, one leaf and a root sample. While small, they were able to kickstart analysis.

Finally, the third team returned. They had stories of shadows that grabbed at their ankles, of whispers in the wind that misdirected them, but they prevailed. They brought twenty-six fully living specimens and four more cuttings of the pseudoflora allowing for intense study headed up by Fungus Spreading Beneath the Soil.

The findings are as follows:

• In appearance, the pseudoflora appear to be roses with stems of gold and petals of pure crystal. What they are is neither organic flower nor natural mineral. They appear to be made of a living substance previously unknown that requires intense further study but preliminary results show it to be a physical manifestation of Binding magic. 
• This pure Binding magic material acts as a form of magical emulsifier allowing different magical processes to work together which is why it was a key ingredient of the treatment for artificial vampires
• Being pure magic, the flowers cannot survive outside of a high magical environment and all samples eventually die. However a small number of seeds were able to be planted along a reliable leyline in ERUDITE territory providing promise of future plants. Whether these will be altered by growing in proximity to leyline magic as opposed to anomalous magic remains to be seen.

These findings were turned over to great excitement. The research will continue and is likely to bring with it sweeping developments in magical ritual development.

The contents of the underground research facility shocked and horrified the ERUDITE researchers that first made contact with them. This horror rippled out to the rest of the populace as stories began to emerge of the horrors that had occurred within that place.

That the experiments had been done on children, the nature of them, and, disturbingly, the revelation from recovered documents that this was but one of dozens of similar facilities across Europe. Potentially even the world. This had been an international effort of ethical violations.

The most disturbing recovery had to be the ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRE child. During recovery, she was just as unresponsive as she had been when the Delegates first discovered her. After brief discussion, donated blood laced with the hunger suppressant treatment was administered intravenously. After 76 hours of continuous treatment, she finally began to show signs of recovery. While very weak and incredibly confused, she was able to communicate that her name was Jenna Miles. As far as she was concerned, she was eight years old and had been evacuated from LONDON along with her brother, Luke. Their mother had gone missing and their father had been left behind when they’d been evacuated. The individuals who had taken them had promised that they were going somewhere safe. Her recollections began to get a lot more disjointed from that point on with very few solid memories of anything. Whether this was due to the treatment or what has been presumed to be over a decade of isolation and starvation, it is unknown. She has asked after her brother and parents but so far no progress has been made.

While under the effects of the hunger suppressant, she acts mostly like a typical, if highly traumatised, human eight year old. When asked for her birthday, she revealed it to be the 12^th of August 1996 making her thirty years old at the time of this report’s release. While she could be classified as an adult, it was determined by all that she should be treated as a child for the time being. While she could theoretically assist with the following testing, it was decided that this should only be as a last resort. The primary participant for tests remains Jay, the ERUDITE Scribe.

As the rest of the materials were looked through and the samples carefully analysed. This data has then been cross-referenced with further analytical tests done upon Jay. As a result, several conclusions could be reliably drawn:

• The international organisation that created the ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRES was called IRIS. It is unknown if this was an acronym or initialism and was designated by the symbol of an open eye.
• The ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRES were created by combining the genetic material of Dawn Vampires, Dusk Vampires, and Lycans and injecting it into humans.
• This was done through the use of the, at the time, newly developing CRISPR gene editing therapies enhanced by multiple castings of the ritual “Attis Reborn” to make the test subjects more ‘malleable’.
• All adult test subjects died. It was found the most successful results were upon pre-pubescent children.
• While DNA for CRISPR gene editing could be extracted from the blood of Lycans, Dawn Vampires, and Dusk Vampires, it was found that samples originating from Fae denatured too quickly to be used this way. At the time, the researchers had been in the process of trying to find a way to synthesise a Fae’s body in an attempt to keep the DNA alive.
• Before they could complete this process, they were given orders to deploy the ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRES they had created. In the facility found, the ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRES were all sent off with the exception of Jenna who had been transformed too recently to be safely transported.
• After the shipment was confirmed, all research stopped with the exception of a few panicked voice notes. It is believed that the political entity in charge had ordered the facility destroyed along with all researchers in an attempt to hide what had occurred.

This has led to a very obvious debate among the researchers and general scientific community of the ERUDITES: Could adding Fae genetics ‘complete’ the ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRES somehow?

There have been repeated omens alluding to the incompleteness of the ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRES along with vague suggestions that such a thing could be fixed. This leaves many questions. What would a completed ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRE look like? How would it even work? It is known that ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRE infections kills Fae seeds and from the materials recovered it would be a lot more complicated than simply injecting an ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRE with Fae blood.

A team of dedicated researchers have been assigned the task of coming up with a series of solutions. These will be presented to the delegates at the Third SUMMIT.

Returning from the SUMMIT the EVOLVERS poured over the plans shared by Lueca Who Flocks Together and Aricus. Aricus’ smuggling networks allowed them to spread an idea throughout the territory. Bringing to the EVOLVERS a series of plans that, with expert consultation, could work. The only question posed was how, not what, they would do.

A shout had rung out from the crowd as they had gathered to see what must be done. Aricus’ contacts throughout the EVOLVERS had all gathered to seek out a solution together, pooling their ideas into a collective unit. The sky bearing down on them from above with its great apocalyptic eye staring at the coalition judgementally, the swirling clouds that blotted out all life and promised far greater challenges beyond itself. A dare, a cruel and malicious thing that challenges them to seek its mysteries.
Over the next months the EVOLVERS set their mind to reaching heaven, piercing the clouds and rising above the smog. At first those efforts yielded nothing, long hours of fiddling through ideas and magical experimentations turning little. A breakthrough happened when, using materials provided by  Lueca Who Flocks Together, Moshe Silverspun removed a still living nerve cell from his hand and placed it into a petri dish while casting a leyline ritual. 

In the petri dish the cell had survived, remained connected to the leyline and had started to rapidly send out dendrites. The growth rate overwhelmed the researchers who backed away from the modified cell into their quarantine while the warlock remained, continuing the ritual while the cell started to seek out stabilizers. It found those in a mycelial growth that had been being used to detect subterranean leyline rivers. 

Once the cell reached the mycelium Dr. Silverspun’s casting exploded, releasing the energy no longer flowing from them into their nerve cells but instead between the nerve and the mycelium. 

Withdrawn immediately into the quarantine the researchers sequestered themselves with resources given by the PURISTS. Behind layers of security they watched as the two cells enmeshed, the mycelium feeding on surrounding nutrients and wrapping the nerve cell in a protective shell, activating long dormant replication instincts within the cell and causing immediate meiosis. Over the course of 48 hours the cell cluster first doubled in size, then quadrupled. The only thing stopping its growth was the lack of easily digestible nutrients in the lab after the first two days of expansion.

The developments sparked immediate questions within the community and after a few days of discussion one individual volunteered to go into the now sectioned off laboratory and run experiments. The brave soul had ventured in and reported through walkie-talkie that the cell cluster appeared to be a mass of white root-like growths that had formed into a ball around a central core of nerve cells. The nerve cells were rudimentary, passively reactive and unresponsive to anything other than touch. Perhaps because of their origin as a nerve muscle cell? They couldn’t say for sure.

What they would say however, to the horror of those listening over the walkie-talkie, was that they were taking off their hazmat suit and preparing to scrub down.
“I am giving you 15 minutes to get in here and take a sample or I am just going to do brain surgery myself”
And then the line went dead. A scream came from the other side of containment as the now patient took the mass of cells and delicately placed them deep deep into their own sinus cavity.

The ripple of energy as Lueca Who Flocks Together and Aricus scrambled to call a surgeon was so tense that by the time one was standing in the chamber with their now patient the cells had spread throughout their spinal column.
Bright eyes went willingly closed as the patient’s breathing slowed, aesthetic injected into the scalp as they patiently talked through the opening of their skull, a gentle cut through the duramatter, pia mater and the exposure of the brain. A careful procedure of probes and removal ensured as the delicate glia and neurons of the patient’s brain were sampled and as quickly as possible implanted into the growing network of nervous tissue and mushroom cells. As the meninges were carefully sealed back together, the bone reattached and the scalp resealed. Once they awoke the patient’s eyes stayed firmly on their collaborative creation protective of it and sensitive to its growth.
Within the month the cell cluster had grown, changed and divided into what appeared to be a living brain encased in soft mesh meninges of mycelium. The mushroom’s network cloaking, nurturing, protecting and feeding the life that it had become symbiotic with. As it got larger it fruited and as those fruiting bodies grew many ate them, many more would find themselves compelled to touch the emerging cords of mycelium, connecting themselves back to this strange new life. 

Their thoughts flowed together, a mess of colours and spiralling patterns. Their minds returned back to when they were but simple creatures driven by a pursuit of life. Each member connected a tree in a vast forest communicating with each other through the network of mushrooms, their signals of rain, of fire, of intent and growth all passed as naturally as breathing between each connected member.

They are one.

They are the forest.
They are the trees.

The EVOLVERS have created the new ritual: Spread The Mycelial Bloom.

It started at the summit and it started with the knowledge that a waste filled river could never support their dreams. The EVOLVERS struggled over layers of dense academic papers and consulted with biologists and engineers for weeks, their plans all dashed by one central conundrum, how to clean the the river Medway of pollutants to be able to make large enough turbines that they can entirely replace their natural gas and coal dependency.

The solution had come after consultation with a historical botanist and biologist from the Traditionalists who had pointed out that, indeed, the foundation species of the river Medway was oysters and clams. 

Sebastian Rolmarer, who’s shirt of the day featured many happy clams, stood on the banks of the river, a hand on his hip as he looked down his red sunglasses at a member of the Administration who stood in the river prepared to catch the clams and ensure that they were evenly dispersed beneath the waves. 

Turning with a flap of his blazer catching in the wind he signalled to one of the many many industrial sized trucks and holding an arm raised, they backed nearly four metric tons of clams and oysters onto the ADMINISTRATOR who was buried underneath the small mountain of molluscs. Hundreds of thousands of oyster and clam spores rushed into the river Medway to begin the efforts of cleaning it. While they started dry construction on the bells that would protect the external equipment as the Sebastian Rolmarer’s great barrier reef glinted in his sunglasses as the work started.

Months of work paid off when the first hydroelectric turbines were submerged and instead of needing to clean them weekly the Evolvers checks and tests revealed it would need to be cleaned biweekly. Then triweekly. As the oysters and clams rooted themselves into the layers of slime and mud within the banks they started to pull pollutants from the water, stirred up by the turbines and creating embankments and slowed currents where the baby oysters and clams could safely shelter as they began to grow.

As time marched forward the project’s scope expanded, turning into first one then three then more turbines.

The project expanded to revitalising the the river Medway as a river, the maintenance and cleanliness increasing the efficiency of the hydroelectric grid which itself stabilised as power flooded through it. Long hours spent in labs and research bays powered by the river resulted in more effective seeding of the natural habitat growing stronger every month. Though the true scope of the project would be years ago the immediate results promised a permanent solution to the energy problems faced by the EVOLVERS.

Inspired by these efforts the EVOLVERS began plans to erect wind turbines. They raised their first turbine high into the sky only to find that the fallout stuck to the gears, a magical erosion that ground the project to a halt before it had begun to flourish. The researchers involved had started to reach out to other communities but had not yet been able to solve the problem.

Still the EVOLVERS had established their self sustaining system and their next project was waiting for them on the horizon.

Upon the announcement of the plan from EVOLVER diplomats to the Grove’s speakers, there was hesitation. Many feared owing their allegiance to a larger power, others that they would be seen as secondary, or that over time their traditions would be eroded. Tensions only rose when it was discovered that north of LONDON remains difficult to impossible to travel through, and that the monsters may not be the end of their worries.

In the end, an agreement was reached. The Grove, and those who came with them, would willingly live within an enclave provided by the EVOLVERS, under certain conditions. Firstly, there would be no more than 8 inhabitants per home, and the homes would be no less repaired and undestroyed than EVOLVER homes. Second, they require space for communal gardens, storage, libraries, and recreation centres. Lastly, the crossing between EVOLVER territory and the enclave must always be positioned by an equal number of guards from both sides, so that travel is not restricted unfairly.

After some debate, the conditions were agreed to. The two groups successfully set up suitable dwellings around Foxbury – now named Groveshire – for the refugees to live. The school was partially repaired and turned into a communal centre, with various rooms being used for different needs, and classrooms for storage, education, or emergency shelters. The nearby field in the ruins of the old sports grounds have been repurposed as gardens, and the surrounding streets as permanent dwellings. As the guarded fences of EVOLVER territory were expanded, a gate was opened up on each bridge of the roundabout, with direct transit into Queen Mary’s Hospital for use by all people. 

There are still those in EVOLVER territory who are hostile to this decision, and those in the Grove who lament the necessary changes to their lifestyle, but for the most part, this solution has brought peace and safety to those in need of it, and there have been no reports of violence between communities.

The children seem to have suffered some social consequences, with some wondering why their friends live so far away. Various organisers have begun to set up play areas in both EVOLVER and Groveshire territory, where guardians can take children to socialise.

Over the months prior to the second SUMMIT, the society of the PILGRIMS had been riven with heated theological debate. These debates were wide-ranging, but tend to follow two broad topics. The first was the proper relationship between PILGRIMS and the seemingly-living magic of the leylines, with strong arguments both in favour of increasingly integrating the leylines into the lives of PILGRIMS and for leaving them pristine and untouched. These arguments spilled over into a broader debate over the position of orthodoxy within PILGRIM society; was the concept of ‘heresy’ something that had a place in PILGRIM society.

Shortly after the SUMMIT, however, the Councils of Authority and Faith came to a solution on both fronts. 

For the first topic, the debate lasted some time with various arguments being considered and examined. Eventually, though, convincing arguments were made by Father Georgios of the Megaloschemos and his apostles. Swayed by these words, the Councils came down strongly on the side of working closely with leyline magic, and now hold that the presence of the leylines is an active gift that the PILGRIMS would be ungrateful to spurn. One of the leading voices in this debate – the theologian Eliza Brookes – was consulted in great detail as to the reasoning behind the principles she espouses, and those principles were found to have merit. After some further debate, Brookes was extended an invitation to join the Council of Faith, which she has since accepted. At this point, Brookes has become one of the Council’s leading voices, advocating for PILGRIM society to fully integrate itself into the newly emerging magical ecosystem.

However, this shift in policy was not universally popular, and almost as many PILGRIMS opposed it as embraced it. Which itself brought up the second debate, and here the Councils moved quite swiftly to overwhelmingly embrace enforcing proper orthodoxy. It was deemed that – while the Councils knew the reasoning behind their doctrinal decisions – often this reasoning was poorly communicated to the wider laity, who did not fully understand why the PILGRIMS believed the things they believed. As a response to this problem, the PILGRIMS set about creating bodies to properly educate the laity on the true nature of PILGRIM doctrine and the reasons why it had been adopted; with better understanding of the truth, PILGRIM society would – it was hoped – unify behind these principles. The key thing was to restore trust in the decisions made by the Council of Faith.

Of course, not everybody who held problematic beliefs was quite so persuadable. It had been predicted that a few, holding onto already-fringe beliefs, could be radicalised and start actively working to destabilise PILGRIM society. Such behaviour, when it tipped from debate to active sabotage, was of course already criminal, and so the existing methods of law enforcement were tasked with nipping such problems in the bud.

This plan would, under normal circumstances, go smoothly, however it would turn out to be complicated by the mystery cult in the PILGRIMS’ midst. 

During the Second SUMMIT, a number of delegates were able to enter Saint Pancras’s Church and make contact with the entity within. The details of what occurred during these encounters have not been made public, but it is generally believed that they emerged with subtle emotional alterations influencing them. 

Subsequently, the PILGRIM delegates present debated how best to contain the Thing under the church, and came to the conclusion that it could probably be sated by a small but dedicated body of worshippers. 

Following approval by the PILGRIMS’ Council of Faith, steps went ahead to set up this organisation. The structure proposed by the delegate Martin Of The Golden Road was a secretive, initiatory mystery cult, whose internal structures and doctrines would be designed so as to prevent the cult from spreading its influence, hopefully containing the memetic threat posed by the Thing under the church. 

Building the philosophical framework to create this cult took some time, but elements were able to be adapted from various historical cultic groups, combined with what was known about the Thing’s interests and fundamental nature. 

In truth, little is known about the doctrines that emerged from this process, as the cult’s beliefs have intentionally been kept secret from the wider population. It is believed, however, that a rough outline works as follows:

The cult believes in a variation on the ideas of the PILGRIMS, holding that magic is a living thing. However, unlike the orthodoxy of the PILGRIMS, they reject the idea that there is a singular will behind magic, and instead consider the world’s thaumosphere as an ecosystem with many different organisms dwelling within it. The Thing under the church, they would argue, is just one of these organisms. Most strangely, though, they go on to claim that the divide between physical life-forms and thaumospheric ones is not clear cut, that a life-form can shift from one mode of being to another. The Thing under the church, they claim, is one such being, an ancient creature of Domus that was able to shed its physical form to become a being of pure magic. By offering it the reverence it clearly craves, they claim, they can follow in its footsteps and likewise work to elevate themselves above purely physical existence to become – at least partially – thaumospheric beings like their idol, whereupon they will be able to join it. 

To simplify their beliefs dramatically, it’s understood they believe people are not born with souls. Rather, the soul – a person’s existence in the thaumosphere – must be built through proper spiritual activity during a person’s life. Most people, they claim, are only able to construct a simple, flimsy soul that pales in significance to their physical existence, and upon their physical death, this soul disintegrates without a body to anchor it. Only the most spiritually adept are able to construct for themselves a soul that will endure after the death of their body. The Thing, then, is not treated as a deity, so much as an enlightened spiritual master; an ancient soul constructed in this way that they seek to emulate.

The specific methods espoused are believed to focus on secrecy, mystery and hidden things. Drawing on the Thing under the church’s supposed nature as a sort of spiritual burrowing scavenger, the importance of remaining firmly underground is emphasised, that spiritual development is hampered or actively undone by being witnessed. The cult’s methods favour darkness, masks, and riddles.

It should be noted that, while these beliefs are probably sincerely held by the cult, they are not necessarily true. Many of these doctrines were artificially created, in order to shape the nascent cult as its architects desired. In particular, the shift of the Thing’s role from adored deity to wise master is a very deliberate choice, intended to modulate the force of worship it receives to a controllable level. Likewise, the cult’s focus on internal personal development was carefully constructed to ensure that its focus would remain inward, preventing it from attempting to rapidly grow its membership and proselytise its ideas, and so containing the memetic infections of the Thing under the church.

All that being taken into account, though, the cult’s doctrines are probably not totally arbitrary. It is known that the cult will experience direct mental contact with the Thing under the church, and that the Thing is an ancient spiritual being with a particular nature and perspective. As such, the cult’s doctrines were constructed so that they would be compatible with the revelations expected to be received from their patron.

It’s generally understood that the cult contains multiple circles of initiation, with the inner-most being hidden from those on the periphery. As one draws closer to the centre of the cult, the above doctrines are revealed, and then – it’s believed – a threshold is crossed beyond which the true purpose of the cult is revealed; to ensure that the Thing that they revere exists in a proper harmonious balance with the wider thaumogenic ecosystem, rather than spreading out of control. 

All this being set up, the cult was set into motion with initial materials distributed by the visionary scholar Brian von Bonnstetten. By its own volition, it adopted the name The Society Of The Inward Coil (sometimes abbreviated to SOTIC), and adopted the name Kolthis The Great Helix for their patron under the church. Associated iconography include curves, crescents and spiral-patterns. Shortly after their proper creation, the cult – as expected – went entirely underground and its creators lost all contact with it. It is believed, by those monitoring it under the direction of Sciezka “Radiohead” Nowak, that the SOTIC is primarily active in PILGRIM, and EVOLVER populations, but that there are members within ERUDITE, TRADITIONALIST and SURVIVALIST groups. It is theorised that it may have a foothold within the more insular PURIST population, but gathering evidence to confirm this is difficult.

What is known is that a magical ritual believed to have been created by the cult – Behold The Inner Coil – has started to filter its way into wider society, and those in the know believe that this ritual serves to identify potential new initiates.

Still. The Society of The Inward Coil has been let loose into LONDON. Its adherents quietly, secretly, spread throughout LONDON, carefully locating suitable prospects and recruiting them to the cause. Like inky tendrils diffusing through murky water, the Society spreads its presence as it worms its way deeper underground so that it might occlude itself from view entirely. 

Player Participation: 

It is not possible, yet, for player characters to become members of the Society Of The Inward Coil. Involvement in this organisation will require you to interact with key NPCs – who will not be ADMINISTRATORS or Scribes – in play, or to attend key Excursions. These opportunities may not be immediately available. There is no guarantee that a given player character will ever be able to join SOTIC.  

That being said, players who wish to involve their characters further have access to the Contemplate The Inner Coil ritual, which, as well as its mechanical benefits, serves to let the plot writers know which player characters are interested in pursuing this avenue.  

Standing on a dry wharf built on the highest point of Mudchute park an administrator’s glassy eyes impassively watch as far off in the distance a team of SURVIVALISTS and PILGRIMS set up explosives against the walls of the Thames Embankment. With a cry from afar the small figures flee as in the river beyond a great shimmering reptilian side can be seen breaching the surface before diving back underneath, atop the hill a sheep bleating can be heard drowning out the shouts of man. 

BOOM!
The wharf is rocked as the water rushed in, thousands of cubic meters of water rolled in like a wave, sweeping through the lowlands of the mudchute and burying the soft green grass under meters of water. Trees sway as the walls of flooding pound against their tree trunks, some bending and snapping as the rush of grey dark liquid laps against the feet of the administrator standing on the dock.
Over the next weeks and months the flooding of the Mudchute turns the surrounding parks into estuaries and freshwater marshes. The plants exploding with vibrancy and a diversity of life, which had faded under the bitter chill of the Fallout, everywhere that could support green is dappled with it. Birds flocked into the trees and made nests from the rubble and marsh reeds, the flourishing carp changing colour gaining bright yellows, purples and blues as their size started to rapidly change. Along the shoreline the sheep, already established in the parks, begin to put on weight and become larger, their colours deepening and their wool softer. The marsh lands seem to be the perfect environment for the elusive Jasminum Anguis, or the Snake Blooms, which grow up the numerous trees and anchor the soil stopping it from washing away down the Thames.
Though the initial algae bloom was concerning to the PILGRIM the SURVIVALISTS , whose work in maintaining their own fields made them well aware of how to control a runaway bloom, assured them that it would stabilise if they were able to introduce semiaquatic and marsh natives. After a brief convergence under the Church of James the Great a large number of oyster and clam spores began propagation along with a plan to create mollusc reefs to trap the soil and vegetation within the area.

The solution was simple enough, to simply wait, but no one found the waiting easy. PILGRIMS flocking to the edge of the marshes to walk along the docks and the elevated boardwalks hoping to see a flash of scales in the water. 

On one frightful morning a little girl flying her kite along the wharf watched as a snake, perhaps 60 meters in length from head to midsection, launched itself out of the water grabbed one of the large sheep from where it was grazing along the water’s edge and dragged it back into the undertow causing a tidal wave as she and her father raced back to the dry dock to report their sighting.

The description given of the creature, dubbed “Paulie” by the little girl, was of a snake, likely 120 meters in length or more, with dark black scales that shone and refracted light much like a prism. Its body caused an oilsheen-like look atop the water, disguising the massive snakes disturbances beneath the surface as waves or sunlight.

The little girl’s drawing of the beast showed that Paulie, dubbed Pollux by the PILGRIMS, had a large whale harpoon skewered into its chest narrowly missing its spine. By following an iridescent oil-like substance floating atop the water the PILGRIMS were able to track the massive river Thames Snakes back to one of the flooded estuaries created in the Mudchute park.

With much sacrifice from the ADMINISTRATORS, whose bodies were often eaten by the Thames Snakes in their pursuit of the injured snake, an incredible discovery was made. Hidden amongst the reeds and foliage were two eggs, each shiny and translucent much like a blown bubble with small coiled black spirals tightly wound within. Though only seen for a split second before the ADMINISTRATORS’ vision registered a large mouth and then total darkness, the successful laying of eggs confirmed to the PILGRIMS and the SURVIVALISTS that their project had been a smashing success. Not only had it created a habitat for the Thames Snakes where they would reside and share their natural abundance without conflict, but it had been so successful that there was now proof of a successful breeding pair – for better or for worse.

In an effort to better survive the hostile conditions of a post-war London, PILGRIM DELEGATEs have successfully funded a team of sorcerous researchers to analyse the arcano-radioactive fog. Their aim is to discover if it would be possible to transmute the cloud such that it replaces the lost ozone layer damaged in the strikes against the city, minimising the risk of deadly sun exposure.

Firstly, what was discovered is that arcano-radiation is not inherently radioactive, but rather is itself a constant process of transmutation, disrupting the world on a metaphysical level. In essence, it is uncontrolled magic. The Council of Faith was quick to point out, in light of these results, that the magic that was present in the world prior to 2012 did not hold this level of unpredictability for day-to-day living, and this could not be considered the Will of the arcane. 

In any case, the random nature of the effects still creates a kind of entropic decay, causing great risk for life and the natural environment. Arcane decay causes great shifts in atmospheric pressure and composition, which has resulted in the lack of shielding from UV rays, and the blight on crops experienced for the last fourteen years. Electromagnetic radiation is shown to rapidly increase in frequency when passing through areas most affected, and electrical signals, including those within organisms, falter.

What is also true, and of interest to the Councils, is the fact that arcane decay also significantly increases magical energy even further than the amount released in the bomb itself. Magic radiates, lingers, and grows. There are reports of prophetic visions, the sudden transformation of beasts or plants into different organisms (though with no sign of sapience), or humans into warlocks. This is not without its own dangers, as magical diseases such as the hunger that struck the PILGRIMs the previous year, or ritual disruptions can also occur.

Compiling their findings, the researchers have determined that arcane fallout still poses extreme danger, but can be used as a great source of energy, both magical and mundane, again in much the same way as fissible material. Though it would take significantly more resources than are currently available, and require a large investment of time, it is theoretically possible to use the power available to consciously transmute the atmosphere back, though it would require maintenance. The Council of Faith celebrates this discovery as proof even in the darkest times, the Will provides a way out for those willing to look. The Council of Authority is pleased to see the results of the investigation, and hopes that smaller-scale attempts at atmospheric redistribution can be used on a local scale to help with hydroponics.

Using the resources brought to the SUMMIT, as well as assistance from EVOLVER philosophers and researchers, great progress was made on adapting the ‘Unionist Project’. After scouts were sent to hidden caches and natural ANOMALIES, they were able to gather material and data enough to begin medical research. Entire sections of Union Square were assigned to the task until a breakthrough in hastened mutation and biological augmentation was successful.

After some live trials on magically affected rats, human trials began, first on the condemned, and then on those volunteers whose mutations would be too severe to survive else wise. Five months on from the SUMMIT, the project has been declared a partial success. The created ‘genus’ have been called Terrans, though some have taken to calling them Giantes, Meta-humans, or Neohumans. They appear to be magically identical to Warlocks, though they have no innate capacity for untrained magic. Rather, they boast a resistance to arcane decay and slowed cell degradation. The process leaves physical markers, such as changes to the eyes, cosmetic growths, and in some cases darkened veins. Presently, the process only works on those born physically human who have some amount of arcane influence – either warlocks, or those turned after birth.

The project, while voluntary so far, shows success, with even the First Minister showing open support. She has shown the effects of the experiments to her people, in the process revealing herself as the last Prime Minister of the UK. Some have protested all the same, concerned that doctors cannot be entirely certain there will not be uncontrolled magical effects, and more hardline opposition has claimed the project corrupts the potential last survivors of the apocalypse. The Ministers own faction, however, have fallen in line, and more people have sought out medical treatment on the basis of an alteration of their genus since the project’s advancement. 

Further research is needed to apply the treatment to ARTIFICIAL VAMPIRES, as it is incapable of curing their hunger, and cannot at this stage propose a full solution.

The causes of Moon Sickness were successfully uncovered by a team of researchers, including contributions from the ERUDITES. What was discovered was a sort of mycelial growth magically linked to moon phases. It saps energy from the brain, before rapidly consuming the rest of the body when it is no longer being supplied. The more water one drinks, the greater supply of the fungus in their system, and the faster they get sick. 

Once a cure was found, the Laxley Civilian Infirmary began work distributing the drug in ration packs. Further, military members were deployed as disaster relief to dissolve the cure in water sources, and throughout the pipe network. Though some still died waiting for the cure to be completed, soon after cases dropped and then disappeared. 

Even as the threat of the disease is over, the water is still physically tainted by it. While safe to drink, it remains bitter, and still has a slight sheen to it. Whatever caused the spread of the sickness in the first place appears to still be active, and still producing more

PURIST engineers, with assistance from scouts and researchers, put together an armoured train capable of withstanding the massive amounts of fallout north of London. Weeks of careful work also helped repair damaged and overgrown rail lines, and then a team of members of the intelligence service were sent north. Small bands of survivors dotted the wastes, though seemed mostly hostile to the unknown vehicle passing by. Once the train reached the midlands, all signs of life stopped. There was no real sign of physical damage, but for miles around Birmingham, nothing moved, unless it shuddered and transformed. Buildings lay silent, roads and railways deserted. Some of the dead were frozen as stone statues, or simply as they stood, as were trees, or grass. Many others seem to have simply vanished. The water in the canals appeared sickly, like a dark sludge. No signals were able to make it in, out, or through the fallout zone. 

After making it through the midlands, a boosted radio receiver was able to pick up fragmented signals. Engineers assigned to the mission took some time, and were able to pick up short communications that must have come from major settlements. Further, the number of survivors in the wastes increased again after leaving the fallout. It is almost certain that the relay of signals was noticed, and the number of witnesses of the journey means information will have spread. The recordings were sent to the First Minister on the missions’ return.

It is noted that there are populations of herd animals in the SURVIVALISTS’ territory. Watching as the migration of sheep, goats and a stray cow is uninteresting, but over time patterns begin to emerge. Farmers and farm hands who the sheep don’t like, the way a herd will scamper from the herding dogs. 

It may occur to the observer that the human animal is much the same. Moving from paddock to paddock and house to house. Ever busy. Ever in motion. It makes sense that a farmer would become more like the animal they spend time around. A farmer with his gun over his shoulder will watch the herd to see what they’re scared of, then aim and see for himself. He might whistle to his dog who barks on command. Over time his dog will become more like him, more attentive to the farmer’s will and intentions. The farmer might become more attentive to his dog, understanding when an overtired animal needs to take a rest and trade out for the beast at his side.

This pattern was observed by Sebastian Rolmarer and the Professor whose communications throughout their territory quietly began to make it clear that those affected tended to act more like their herds. Between the pair Sebastian and the Professor were able to receive reports from throughout the SURVIVALISTS’ lands that these effects had been seen anywhere with high enough animal populations. First farmers congregate into groups, normal and sensible as this might be this behaviour would become compulsive as the mentality of the herd begins to reign amongst them. Then individuals would refuse to move outside of group formation, justified, of course, by a nebulous predator that seems to be out to get these farmers.

And that isn’t wrong.

There are dangers lurking in the rural corners. There are dangers lurking in the homesteads too. A pair of individuals will always be safer than an individual and if a pair is a group then isn’t a quartet even better? That idea took hold and spread like wildfire amongst the SURVIVALISTS who aren’t cautious, first one then ten then more and more speaking together and discovering that each of them has had a nebulous feeling of danger.

It solidified when the time came for the slaughter the herd came. Yes everyone had known that it was time and the farmers had herded the flock into the pens where they could be sent off to the abattoir. The sheep however hadn’t known until they were being funnelled forwards. Their eyes glistening and shining as they stared up at a human with a knife or a hammer moments before everything went black. Face after face of a human before blackness. 

The Face of Danger. 

The abattoir workers went home, they went to sleep and they saw this face. A dangerous face. Holding a weapon in hand. Reaching for them with clinical malice before everything went black. When they woke up in a cold sweat many of them were seeing the after image of this malicious man and from it an idea began to spread until finally it was named. 

The Sheriff.

The Sheriff circulated beyond the abattoir and into the general population. Then that fear expanded. The Sheriff was going to harvest them, take their organs, feast on their bones, kill their young and steal their vitality. They needed to protect themselves and the solution came to them with surprising ease. It was Gemma Gardner who sent trained psychologists to help with the rising tide of fear, anxiety and aggression. Quieting it down and establishing small pods of community check ins, allowing the flow of rapidly rising agitation to move through the SURVIVALISTS without turning into violence.

Pairing off became regimented buddy systems. Without natural claws and teeth their solution of weapons was substituted in. Regimented and protective, the strong members surrounding the weaker ones. An armoury of forethought and violence to inflict on anyone who might think of the SURVIVALISTS as easy prey.

So it is observed, a pack instead of a herd.

For some time, it had been becoming apparent that the SURVIVALISTS were viewed by other factions in LONDON as less of a coherent faction of their own and more as a collection of unaffiliated individuals. Though a strong internal identity with its own cultural norms had emerged among the SURVIVALISTS over the years, to an outside observer little of this was apparent, and a common external stereotype was to simply view the various Survivalist groups as mere rabble in need of another faction’s leadership. 

Suffice to say, this rankled with many SURVIVALISTS, who would be quick to point out that as a whole, the SURVIVALISTS had control over far more productive land – farmland, scavenging grounds and foraging territory – than the other factions, and that their people were living lives just as fulfilling as anybody else in the remains of LONDON. 

As contact with other factions continued, and the contrast between SURVIVALIST bands and the other – far more organised – factions of LONDON became more stark, this sense of identity continued to condense. The matter came to a head in the aftermath of the second Summit, as diplomatic tensions resulted in the SURVIVALISTS gathering as a single body to fully commit to their identity as a coherent group.

In these discussions, the ideals settled on matched those first proposed by the SURVIVALIST DELEGATES at the second summit: Individual Freedom, Self Determination, and Survival. 

Individual Freedom, it is concluded, is the foundation of SURVIVALIST society. Each SURVIVALIST is a free individual, responsible for their own actions and determining their own course in life. SURVIVALISTS might choose to form groups among themselves, but their choice to do so is purely voluntary. In practice, this means that membership in various SURVIVALIST Gangs tends to be fairly fluid, with members joining and leaving as a matter of convenience or reflecting their own interpersonal relations. 

Few of those involved in discussions have any illusions about the conflicts that exist within SURVIVALIST society. Gangs going to war is expected. Indeed, a cheerful ongoing feud between the largest gangs based in Heathrow and Richmond has kept the balance of power from swinging to a single leader, and this is generally regarded as a good thing. It’s also generally understood that conflicts between gangs are an internal matter, and that other gangs shouldn’t get involved on either side unless they, too, are part of the conflict. Sometimes a rough stalemate is achieved, and sometimes the losing gang is absorbed into their nearby allies or dissolves and goes their own separate ways. 

Ultimately, though, gang affiliation is an individual matter, and anybody who doesn’t like how their own gang is working can simply walk away. There are plenty of other gangs who would take them in, or else plenty of unclaimed land in SURVIVALIST territory for somebody wanting to go it alone.

While Individual Freedom is a principle that guides individual SURVIVALISTS internally, Self Determination comes to represent a similar understanding of how the SURVIVALISTS as a whole deal with other factions. In short, it’s an assertion of SURVIVALIST sovereignty. They reject the claims of other factions that they represent “the legitimate British government”, and instead assert that the government totally collapsed and any supposed successors are just making things up. After all, they say, there are two different groups both saying they’re the only real government, which exposes the whole thing as a sham. 

In the face of all this, the SURVIVALISTS have a principle of mutual self defence. As much as they have their own internal squabbles, those should be set aside in the face of an external threat, such as another faction attempting to make the SURVIVALISTS into a vassal state. After all, the SURVIVALISTS have a lot of guns and a lot of experience using them, which makes telling people to stop interfering quite simple actually.

The final principle is Survival. This is, after all, the point of being a SURVIVALIST. It’s generally agreed that the SURVIVALISTS would like to not die in the post-apocalyptic world, but further than that, that quality of life matters. In short, that SURVIVALISTS want to live lives worth living in the here and now. It’s a simple principle, but it underpins a lot of decision making. After all, considering the vast swathes of land they have access to, a given SURVIVALIST probably eats better than the upper echelons of other factions. 

None of this, of course, was pinned down in some charter or constitution. There was no formal pact or pledge made. Just a general consensus arrived at over the course of several days of discussions, that rippled through the wider population as those who took part in the talks disperse and return to their own communities. 

When it was announced that the DELEGATES of the SURVIVALIST had chosen a library to build, there was initially confusion. Many questioned why something like this had been built when there were options to increase trade or military readiness. Something like a library, something that didn’t seem immediately useful, was initially seen as a frivolous waste of resources by many community leaders. But it was what had been chosen and so the work began.

As time went on, things began to shift a little. First there was the issue of where to place the library. Initially it was thought to place it in one of the larger gangs’ territories or perhaps repurpose a library from times gone by. But as the communities discussed it, influenced by the new found communal spirit invoked by the DELEGATES’ decision to federate them, it was found that they wished to create a new cultural hub. A neutral ground unaffected by the existing borders and groups.

The library will be the heart of this new hub.

Workers from all across SURVIVALIST territory came together to begin construction. They brought with them the skills and tools they needed, many provided materials by Gemma Gardner and bolstered by her words. Fears of the sheriff did not quickly abate but as they spent time together; sharing tools, techniques, and materials, campfires, food, and stories, something began to change. The camps shifted to become one unified tent village around this grand structure and, when it was completed, a large number chose to stay and begin building more permanent residences around it.

The library, not yet named, was built from wood and repurposed stone scavenged from the buildings. Limestone and sandstone were once a large part of the older infrastructure.

It is a large two story building in a simple, sturdy style designed to withstand the weather. A low sloped roof that keeps the rain off and carefully placed windows to ensure the best protection of the books from both the sun and damp. The walls are lined with shelves, the upper floor filled with a maze of cases while the lower floor remains somewhat open to allow for tables and comfortable seating to be brought in. After some debate, a basement was dug out during the early stages to act as long term storage if they got their hands on particularly delicate works. 

Once the building was complete and the initial furnishing placed, then it was time to fill it. First, Tia Watson donated a great amount of research. Then came the contingent of PILGRIMS with their many stocks of books, scrolls and tomes. Many old Earth texts were placed on the shelves along with tales from Domus, and, as could be expected, a large amount of religious writings. These early works also brought with them the Dewey Decimal System and the various adaptations that had been made to it by the PILGRIMS.

The SURVIVALISTS that gathered around the library as its stewards became known, perhaps predictably, as the Librarians. Envoys of the Librarians were sent out across SURVIVALIST territory with empty books and a large amount of writing utensils to begin writing down everything they could. From nursery rhymes, to stew recipes, to mushroom identification guides, to campfire ghost stories, to symptoms of illness. Anything and everything was heard or read, carefully transcribed or copied, and then, eventually, taken back to the library. At the library, the notebooks were carefully taken apart, their contents sorted into relevant topics, and then rebound into proper books and placed upon the shelves.

Stories have recently begun to spread about the woes and misfortunes that befall any who might attack a librarian. The validity of these tales cannot be verified.

The census has revealed near-complete demographic information for the SURVIVALISTS. In total, there are 252,073 residents within the area claimed by the Faction, 52,935 of which are originally from Domus, and 59,741 are aged 16 or under. Of the population, 63% have a favourable opinion of the recent non-intervention agreements, and 76% are pleased with the armaments program. 49% of respondents claimed they were at least “slightly worried” about the influence of other Factions within the SURVIVALISTS. The census revealed the extent of food and water resources, fuel reserves, weapons caches, as well as a network of relationships between different gangs within the SURVIVALISTS. 

Among the SURVIVALISTS, the majority of people proclaimed some sort of spiritual belief, 11% holding no spiritual beliefs, 27% being followers of the faith of the Pilgrims of the Way, 6% describing themselves as ‘spiritual’. The remaining population follow in the same traditions they did before the Exodus, whether from Earth or Domus.

This information will prove useful when conducting any internal affairs, or when crucial resources are needed for survival or trade.

As the census was given with the understanding it could be used to prepare for a potential war with another Faction, various interest groups have appeared following. Some call for peace, others claim readiness to defend themselves, or stop a threat early. The leaders of the two largest gangs, Jessica Reynolds and Montague, have become nexuses for these beliefs respectively, though following the non-aggression agreements, are at peace internally. A distinct minority – no more than 2% of the population, mostly those who were adults before the war – call for reunification. Alexandra of the Pack of White Stripes, a lycan of 30 years who was turned in 2004, has become a vocal voice for this group.

The SURVIVALISTS have a clear idea who would fight for them, under what circumstances, and what resources they could expect in such a conflict.

The fog has receded into small, contained pockets, and has been all but expelled from inhabited territory, including TRADITIONALIST land. The paranoia of TRADITIONALIST citizens did not disappear with it. Late at night, people still claim to hear howling, and trust is rapidly deteriorating. The election was promised as an opportunity to reunify, but seemed only to deepen divides. Those who participated found their communities, and are unwilling to compromise. Parliament has hit a deadlock more dire than even the Speaker initially predicted, which has only worsened with the addition of a new party. Queens Party members have begun accusing Reds of being Purist spies, the DAG as hosting anti-British radicals, and the New Londoners as immovable fools who have stolen the wealth of the people for personal gain. In turn, hostilities have grown. The accusations between the other three parties have intensified, with fighting within the cabinet growing disturbingly common. The DAG Home Secretary openly accused members of the NLP of using the Civil Guard to create the conspiracy on purpose to drive out Lycans. As trust falls in the Civil Guard and parties and interest groups begin to rely on their own loyalists, the NLP has in turn accused the Reds of attempting a coup with their cadres. The Reds have blamed the DAG for trying to block Parliament and prevent proper distribution of rationing and work. Between the arguments, almost no work is getting done, and the Guard is without a head. The Chairperson, Speaker, and First Guard have all sheltered themselves, but believe it may only be a matter of time before the worst of the effects reach them as well. 

Without organised protection, black marketeering has skyrocketed. The market has long used the outdated ration cards as a form of luxury currency, and despite them having been out of print for years, counterfeits have begun to hit the market. Theft has dramatically increased, and violent conflict at night is becoming common. Trust has fallen, to the extent that community kitchens are seeing less and less use, putting a strain on the Guard’s ability to distribute aid and keep the peace. More and more, TRADITIONALISTS are having to rely on what local resources they have, turning communities even more insular. Factionalism seems to have completely taken root, and opportunists have used this chaos to escape notice and capture.

Every time the wolf howls, it seems someone is injured, or killed. People are left with gashes, survivors having little memory of being attacked. Whether an actual rogue, a conspiracy, or madness brought on by the lingering effect of the fog is unclear, but tension has risen to a critical point and the TRADITIONALISTS threaten to fall to their own division.

Despite limited time before the election, the ADMINISTRATORS were able to use the resources provided by the TRADITIONALIST DELEGATES to quickly distribute information, catch up the Civil Guard, and allow the vetting of all of the top candidates placed on rosters by participating parties. Following the announcement, the three major parties made various statements regarding their commitment to the election. Minister Woolfe expressed his disappointment, though claimed he would ‘continue to support democracy in all its forms’, and was immediately placed as the first position for the New London Party. He remains a Cabinet Minister. Red general secretary Edith Atwood released a statement in the party’s publication which lauded it as a progressive change from the previous system, though warns that the will of the majority can be subverted by squabbling and inefficiencies, promising that the party will continue to fight for the rights of its people and defend the gains of the Coalition and the Third Cabinet.

DAG leader Mulhectoros of the White Cave has praised the move as ‘giving a voice to the voiceless’ and making sure that ‘nobody is unheard’ and ‘Earth will not dominate our politics’. They promised to ensure that no outside force would harm this new democracy.

In the lead up to the election, Sir Bernard Gooding, previously a fringe restorationist activist, has rallied support. His claims that the coalition parties had become complacent and did not have the best interests of the ‘average voter’ in mind gained some attention, however the campaign became far more popular after a series of speeches against the Albionic Union Party. He blamed their ‘radical’ positions for the creation of the Purists under their leader, and insisted that the TRADITIONALISTS need an identity separate from them.

To that end, he created the Queen’s Party, rallying around the aesthetics of a patriotic 21st century Britain, and commended the DELEGATES for maintaining tradition and a stiff upper lip in the face of conflict. 

The Speaker declared the movement reactionary, but some members of her party noted that it would be impossible to re-privatise, and so the movement may well be harmless. DAG representatives worry that a focus on patriotic identity would diminish the social progress made both since 2004 and within the TRADITIONALISTS themselves, but nonetheless the creation of the party shows that this system allows new voices.

The New London Party was hit hardest by the loss of voters, despite Minister Woolfe’s claims that the fall of the U.K. is a lesson to be learned from, not repeated. He was instated as leader of the NLP in an effort to gain some stability.

The Queen’s Party itself attracted many older and more conservative voters who survived the Collapse, but also many younger people who do not remember a time before the bombs and seek to assert their own identity. 

Following this, representatives have encouraged DELEGATES to behave in line with their personal principles and beliefs, to show the plurality of TRADITIONALIST democracy to other Factions.

Election Results

Parliament:

Domus Advocacy Group (DAG) : 42% – 25 MPs

Red Guard (RG) : 30% – 18 MPs

New London Party (NLP) : 15% – 9 MPs

The Queen’s Party (QP) : 13% – 8 MPs

Cabinet:

• Chairperson: Mulhectoros of the White Cave (DAG)

• Speaker: Charlotte Byrne (RG)
• First of the Civil Guard: Arthur Woolfe (NLP)
• First Chair of the High Court: Maryam Khosravi (NLP)
• Secretary of the Home Office: Cold Rains Run Over Feathers (DAG)
• Treasurer: Bernard Gooding (QP)
• Secretary of Foreign Affairs: Petals Over Stilled River (RG)
• Secretary of Labour: Edith Atwood (RG)
• Secretary of Education: Angela Who Flies With Magpies (NLP)
• Secretary of Health: Carys Lloyd (DAG)

Minister of Culture: Imogen Hargreeves (QP)

Minister of Equalities: Astares of the Eight Moons (RG)

Minister of Agriculture and Environment: Tama Who Stares Ahead (DAG)

Minister of Housing: William Brooker-Hastings (DAG)

Minister of Defence: Lyra of Thamesside (NLP)

Minister of Justice: Céleste Boucher (NLP)

Minister of Development: Natasza Koch (RG)

Minister of Technology: Priya Sharma (NLP)

Minister of Energy: Seedling In Stricken Soils (DAG)

Minister of Communication: Eoin Collins (RG)

The hatching of Lil Yolky was a grand affair for the TRADITIONALISTS. Many school children gathered around the nursery to watch the grand working of magic and ritual that came to allow the egg to safely hatch. It had taken a lot of careful work to devise the method of safe hatching, spearheaded by Alistair Sinclair and bolstered by materials the SURVIVALISTS had provided.

The stony carapace fractured and split, exploding outwards in a rain of fragments that were hastily collected to become talismans of the day. A heavy cloud of glittering smoke hung over the room as the crowd waited with bated breath. After a long pause, one of the handlers strode out of the cloud with a small creature held up for all to see.

The creature was just over a metre long and weighed about ten kilograms when first measured but has been rapidly gaining mass in the weeks since. It is a mixture of avian and mammalian with a juvenile feline body, a long feathery tail and two underdeveloped bird wings on its back. It has a mix of fur and downy chick feathers across most of its body. The face is a mixture of feline and human-like features including very large bright blue eyes with feline slitted pupils.

For a moment the crowd stared in surprise, then the creature opened its mouth and let out a sound that was a mixture of a baby’s wail and a kitten’s mewling.

As the crowd erupted in delight, the creature was taken away for medical testing to ensure it was healthy. It rather stumped a lot of the medical professionals as it is certainly something that has not been seen before. The most surprising thing is that, along with its accelerated growth, it has been showing alarming increases in its human-like intelligence. It seems to understand a lot of words it hears and has begun babbling rather like an infant in the pre-linguistic stage of child language acquisition.

After a lot of intense discussion, the creature’s species has been dubbed a ‘Sphinx’ due to its similarities to the mythological creature. The creature has not yet been given its own name and the DELEGATES of the Summit have been asked if they wish to provide a name.

So far, the little Sphinx seems healthy and boundlessly curious.

For some months the TRADITIONALISTS have been aware of a greenhouse in Fulham containing a dense ecosystem of magically mutated plants, dubbed ‘Triffids’ by Traditionalist botanists studying them.

Prior to the second SUMMIT, studying the Triffids had determined a few key facts:

The Triffids are large, vigorously growing carnivorous plants capable of movement.

When they consume animal prey, they can absorb some of the intelligence and mental traits of that prey; their intelligence has been increasing as they devour more intelligent prey, to a level comparable to moderately intelligent vertebrates. 

They will happily try to devour people. They have only succeeded once but following this they were able to mimic the appearance of people their prey would have remembered, and showed flashes of greater intelligence.

They do not seem to register Fae as prey, and when Fae approach them alone the Triffids accept them as peers.

They are rooted to the spot within their greenhouse, and seem unable to leave; if they are removed from that magically infused soil, they wither and die.

The initial TRADITIONALIST response after the issue became apparent was to focus on security. Though the greenhouses’ access to water and sunlight was not cut off, the entrances to the greenhouse were closed off, and a secure perimeter established around them by members of the New Avalon Foundation under the direction of Rebecca Sinclair. Outside observers watched the plants’ patterns of behaviour to determine what threat they might pose, and how they might be combatted.

Cursory experimentation with defoliants proved extremely successful; even very simple weedkillers proved lethal to cuttings taken from the plants.

Further observation of the plants revealed that their diet had shifted slightly. Although many forms of animal life wandered into their territory to be devoured, the secure perimeter cut off access from animals that relied on ground travel. The majority of their prey, therefore, began to shift towards birds. In particular, the comparative tameness displayed by London’s pigeons made them easy prey to the carnivorous plants.

As many of the scientists observing the situation predicted, the mental characteristics of their prey propagated throughout the population of plants. Over successive months, though they remained carnivorous, pigeon-like docility became more common among them. By this point, it was already well established that the Triffids didn’t regard Fae as prey or threats, and so on multiple occasions joint research teams of ERUDITE and TRADITIONALIST Fae, led by the ERUDITE researcher Fungus Spreading Under Soil, were able to venture into the greenhouses to make closer contact with the Triffids. These teams reported the plants displaying increasing levels of tameness and social behaviour, flocking to the Fae in ways that could – from a somewhat anthropomorphised point of view – be seen as friendly. 

As time passed, further fruiting bodies were produced by the triffids, that came to resemble the forms of the prey most influential in their neural makeup. Pigeon-like forms were most common, but other fruits displayed shapes reminiscent of feral cats.

Eventually, a hypothesis was put forward by a TRADITIONALIST Fae researcher working under Rebecca Sinclair; that by devouring prey that showed signs of tameness – most notably from London’s population of feral pigeons – the Triffids had absorbed those same traits, and were – in effect – domesticating themselves.

An experiment was conducted by this Fae. A young plant on the edge of the greenhouses was dug up, and transplanted into a pot filled with soil taken from that greenhouse able to support it. It was taken to a laboratory away from the greenhouse itself, where it was kept under tight control, allowed access to water and sunlight. Its behaviour was, as expected, animalistic and largely feral. Over time, though, the researchers fed it members of domesticated species, most notably rabbits. As the plant consumed more rabbits, its behaviour became less aggressive and more skittish, and over time it began to behave affectionately towards the botanist, rubbing its leaves against the fae in a mimicry of social bonding. 

At this point, the plant was introduced to a human researcher. By this point, its diet had consistently been made up of domesticated animals, and it displayed the same tame behaviour towards the human as it had towards the Fae.

The conclusion of the experiment was that it was possible to shape the Triffid’s behaviour by feeding them prey whose behaviour matched the desired outcome.

The experiment concluded, the juvenile Triffid was returned from its pot to the main greenhouse. As its roots re-established contact with the broader root network of the greenhouses, over time its behaviours – which had until now been isolated to this specific individual – were absorbed into the greater mass of Triffids. It’s notably tame behaviours were observed among the wider population, who began to produce rabbit-shaped fruit periodically, while the subject of the experiment took on traits seen among the wider Triffid population.

The conclusions of the research are as follows:

It would be easy to destroy the Triffids if desired. They cannot move from the spot, and are reliant on specific soil to live. They are vulnerable to defoliants, fire, and disruption of their environment.

The roots of the plants link them into a single community, and traits are shared among them. Where a plant is separated from this root-network, it will develop independently of them. Potted triffids develop traits unrelated to the greater mass within the greenhouses.

It is possible – even comparatively simple – to domesticate the Triffids by feeding them domesticated prey, and to influence their behaviour. The personality and level of intelligence the Triffids display can be shaped by their diet, as can the level of threat they pose.

Propositions have been floated – initially by ERUDITE researchers, but with increasing support from Traditionalists – to set about fully domesticating populations of Triffids. It’s suggested that they might be made use of as guard animals, pets and service animals if fed properly trained prey. 

A final topic of research was the strange, effigy-like fruits the plants produced. Their makeup was investigated and confirmed to be a simple fruiting body, with flesh typically resembling peaches or apples, although there is significant variation. Chemical analysis suggests that these fruits aren’t toxic, and might prove edible, even quite nutritious. As yet, however, no experiments have been conducted into the effects they may have if eaten.

Over the months following the SUMMIT engineers and climate specialists worked together to create a sustainable system from the skeleton of the old one. Together in collaboration with builders and historical preservationists the failing and damaged energy grid that had run under the streets was torn out and replaced. The power stations which had begun to rust and crumble were replaced with treated wooden beams, the patched towers torn down and reassembled. For a scant few days everything had gone dark, all of the power within the TRADITIONALISTS’ sector shutting off before in a glorious celebration every light flickered back on.

Substations that had been left unattended were given organised labour forces to check in on them, new trainees and funding rededicated to maintenance and servicing. Though the system may not last a hundred years, planned failure points were created to alert those future generations where problems lie and the rigorous planning and documentation ensured that those fixes, while costly, will be easy streamlined decisions. 

Once the power stations had been fixed, the coils lofted into the air and the lines of electricity ran, the work of setting up the true work had begun. 

Where the power lines had been an act of preservation and reconstruction, done while keeping as much of the beautiful historicity of Central LONDON intact as possible, the hydroelectric grid was planned as a bold expansion into what power generation in a new modern LONDON could look like.

A small fleet of microhydro turbines deployed along the key rivers started the project. Careful planning revealed that the pollution in the river, while a problem at the moment, could be avoided entirely by building flotillas. A discussion with an EVOLVER botanist had informed them that much of the pollution in the river Medway came from a run away nitric cycle and cleaning it would have to be done with biological “reconstitution” as he had put it.

Yet resting along the top of the water’s surface and creating a fallout shadow where the turbines could chug merrily along had been the temporary solution. The rotation of the turbines within the current anchored with rebar and steel lines spanning bank to bank. Monitored and kept clean by hand for the time being the realisation of the utility of these flotillas has percolated amongst the traditionalists. An older more mobile method of farming that would simultaneously pull the excess nutrients from the river and keep their turbines clear of algae and muck.

As some delved deep into books to research older methods the engineers inputting the hydroelectric grid had finished their project with great success. As the ancient city watched on, the current of the river Medway pulled the TRADITIONALIST into a new era, one independent of the old infrastructure that had failed them. 

With rigorous notes and step by step documentation they laid out their blueprints and filed them away carefully, preserving this project for other communities that might need it in the future or their own which will surely take up their mantle going forward.

Upon receiving their orders, the Knights of Avalon and the 102 Logistics Corp headed to the last known location of the women that included Lissa Harper. While the group had moved on, they were easy to track by the path of pure carnage that they left behind. Any living thing that they came across was torn apart, often literally. There were very few whole corpses, instead just pieces; limbs, viscera, decapitated heads. The strength displayed was beyond anything initial observations had suggested.

They were tracked through the wastes to the south-west where the group of eight women were found engaged with a large, many-headed beast dubbed a Hydra by the scouts. Before the retrieval team could intervene, one of the women was observed ripping off one of the heads with her bare hands. The Hydra then fled. When the women attempted to give chase, the retrieval team intercepted them.

Thanks to the preparations taken, the women were able to be separated and subdued through the use of heavy tranquillisers. Many of the retrieval team were heavily injured but there were thankfully no mortalities.

However, two of the injured individuals (both women) showed the same sudden violence as the captured women. They were quickly subdued and transported with the rest.

Back in TRADITIONALIST territory, the captured individuals were put under heavy observation to learn all they could. 

The findings were as follows:

• While the women could speak, they rarely did so preferring to answer questions with snarls and growls. Only after committing an act of violence did they speak for a few sentences.
• All the women self identify as Maenads, a sect of Dionysian followers from Ancient Greek mythology who were known for madness and violence
• The Maenads appear to be able to communicate with each other telepathically across large distances. A researcher who introduced themself to one Maenad would then be recognised by all the others.
• All Maenads have incredible strength and endurance. They also have an insatiable appetite for violence that has little to do with hunger. In fact, they very rarely eat except seemingly as an after thought. The extreme violence seems to be its own form of nourishment.
• While all Maenads seem to remember their previous lives, they do not seem to recognise those lives as belonging to them. They are familiar with family members and belongings shown to them but do not understand why they should be important to them.
• The Maenads are composed of human women primarily from the Traditionalist and Survivalist factions. One member was an Erudite and two were from outside of London having unsuccessfully attempted to reach the city.
• When comparing magical examinations of the Maenads to the examinations of the Erudite sun cult, it was found that there were a number of similarities. The primary one being the same repeating of a specific brain wave pattern that can now be recognised as symptomatic of a “Cognitohazard” or “Mind Parasite”.
• It is believed that the telepathic network that binds the Maenads together helps in reasserting the cognitohazard. Therefore, it is believed that if a strong enough effect is used to one then the entire network will collapse freeing all of them.

After careful study and research, the following cure has been surmised:

First the Maenad must be brought to a place of high magical energy, such as the Summit, and given both excessive Choleric and excessive Melancholic dyscrasias. Then she must be shown information that can combat the cognitohazard in her mind through specific omens revealed around a place such as a SUMMIT. Four omens relating to home, healing or family would likely work. There is a chance that she may try to reject the information so it may need to be chanted to her. Finally, a shielded lineage locus wielded by someone she has an emotional link to, such as a close family member, must be destroyed to shatter the cognitohazard’s hold over them.

The cognitohazard itself will likely be left in a small form of pure information, likely a crystal that can project information into the holder’s mind. It can then be safely contained.