The car pulled to the gate guarding the grounds of an immaculate estate. His sources confirmed its recent acquisition by the Smith Foundation when its owner extended the invitation to come today.

Their car was admitted entrance, and swung smoothly around the circular drive. When they came to the front steps, Armande emerged without waiting for his door to be opened for him. He viewed himself a servant first and foremost. He was no more king of the Atharim than the Holy Father was of the Church.

The ignorant would confuse him for a cleric, but he was confident Mr. Smith would not. It was a common misconception forwarded by his position over the Vatican Historical Society and some of his more conservative clothing such as what he wore today. Armande abstained from any color but the most pilgrim and penitent, but the muted selection of his current attire, a stylized cassock, similar to the ankle-length robes of the Roman Catholic church, was the shade of spent ash and his high-necked collar was of the warm blanket of desert sand. Together with Armande's white-flecked hair, his luminous blue eyes were all the brighter and piercing with the knowledge of the Age. None could say he was a drab man.

He held his hands behind his back while waiting at the door.

Hey guys!

Our very own Aria has generously offered to build a First Age wiki! It is my hope that the wiki is truly open source, that is anyone will be able to register and create/edit pages. I think it would make a great opportunity to do some world-building, for instance we could go into more detail about the state of affairs around the world or the CCD structure of government, additional history/background on our mythos, prophecies, and monsters. The Atharim could elaborate on their history, etc.

Basically, we can provide an encyclopedic range of information about things our writers discuss, characters encounter, and our imaginations design! Only this would be information that we as writers can access but our characters would not.

Specifically, content would be linked to back and forth from the website/forums. For instance, want to read up about the Egyptian tablet that Doulou's character just discovered? There could be a wiki about it!

So be thinking about pages you want to build. Specifically, what kind of things do you guys want to see on there? How do you want to use the wiki?

Thanks again, Aria!


<big>UPDATE</big>


Due to increasing security in the effort of preventing spammers on the wiki, if you wish to create an account and contribute, send an email to
matalina@gmail.com
with your desired username and she will set you up a temporary password that you will change after the fact.

Apologies for the inconvenience.


Edited by Ascendancy, Feb 20 2014, 08:26 PM.

Continued from A Lesson

Aria hadn’t left headquarters long on her search before she stumbled across a for rent sign. It was almost literally outside the door. One of the stores near the Baccarat Mansion was a little book shop called The Delicate Scroll. On the worn sign hanging across the sidewalk for passerbyers to see the words were burnt into a piece of old wood. It looked like it had hung there for years. An all seeing eye like the one the Illuminate are rumored was burnt between the top and bottom row of words. In the window you could see an old man dusting the cases of the rows of books inside the shop, a small ‘room for rent’ sign was propped up against the window.

Aria opened the glass door and the soft tinkle of the bell above let the proprietor know she had entered. He smiled a toothlessly at her. Aria smiled back.

“How can I help you?”

Aria nodded towards the window, “Can I see that room you have for rent?”

Aria noticed he had been glancing at her wrist since she first stepped in the door. He nodded with a knowing smile. “This way deary.”

Aria followed the man, he was hardly an inch taller than her, but he walked with a hunched back and held on to most objects as he passed by. “There is an entrance in the alley way back there. I’ll show you were it comes in at.”

The way in the back was even more cluttered with old books and things of antiquity. On a high shelf above the door Aria spotted a sword. Could her luck be that good today? She could hardly believe it, but that was another matter, first a home, then replacing things. She’d only been in town for less than a week. And she didn’t want to stay under the same roof as the Regus.

The room was up two flights of stairs that was separated by a door to the shop and the hallway from the alley way. From the outside Aria would have suspected the place to be in bad shape but it wasn’t. It was far from the baccarat mansion she was sure, but it was in good repair, well light and not a smudge of dust anywhere.

The room on the other hand left a little to be desired. It was literally one room, with small bathroom off to one side. It like the rest of the shop was in good repair, even if it was small. But really she didn’t need much, just a place to crash when the world came at her full strength.

There was bare furnishings, a two seat dinner table, a small love seat with an coffee table, a double bed and a wardrobe for a closet. The bathroom was what sold it for Aria, inside what looked to be a small bathroom from where she had stood, there was a cast iron claw foot tub long enough for Aria to lay flat with out bending her knees. Granted it didn’t need to be of great length to do that, but it sold the small place.

Aria turned to the man, “How much?”

He smiled, “I’ll arrange it with your employers don’t worry about the rest.”

Aria was suspicious, but if he knew what she was then surely this wasn’t a coincidence.

He handed Aria a key and slipped out the door. “Come one down anytime.” And with that he was gone.

It wasn’t much but it wasn’t worse than the room she had in the Vatican. It would do well.

CCD responds to DV terrorism



Custody Press Corps Release





The Executive Office of the Ascendancy issued a statement this morning regarding the ongoing violence in DV. The Press Release may be read HERE
[link to: http://EOA.ccd]

In summary, the EOA reports the ongoing violence is due to religious infighting in the area. Civilian casualties have now topped the 800-mark. The CCD top priority is to ensure the safety of local citizens. Additional DV heavy police are now in the region and checkpoints and searches and seizures will be operated and/or conducted until stability has been reestablished.

The Ascendancy will travel to Dubai later this week to convene with high-ranking officials: including DV Patron Yaser Adnan al-Qasimi and the governance-directors responsible for the cities of Mecca, Kuwait City, Medina, and Karbala among other prominent citizens.

Although the tour will focus on stability for southern DV, the CCD is also concerned about the welfare of the remaining Dominance. Measures will be taken to ensure the spread of violence is contained as rapidly as possible. Once caught, the organizers of these attacks face severe penalties, including execution, for violation of Custody Law.

The sun was setting when Spectra's car wound through the glass columns of downtown Moscow City. Its firy rays broke between the buildings every few blocks, and during the long minutes they were stuck in traffic, Spectra rested her chin on the back of her hand and studied the reflection of the nearby Moscow River.

When finally they pulled up in front of a building, the driver opened her door, and Spectra emerged practically lost to their exact location. A few members of paparazzi flashed her picture, and their glittering captive briefly indulged their pleas.

"Dominiano Cadici,"
she answered in response to one question. The designer of this slip of a dress was famous for his metallic threading and futuristic cuts. The bronze and copper sheen played beautifully against her golden skin and green eyes, but even the accessories on loan from some of Moscow's top jewelers took second stage to the seductive smile of the woman modeling them.

Building security cleared a path, and Spectra was escorted inside. The lobby of this skyscraper was secure as a prison, and for good reason, although there were certain to be quieter entrances elsewhere. One of the Custody Directors called this home, likely somewhere high in the clouds so screening those coming and going was an important responsibility.

Spectra had been to such parties before, but never had she entertained so high a government official before. Directors were in charge of entire Custodies, and Spectra leaped at the chance to attend anything of prominence. Not only was she paid well, but additional chances to inject herself into powerful grasps was always welcome.

The elevator ride was uneventful. She was one of the earliest arrivals, but she integrated herself with the few other pieces of arm candy placed around the penthouse like sculptures of art.

She was unconcerned about the forthcoming night's activities which were sure to be abundantly gray in the eyes of the CCD law, but according to Spectra's experience, she was sure to turn a blind eye to all sorts of things tonight.

Is anyone interested in doing a thread somewhere?

<big>Violent attacks claim hundreds of lives</big>

<small>Al-Jazeera LIVE</small>

Good evening from Dubai, I'm Samir Abdukhaliq, and here are your headlines at the top of the hour:

Hundreds are dead today after multiple apparent terrorist attacks hit several cities in Dominance V, a sudden and unexpected wave of violence that left horror and carnage in its wake.

Around approximately 5 p.m. local time, a large car bomb exploded outside the Imam Hussein mosque in Karbala, where Shia faithful have continued to gather in crowds weeks after a supposed miracle was performed by Muhammad Al-Hasan, who recently declared himself to be the Mahdi. One hundred and thirty-six are confirmed dead and hundreds more injured, and minor damage was done to the mosque.

This attack was only the first of at least four confirmed attacks that have occurred this evening. Around the same time, a bus convoy departing Kuwait City, bound for Mecca with more than 300 pilgrims expecting to participate in the annual Hajj, was ambushed outside the city by a group of armed gunmen. Survivors reported that there were between twenty to thirty attackers, who attacked the buses with machine guns and shoulder-fired rockets. The attackers reportedly boarded one bus and executed all people on board, but fled before dispatching all witnesses.

Reports have also come in that two more car bombs have been detonated in the city of Medina. Authorities have not confirmed yet the number of deaths and injuries from those attacks.

The targets in these attacks appear to be mostly Shia Muslims attempting to undertake the Hajj to see Muhammad al-Hasan, who has already drawn a large following across both major sects of Islam following his proclamation that he is the Mahdi. This suspicion appears to be confirmed by a group naming themselves the Holy Soldiers of Muhammad who has claimed responsibility for the attack:

(Roll video clip)

MASKED GUNMAN: (translated) This blasphemer and all who follow him have defiled the Grand Mosque and will answer to the wrath of Allah!

(end clip)

A CCD spokesman today issued a statement from Dubai condemning the attacks and urging calm and restraint, promising swift action will be taken to find and bring the perpetrators to justice. CCD officials also say they are assessing further steps to take to provide for security and protect religious practices.

Speaking from the Grand Mosque in Mecca earlier, Muhammad al-Hasan harshly denounced the attacks and promised his followers that the "hand of God" would shelter them:

AL-HASAN: "Do not fear the actions of the unbeliever as they seek to turn you from the true path. Those who have committed these attacks today against fellow Muslims are no true followers of Islam. For the messenger of God has written that God does not love the transgressor. And if your enemies make war with you, or prevent you from worship of God, then fight in the way of God those who fight you, but do not transgress."

A member of al-Hasan's private circle has also said that that al-Hasan was networking with a number of imams throughout the region to provide for increased security to protect worshipers, both those en route to Mecca and those remaining in their respective homes.

Al-Jazeera will continue to provide updates as they come on this developing story.

<big>BREAKING NEWS
ATTACK UNDERWAY AT GRAND MOSQUE</big>

This just in: I'm Samir Abdukhaliq with Al-Jazeera Live in Dubai bringing you Breaking News from the Grand Mosque in Mecca, where it appears an attack is underway near the site of the Kabbah. We have correspondent Bashir Kalid Abdullah reporting live from the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Bashir?

BASHIR: (over crackling of gunfire end explosions) Samir? I've taken cover by a far wall on the middle level of the Grand Mosque and there is much confusion and panic right now, but it appears that gunmen have stormed the Grand Mosque and are firing on worshipers who are out in the open around the Kabbah. I have the camera up, are you getting the feed?

SAMIR: Audience, we are indeed getting the video but it has been deemed too graphic to show on live broadcast. Bashir, where is CDPS? How did the attackers gain access?

BASHIR: I don't know Samir, Custody security on site must have been overpowered, that's all I can tell you because there's absolutely no resistance to be seen inside the Grand Mosque complex.

SAMIR: Can you tell us anything about the identity of the attackers?

BASHIR: Not really, they're -- &lt;ping&gt; Oh, God that was close. Um, there seems to be about fifty of them inside the Grand Mosque, maybe more, they're all covered in black and have taken positions on the third and fourth levels -- they seem to just be laying into the crowd... (gasps) The horror...they're just getting cut down...there's got to be thousands and thousands down there and they're all panicking...it's going to start a stampede...

*Loud boom*

SAMIR: Was that another explosion there?

BASHIR: What? My ears are ringing...I don't know what that was, I'm going to look...there's movement in the crowd. All the gunfire has stopped it seems and nobody's trampling each other, they're all stunned by whatever that noise was...

*Loud booming voice*

SAMIR: What was that? Was that the Quran being quoted?

BASHIR: I don't know where that voice came from. Honestly I'm really confused. But yes, the voice -- There must be some hidden loudspeakers and a microphone, though I've never seen a system that sounds like that -- just said "Do not fight your enemies in the Grand Mosque until they fight you there. But if they fight you, then kill them. For that is the recompense of unbelievers." Yes, that is a Quranic verse.

*Loud cracks*

SAMIR: What can you describe is happening now, Bashir?

BASHIR: .... It's... &lt;muffled noise&gt; I'm adjusting the camera. Can you see that?

SAMIR:...Yes -- Lightning, it appears to be striking...individual gunmen? Is that what you're seeing over there, Bashir?

BASHIR: Indeed, that's exactly what I'm seeing. Fifteen -- sixteen strikes now, as if the lightning is seeking out the attackers! The aggressors appear to be behaving in confusion -- some of them are jumping -- oh that's just sickening. But it appears the attack has been somehow broken off.

SAMIR: Thank you, Bashir. Audience, we'll be sure to bring you more of this story as it develops -- and as soon as we can...make sense of any of it.

Copyright Al-Jazeera News, 2045 Dubai, D.V.


Comments are: OPEN

<small>((Comments are anonymous unless you state your character's name in the time tag:

Comment: "NAME" (TIME TIMEZONE) ))</small>

Continued from: A New Start

Michael closed the door as soon as Giovanni entered the house, the plain but spacious main room was vacant, as it usually was these days. The couch was free and the TV off.

The man's suspicious nature fanned his own cautious streak. Even before he had a chance to ask Giovanni about the Atharim, he had taught Michael something already.

The constant tension was taxing. Perhaps he needed a break before he snapped. He thought he had reigned his emotions in, but the lingering memory of the Rougarou was enough to cause doubt.

However, that was for another day. For now, he had a promise to fuilfill; and without Tony, it was going to be difficult. He was probably a worse teacher than he was a student on THIS particular topic.

He turned to Giovanni. "I'm afraid you'll have to stay downstairs."
Michael pointed to the door to the basement adjacent to the kitchen. "The couch in here is taken. Don't worry, he is the same as us."


The thought was wearying. He had not intended to live like this, hiding fugitives and using his house as some kind of orphanage for the hunted, but neither could he sit by and do nothing.

How many strays will I pick up before someone decides to simply set the house alight?

It would not be that easy to kill him, of course. However, there were far worse things than fire that could be used.

Another day...

Michael took a hold of his straying thoughts and crushed them under heel, drawing in the Power to feel life itself rushing through his veins. He sat down on the right side of the three seater couch and gestured for Giovanni to sit on the left. "This may take some time. It will be far harder to learn since you have already developed a mental barrier against the power.
" He hesitated, wondering if Giovanni already knew about it, but decided to continue. The man would have to make do. "You said you can only use the power when you are scared. That is a hindrance, one that may cost your life. Breaking down this barrier is hard, and often painful,"
Michael knew that all too well, painful and cold. "You have to open your mind, which means reliving the past and moving forward. So tell me about the first time you used the power. Not just what happened, but what you felt, everything."


It had taken Michael months to break down his own barriers, but Tony had been soft, only resorting to extreme measures at the very last. Giovanni would not be indulged in the same fashion. The stakes were far too high

When the alarm beeped, Jensen groggily forgot where he'd crashed those short hours beforehand. He rolled like usual to slap the sound to silence, but rather than slapping the bedside table, his arm, shortly followed by the rest of him, swatted through empty air.

The impact of landing on the floor shocked a pained grunt out of him. Sometime in the blur of the next few moments, Jensen remembered crashing on the couch rather than pulling out the bed. He also remembered why in the form of a throbbing headache, cricked neck and foul mood. Then again, falling off the couch might have had something to do with that latter observation.

Rubbing the temptation from his eyes to go back to sleep right there on the rug, he finally managed to shove to his feet. Only to stumble about until the alarm was silenced, coffee was microwaved, and the shower was started. The electricity was still on the fritz, so he silently willed both water heater and microwave to function for a few short minutes then they could both go cold again. The more important of those two devices being the microwave; his hyperdrive gas tank was running on fumes.

Before heading out, Jensen decided it was worth a change of clothes to meet John Smith. The man was a theological legend. Not only for his knowledge of the Bible, but as a resource cited by everyone to pass through seminary or divinity school in the last ten years. Which included Jensen before being recruited to the senior pastor position he'd held until recently.

Not that recently, he thought upon glancing at his image in the mirror. His hair was longer than he ever kept it before, but rather than curling around his eyes, he'd slicked it back, straight and flat. Wisps of a beard curled from his jaw and chin when he'd always been smooth-shaven before. Then, of course, there was the anorexic gaze of a formerly passionate man that barely recognized himself. Why in the world was he doing this? If John recognized who he was, it would be like pouring salt on the shallow wounds given him that morning when the young American lady pieced him together.

With a sigh, Jensen unclenched his jaw, buttoned his jacket, and took off. He was going because he was human, and there were some temptations that were too much to resist.

It was late-afternoon when he arrived at Smith's building across town. It was an upscale building in a beautiful neighborhood. In fact, there was a peaceful park within walking distance that Jensen could imagine himself enjoying on a daily basis. Surprisingly, Moscow was dotted with many such havens of serenity. There were suppose to be more parks in this city than any other in the world. Something has to even out the eye sores, the satirical thought arose. The Ascendancy had good taste. Moscow was almost unrecognizable today compared to its turn of the century version in areas such as this. The CCD was extremely proud of its capital, and they should be. Anyone with an appreciation of history found the city fascinating, including Jensen. Maybe that was part of why he came here in the first place. That, and, the city was as infamous for those wanting to hide as those seeking celebrity.

Jensen was expected, and the doorman escorted him on the elevator to the building's top floor where Smith's loft was located. Jensen thanked the man with a CCD bill without so much as thinking about whether or not it was expected to tip, steadied his nerves, and carried himself to Smith's door. Where he knocked soundly.

<big>Mahdi proclamation sparks mass pilgrimage</big>
<small>Al-Jazeera/Bashir Kalid Abdullah</small>

MECCA, D.V. -- Although the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage of the Muslim faithful to the Grand Mosque and the site of the Kabbah, is not due to start until next week, millions of Muslims have already descended upon the holy city and the shrine of the Kabbah to show their support for a man believed to be the prophesied redeemer of Islam and ruler in the last days before the final judgment.

According to Islamic doctrine and recorded statements from the prophet Muhammad, in the final days God is to send Muhammad' successor known as the Mahdi to rule the world and establish righteousness. Twelver Shia tradition holds that the twelfth Imam to succeed Muhammad was in fact the Mahdi and disappeared in AD 941 at the age of five, and has since been in occultation, a state of suspended living while hidden from the world.

The man who has recently claimed to be the Mahdi is in fact a Shia Muslim who claims the same name as the 12th Imam: Muhammad al-Hasan Al-Mahdi. Al-Jazeera News has learned that al-Hasan has been found to hail from the Saudi city of Medina where he was raised by schoolmasters since being found as an abandoned child with no birth certificate or any supporting documentation about his ancestry or lineage. It is not known who gave him the name Muhammad al-Hasan, in itself a relatively common name essentially meaning "Muhammad the Good" or "Muhammad the Handsome." His use of the name "al-Mahdi" appears to have begun sometime within the past three years as a means citizens of Medina began to use to address al-Hasan.

Shortly prior to al-Hasan's revelation in Mecca, he is said to have been present at two major demonstrations, though veiled and heavily guarded by attendants who refused to give interviews. The first gathering was at the Shrine of Imam Husayn in Karbala, the third holiest site in the world to Shia Muslims, and the second was only two days before his appearance in Mecca, at the Great Mosque of Sana'a in Yemen. In both locations it was said al-Hasan appeared before the gathered crowds and performed a feat of vanishing.

"It was a miracle unlike anything I have seen before," described Masoud al-Anwar, a witness to the demonstration in Karbala who has since made his way to Mecca. "He was just gone. And then I felt something move through all of us gathered, some presence, pulling me. Bringing me here. As if the hand of God was moving me."

Al-Anwar wiped a tear from his eye, hand shaking. "It is a miracle. Allah has blessed us by sending us a leader to show us the true path!"

Similar descriptions were given by other witnesses from both the Karbala and the Yemen appearances.

Supporters of al-Hasan continue to pour into the holy city. Those arriving are seen in increasing numbers bearing flags: arrivals from the west predominantly arrive with the Flag of the Caliphate, a white flag bearing the Shahada -- the holy phrase "There is no god but God and Muhammad is his Messenger" -- in black. Arrivals from the east appear to carry the Black Flag of Khorasan, also often referred to as the Flag of Jihad: a black standard with the Shahada written in white.

The significance of these flags are a part of a Mahdi prophecy, according to Islamic scholar Achmed Karoum, professor of theology at the Center for Islamic Studies in Dubai.

"Post-Quranic writings given by, in some accounts, the 12th Imam himself while he was said to be in occultation, claim that his appearance will be heralded by riders coming from Karbala with the black flag and riders coming from Yemen with the white flag," Karoum said. "However, these writings or prophecies if you will are predominantly considered to be Twelver Shia beliefs and do not hold any particular significance among the world Muslim population by a long shot."

A straw poll conducted by Al-Jazeera among believers of the Mahdi's reappearance show that approximately 70% of those who have gathered identify themselves as Shia Muslims, and about 25 percent self-identify as Sunnis. A final five percent identify as either a different sect, declined to state or identified themselves as "non-Muslim."

When shown this, Karoum, a self-identified "secular Sunni," said that the statistically significant portion of believers who identified themselves as Sunni - even though al-Hasan was Shia and the belief in the 12th Imam's return was a Shiite prophecy -- was not surprising. "There have people proclaiming themselves the Mahdi from every branch of Islam imaginable, and drawing support from them," he said. "More people have claimed to be the Mahdi throughout history than I have hairs on my head."

And Karoum's thoughts to al-Hasan's disappearing act? "If you want my opinion, that's all it was: an act. I'm sure any second-rate illusionist in the world could do just as well."

Al-Hasan has not at this time responded to any requests for interviews or comments.

Second coming or charlatan? Likely history will be the judge of that. But in the meantime, believers continue to come in droves.

Copyright Al-Jazeera News, 2045 Dubai, D.V.

Comments are: OPEN

<small>((Comments are anonymous unless you state your character's name in the time tag:

Comment: "NAME" (TIME TIMEZONE) ))</small>