Talk:Arc:Through A Glass, Darkly

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Arc Chapters

Timeline of Through A Glass, Darkly:

Up to date as of November 25, 2018

OOC: This information is for your ooc use only.

Prologue

  • As this arc begins, Valrae Ivy Baines, the red witch and a convicted Larketian terrorist, has been resurrected by a rebel crew of Cenril witches, but tension between Cenril and Larket remains because, technically, that wasn't supposed to happen. Uma Abelin (Cenril's mayor) was supposed to have gotten the nod from Hudson Landon, local crime lord, to put a stop to it after a meeting between Hudson and King Macon of Larket. The mayor tried, but... well, witches, who can control them?
  • Hudson, set back by blatant insurrection in his own camp, works hard to suppress the news that Valrae, his ex-mistress, is back to maintain the outward appearance that his grip on Cenril is as strong as ever. In truth, the resurrection of Valrae had thrown him off his game. More alarming than that, a bomb had been delivered to his family with an obviously bogus bread crumb trail that led directly to Larket. Surely that's not right -- he and his wife are friendly with the Larket monarchy?
  • The Cenrili witches risked angering Larket and resurrected Valrae in small part because she was one of their own but principally because she was part of something greater: the Cenril magical barrier, a defensive bulwark against Kahran and his invading forces. It was a tightly held secret that the barrier had been leaking magic and would collapse absent a repair by at least three of its original casters. Original barrier architects Valrae, Joanie (Hudson's secretary), and Uma joined forces with Marcie (Uma's secretary) and Astrid Beckette to restore the barrier to its full strength. The most powerful of witch magics sometimes require a sacrifice, and Marcie perished in their efforts.
  • Following the barrier's repair, Valrae went into hiding. A scheme was hatched between her, mayor Uma, and the man who controls the mayor, i.e., Hudson: a known Larketian mole in Uma's office was magicked into a false Valrae. This mole was then delivered to King Macon of Larket, and executed personally at that meeting by Hudson before she could be thrown in a jail cell and speak her truth. The death of the mole - believed by the Larket royalty to be Valrae - seems to have settled the matter between the two cities, though Larket's not keen to advertise that fact.
  • Larket's anti-witch sentiment seems to be spreading: Valrae, Callum, and Meri are attacked by strangers wearing the symbol of a hammer and carrying anti-witch literature. They survive it but questions remain: who were these men, why do they want witches dead, and why were they wearing the symbol of a hammer?

Head of the Hydra

  • Time passes without a major attack on the city. Uma decides to host a Peace Gala, with notable performances by bards Nikki Mirage and John Linen, to celebrate the occasion. However, the mayor's welcome speech is interrupted by an illusion of a man, Henry Cramer, proclaiming himself the head of a following advocating the mass-extermination of witches. The evening is salvaged and still ends on a hopeful note, but questions linger about this Hammer of Witches the man had mentioned, and how such extreme views took root in Cenril, a city of tolerance.
  • Lionel O'Connor returns from his pursuit of Kahran, with the news that the trail for now has gone cold. Esche, too, has mysteriously vanished. His reunion with Valrae is marred by the news about Henry Cramer and his followers. Indeed, The Hammer of Witches has become widely distributed. Resoundingly criticized as audacious, controversial, unhinged, sloppy and worst of all dangerous, copies are flying off the shelves.
  • Its popularity has been accompanied by an increase in attacks against witches, as their personal information is somehow circulating among Cramer's followers. For example, Lanara's familiar, a dog named Tanner, is brutally murdered.
  • This backchanneling of information about witches reaches its zenith when word hits the streets that Valrae's estranged brother, a small-time gangbanger named Alec, is selling information about her, feeding the rumor that she's still alive. Keen on controlling his city and keeping the peace with Larket, Hudson reaches out to Astrid, whom he suspects remains Valrae's close confidante, to arrange a meeting.
  • Hudson and his people manage to track down Alec, and he and Valrae attempt to interrogate him to learn just exactly what information he's sold and to whom. Alec, however, won't give any of it up. He prefers to play the joker, and torments Hudson and his wife, Alvina, also in attendance, by mocking the prior relationship between Hudson and Valrae. In so doing, he reveals that Valrae is with child. Hudson kills him in a rage.
  • Fed up with the escalating situation with Cramer's people and the dissemination of their hateful and violent ideas, Valrae rallies Lithrydel's witches and some of their supporters in Rynvale, where they officially vote to form a coven dedicated to fighting back
  • An Unnamed reporter followed up on a tip received from Valrae's deceased brother. He approaches Alvina to test the validity of the claims and her answer is all he needs to run the 'truth'. Hudson, furious that his family is being threatened, meets with Uma to tell her his plans to find this reporter and murder him.