Episodes of Shade: The Mage from Cairo - 7. Kraken

The Bay

Saeed steered the aluminum boat deeper into the bay, the waters were calm in between tides but still a bit much for the small vessel and this worried Saeed. While he was a proficient swimmer they would be far from shore and these waters were too cold for a long swim without the proper gear, which they did not have. Who planned this? He wondered.
As the waters became increasingly rough Culkin seemed to lapse into some sort of trance, and after a spell the roughness became manageable. Culkin returned from his trance and as Saeed was about to comment when a geyser of water erupted a few yards to their starboard startling the young man. He straightened in the boat to get a better look at the large whale and was alarmed to see that their small boat was in the midst of a pod of Humpbacks. One swipe of the broad tail from one of these beasts would capsize their diminutive vessel, he looked to Culkin to complain when he saw beyond the old Druid a pair of fishing boats headed directly towards them.
"Culkin look" he instructed pointing in the general direction of the approaching ships. Each vessel was larger than 30ft.
"Look!?" The blind man responded a bit insulted.
"Two fishing boats approach dead ahead of us."
Culkin cocked his head a bit as if listening to something and said, "Right!". He then turned to face the boats that were still a couple hundred feet away, "Steady as she goes Saeed."
Saeed's knuckles turned white as he gripped the controls of the small outboard engine that pushed the small aluminum boat directly towards the approaching vessels. In unison the pod of whales broke the surface blasting air and water as the expelled the contents of their impressive lungs in a series of water-spouts that announced their presence to the incoming boats. A juvenile, perhaps as long as one of the boats breached directly between their boat and the two approaching. The presence of the whales forced the larger fishing vessels to alter course, splitting up they slowed as the pod of whales and the small boat containing the young mage and druid passed between them. Turning they throttled up their diesel engines and before long one of the boats was parallel to the pod on the starboard side and the other was port and a bit aft.
"We're flanked" Saeed observed.
"Are we?" Culkin replied. "I suppose so, although we are many and they are just two, the configuration is technically a flank."
One of the whales near the aft vessel splashed it with a tail slap as the two vessels inched closer, squeezing the pod. While the whales could bump these boats and perhaps affect the pilot's ability to control them Culkin doubted they could do so without harming themselves.
"This will not work for much longer, maybe you should not be visible young man." Culkin said to Saeed. A moment later Saeed was not visible. "Say, do you think you can teleport over to one of those boats and disable the battery?"
Saeed looked at the boats trying to convince himself that he was brave, "I will try." They switched positions so Culkin could steer, a maneuver than caused the boat to pitch as it collided with a rough patch of water nearly tossing Saeed overboard.
"Are you still with me son?" Culkin asked, sounding a bit panicked for the first time since Saeed had met him.
"Yessir."
"Okay, give it a shot, I will assume silence means you're gone, otherwise let me know what's going on with you. I have to pilot this thing blind, keep up my link with the pod, and keep an 'eye' on these boats so I cannot split my focus to sense your presence."
"Understood" said the young mage. He focused on the aft vessel as he face it and Culkin, but try as he may he could not teleport himself onto it. He then tried the one navigating in parallel to them on the starboard side and failed again. He reached out his consciousness and found something on each, blocking him.
"I cannot!" He exclaimed. "There must be a ward of some sort on them like Gwenny's house." Saeed felt defeated. "I sense something blocking me!".
"Okay lad, take over here again and I will try a couple of things." They switched again, this time much more carefully. Once seated, Culkin began to focus. "There must be a witch or mage aboard them because I cannot sense much there either." He then looked to where Saeed was sitting, "I am starting to think it more and more likely that you were the intended target of the vampire attack that claimed your aunt's life and that it was not random."
"Great." Saeed said as he studied the boat to their starboard. "But why?"
"That is the question." Culkin agreed. "Keep it as stead as you can I'm going to try something." Suddenly the waters in the bay became much rougher and a wind picked up forcing Saeed to slow the boat a bit. With the Golden Gate bridge in sight Saeed observed that the top of it was obscured by clouds and that the clouds above them began to swirl. His attention returned to Culkin as the man sat with his arms out to his sides palms up his face tilted toward the sky eyes closed. Culkin's mouth opened and in a voice too low for Saeed to make out over the ambient noise. Culkin seemed to speak some words or incantations with the syllables coming so slowly that it seemed he was speaking in slow-motion. Lighting flashed and thunder cracked directly above them, the hairs on Saeed's arms stood up. A bolt flashed from the sky above down just behind the boat aft of them. In response both vessels inched a little closer to the pod effectively squeezing them closer together. Another bolt struck the seawater on the other side of the starboard vessel, the diesel engine seemed to sputter a bit but recovered.
Saeed began to panic, "What are you doing!?"
Culkin came out of his trance, "It is no use, I cannot risk harming the whales or us, they are too close. I was hoping to stall at least one of their engines." Culkin seemed exhausted.
Saeed felt the familiar buzz of his mobile device in his pocket, cancelling his invisibility charm he retrieved the device and unlocked it. Reading a message sent from Shay.
"They are approaching the Golden Gate bridge." He updated Culkin.
Culkin turned his head again as if listening then turned to Saeed. "Tell them that we will be on it in 5 minutes."
"What?! How!?" Saeed exclaimed. The bridge was at least 5 minutes away and that estimate did not count ascending the structure from the waters beneath it.
"Just send it Saeed." Culkin commanded and Saeed complied.
"Done." Saeed confirmed. "Tell me how do you plan on getting us up there?"
"I won't boy, you will" Culkin said matter-of-fact.
Saeeds face melted in disbelief. "You're mad Culkin."
"Of that, there can be no doubt." Culkin replied smiling widely evolving into a hearty gut-laugh. "No doubt as all!"
Saeed found absolutely no humor in the moment, nor his statement. None at all.

After a few minutes had passed and the Golden Gate began to loom above them Culkin instructed Saeed, "Cut the engine lad and left the boat drift. Stand and meet me in the middle." Saeed complied. "There you go lad, now as I touch your shoulder you are going to teleport us both up to the sidewalk on that bridge."
"No way! That so far for me and I cannot take you with me!" he protested.
"Listen, I will lend you as much energy as I have to spare, you have to concentrate, this is our only chance!"
Saeed observed that the whales were breaking off and the fishing boats were able to start closing in as they drifted.
"Okay, I will try." Closing his eyes he focused deep, he could feel Culkin's energy it was cool like the waters that surrounded them but vast. Still he wasn't sure it was enough, he thought of his aunt and the crime that had taken her from him, channeling this emotion of anger he felt the arcane energy welling up within him, merging this fiery current with the cool current from Culkin he spoke a word and they vanished from site with clap as the air rushed in to replace the space their bodies took up.

The Golden Gate

Eric had driven a garbage truck in the city for fifteen years and as both a driver and a Bay Area resident he had seen many things and thought himself beyond being further surprised. This day would defy that presumption. As he drove down the Golden Gate Bridge, like he had since acquiring this route three years ago, he did not expect a boy and an old may to manifest in the road right in front of him. At first he did not believe his eyes, even as they widened his foot went to the brake, his mouth opened to emit a scream more appropriate for a twelve-year-old girl, than it did a burly six-foot man of forty years. His cigar dropped from his mouth as he did, the ember burning his inner-thigh as the tobacco product came to rest on his seat. This cause him to flinch jerking the wheel as he did, swerving and squealing the rubber tires he laid on the horn as the vehicle came to rest.

***

Saeed oriented himself to his new surroundings quickly ascertaining that he and Culkin were in the middle of the road upon the bridge that they very recently drifted beneath in a little boat. The squeal of truck brakes was accompanied by a squelch that sounded more akin to pre-teen, feminine horror, before being drowned out by the blast of a garbage truck's horn. Realizing their peril Saeed tackled the sight-challenged druid driving both of them to the sidewalk and out of harm's way.

"That was close?" Culkin inquired.

"You have no idea." Saeed confirmed in labored breaths.

"Good, probably better that way." Culkin said as he stood and brushed off his robes. "Where are we?"

"On the bridge as planned."

"Where's our ride?" Culkin pressed.

"Oh!" Saeed said reaching for his device and dialed Shay. 

"Hello?" she answered after two rings.

"We're on the bridge!"

"Okay where at?"

"Uhh, North-bound shoulder about midpoint."

"Good, we're on the right side, we'll be there shortly."

"Okay hurry, there was a witch or mage on at least one of those boats and they will soon figure out where we've gone and they won't be far behind."

"Crap, okay, we will go as fast as we can. There's some yay-hoo in a garbage truck a few cars ahead that has stopped traffic." Shay said in frustration.

"Wait! He stopped for us! We are right in front of him."

"Okay, wait there!" She instructed and hung up.

"They are coming" Saeed updated Culkin.

"I gathered as much, but I think we will have company before they get around that traffic. There..." Culkin pointed down the sidewalk towards a figure in dark loose clothing that reminded Saeed of a whirling dervish, only they weren't dancing. Just advancing towards them.

"Oh no." Saeed breathed.

"Just one?" Culkin asked.

"Yes. So far." Saeed confirmed.

"Thought so. A brave one. Saeed, don't touch the hand rails or any metal, stay on the concrete, we still have the clouds."

"Now way!" Saeed exclaimed looking at all the metal that surrounded them.

"Trust me Saeed"

"Mad! Absolutely mad!" he complained but complied.

Again the air whirled above them. Saeed plugged his ears with his fingers. The cloaked figure paused suddenly tensing as a bolt of lightning arced from the very nearby clouds that still obscured the top of the bridge structure down to strike. The figure flinched as the flash temporarily blinded Saeed and sparks showered the adversary but it appeared that the bolt had not struck their foe.

"Oh, no" Saeed and Culkin said in unison. 

"Come Saeed, we cannot wait here, this one is beyond us both."

Saeed took Culkin's arm and started down the sidewalk towards their friends in traffic, "But you're like a really old and great Druid... I mean you summon lightning and whales!"

"I only bring forth that which is already there, besides, what do you suppose can deflect a bolt of lightning besides an Arch-Mage?"

The weight of Culkin's assertion weighed upon Saeed, "Oh." His pace hastened. He looked behind him at their pursuer who was presently being harassed by a flock of seagulls, the birds, not the band, which slowed the pace of this foe but did not halt their progress. As they passed the garbage truck Saeed spotted their friends a few cars back in a white cargo van with Gwenny at the wheel. Their eyes met and Saeed looked nervously behind him as he led Culkin then back to Gwenny and she nodded in comprehension.

The side door of the van opened Barry emerged and ran expeditiously towards Saeed and Culkin, as he did his body grew and thickened in muscle mass. Scooping them both up in his massive arms, Barry ran back to the van at such a rate of speed that it made Saeeds eyes water from the wind of it. As Shay closed the door, Gwenny revved the engine but they went no where. 

"Shay, I need help clearing a path dear." Gwenny requested.

Shay moved to the front of the van just behind Gwenny and observed the vehicles in front of them. She began pointing and muttering words of a dialect that Saeed was unfamiliar with using somatic gestures like her cousin Barry's. One by one the drivers began moving their cars to open a path for the van. Once a path was clear Gwenny punched it and the v8-powered van lurched forward. Zipping by the garbage truck they emerged from the grid-lock and quickly spotted the dark-cloaked figure not far ahead.

"Wards!" Gwenny commanded and all four of her passengers began layering the van with whatever wards they could conjure. At this distance Gwenny could make out a veiled but feminine face.

The stranger stopped and stood straight the wind blowing her loose, dark, cloak, robe and other strips of fabric as the van passed. She began with a hand-gesture similar to that of one wiping something off a window, with each gesture a gasp escaped from one of the occupants of the van that were responsible for a ward.

"She's dropping our wards" Shay exclaimed as the first to have her ward countered. After her Saeed, then Barry. Culkin held out a bit longer, but he too gasped and with his the van quickly slowed to a stop. Engine revving and tires squealing the van did not advance, to everyone's amazement it began moving backwards.

Despair fell over the occupants of the van. This foe was not just beyond any of them it appeared that she was beyond them all. Gwenny looked at the three teens behind her, then to Culkin next to her in the passenger seat. Her eyes spoke of regret and apology but she said not a word.

"Nah!" said Barry. Grabbing two hunting crossbows that had been stowed he loaded them and handed one to Shay. "When you are ready you shoot yours and break the window and I'll shoot right after. Real quick-like."

She nodded. They both took aim, and fired, click-click. Both bolts exited the back window Shay's was significantly slowed by the barrier but Barry's advance unimpeded towards their assailant.

Immediately the van resumed a rapid retreat north-bound over the bridge. 

"Damn." said Barry

"Did you hit her?" Saeed asked.

"No. Maybe grazed but it seems it was enough to break her concentration."

"Thank the gods" praised Gwenny

Everyone agreed. 

Several minutes passed while no one spoke. Everyone was still afraid, it did not seem that harms way had yet been defeated.

"It's on everyone's mind." Culkin said.

"What is?" asked Shay

"That if we stop they will be on us quickly." Saeed concluded.

Gwenny gave him a quick look, then to the road, then to Culkin, then back to the road. Culkin returned the gesture slowly and said, "We have to go to the Island now Guinevere." 

Gwenny nodded and looked to the instrument cluster of the van, "I think we have enough fuel."

"Island? Not more water?" Saeed inquired.
"Have no fear young Saeed, we are not planning on going over water this time."
"Good." He said releived sitting back and letting out a deep breath.

The van sped up the 101 north towards a destination Saeed knew little to nothing of, other than a name or description. Some measure of relief returned to the van as at least a next step was identified and they would not be stopping any time soon

Episodes of Shade: The Mage from Cairo - 6. Flight

Saeed sat in the aft seat of a 16ft aluminum boat his hand on the controls of a small outboard motor. The Druid Culkin sat in the forward seat facing Saeed. Just a few hours earlier Saeed and Culkin had left Gwenny's with the witch herself, Barry, and Shay and made their way to the delta system just a few miles away. Barry provided Saeed instructions on the operation of the boat. "How do I know where to go?" he remembered asking.
"Culkin will be your guide Saeed." Barry had reassured.
Saeed remembered how his face had betrayed his doubts of such a plan.
"I use the birds that fly over us, I see what they see. There will always be birds above us, I ensure it." reassured the Druid.
"You control the birds?" Saeed asked in disbelief.
"Sort of, as I did with the Percheron back at Gwenny's. We will have time to discuss this on the way.", and no more was said.
Gwenny was to take Shay and Barry and create false trails while Saeed and Culkin traveled down the delta to the bay. Traveling by water was the safest way to avoid vampires, and leave the most undetectable trail. Apparently the legends about vampires not being able to travel over moving water were partly right. It causes them pain or discomfort, and while they can work through it, few of them had the kind of control to be able to focus on anything else. Most of their powers were therefore compromised. This gave Saeed and Culkin the advantage. He was not told any of the details of what Gwenny and the others were going to do. They would contact Saeed with a meeting location once they were done with the diversions. Saeed checked his mobile phone to make sure he had not missed any communication. No missed calls or text messages, no notifications at all. He verified that he had service and power, the battery still had 87% remaining.
Saeed focused back on steering the boat down the river. The banks of the river  rose high on one side forming a levy with a road on top of it. They occasionally passed another boat, mostly small fishing vessels. No one bothered them. The surface of this delta river appeared calm, but Saeed knew the water ran swiftly beneath them. He had at one point needed to maneuver upstream a bit to make a turn down a fork which caused the small engine of the outboard to labor against the current. It had been a while since he'd seen any forks.
"Give it a little more throttle Saeed. We have slowed." Confused he complied.
"Why have we slowed? I didn't change... "
"The current has slowed, it has been a couple hours and this section of the delta is more affected by the tides. We are approaching high tide and so the current has slowed." Explained the Druid.
"Oh." With the long silence broken Saeed opportunistically asked a question that had been on his mind since the boat launch. "Culkin, what did you mean about controlling animals? I mean, for one 'How?', and two... doesn't it break some rule or ethic of druids?"
Culkin smiled. "I don't control them per se. I establish a relationship with them, between my energy and theirs. Like with the horse, I never 'controlled' him. I asked for his help and he agreed, I then gave him ideas that he never would have thought of. I made him aware of you and to not fear you, reassuring him that you were a friend. Horses are fairly smart animals, sharing ideas with them is much easier than it is with birds or similar creatures. I prefer crows and ravens. They are quite smart among birds and do not cause as much alarm or notice as a hawk or eagle. With birds like finches I cannot get them to do much, they get confused too easily by my thoughts. At most I leverage their vision or other senses. So yes, to control them outright would be a trespass against the animal."
"Do you ever put them in the way of harm?" Saeed inquired.
"No, at least I never assure them that an action is without risk. Like with the Percheron, he understood that the vampires were dangerous, but agreed to the idea about kicking the one in the head. Horses are noble creatures, that one is protective of Shay and the vampires threatened her. You might say he was eager to oblige." the Druid smiled again, then chuckled. "After he kicked the one, I feared for his safety, which he sensed. But he still did the side-canter stunt, egging the other vampire on. I was even surprised. He taunted a vampire!" Now the Druid Culkin was laughing.
At this Saeed smiled, it was a little funny. After a moment or two had passed he said, "I never knew such things were possible, it does not surprise me, but I have never studied such things."
"Your schooling focuses on specific knowledge, how to manipulate energy and matter like a raw material to influence and shape your reality. While this is similar to what we druids study, with regard to energy, however, druids also place focus on the relationships we have with the natural world around us. All living organisms have this energy, which is in lifeless objects as well, but focused or more concentrated in living things. Hollywood science-fiction might call it "The Force", a decent analogy... where do you think fiction got the idea from?" the Druid paused and seemed to consider something, then let it go saying nothing.
"It is a different view of creation than I've been taught in Egypt." Saeed observed, "But I do not think that they conflict. You are describing something that exists within creation, within our universe, yes?"
"Yes." Culkin confirmed.
"So, if the energy of life, as you describe it, is part of the universe that Allah created, then it comes from Allah." Saeed reasoned.
"You could say that."
Saeed paused, he was not sure if Culkin was confirming his deduction, or reducing the deduction to a statement that one could neither confirm or deny.
A smile crept back into the Druid's face. It was not smug or arrogant, Saeed could see the smile was in response to Saeed working things out in his head. He decided to try a different route.
"Do you not believe in Allah, or 'God'?" Saeed pressed.
Culkin considered his response, "If you mean belief in a power and intellect that is beyond our physical universe and bears at least some of the responsibility for the existence of our universe, then the answer is 'yes'. But if you mean a deity that has been boxed into one idea by dogmatic principals and practices that assert that this one view and understanding of that divinity is the only correct view, then the answer is 'no'."
Saeed respected this answer, but for him it left too much open. It was a little deflected and he desired something a little more solid. "Do you mean to say, that, religions like Christianity and Islam..." Saeed drew the word 'Islam' out a bit longer, now smiling a bit himself as he prepared a trap for Culkin that the Druid no doubt saw, "got it wrong? That they are somehow false?".
At this Culkin's smile broadened, "Not at all, rather, I would say that religions such as those are one-hundred percent correct."
Saeed frowned a bit, such faiths had many similarities but differed on a couple key points, "this cannot be."
"They are one-hundred percent correct about less than one-hundred percent of the whole truth." Culkin said with a nod. "In my view." he added.
"That actually fits into some of the teachings of Islam, at least that God is beyond our comprehension." Saeed reasoned.
"Christianity teaches something similar." Culkin agreed. "But in other areas both faiths still attempt to frame the divine, limiting it to one set of ideas. I'm not persecuting your faith Saeed, I would never partake in such an endeavor, it divides people. Where I think that you and I are so different in such areas is that your faith and belief are separate from the science of your magic. The spirituality of a druid is intertwined with their magic. It is not lesser, nor greater, just different. The result is that we have a different reality or relationship with divinity."
"So if religions don't have one-hundred percent of the truth how much of it do they have?" Saeed asked.
"You're missing the point Saeed. No one has the whole truth of the whole Mystery, in order for me to say that one religion has, say, eighty-five percent, I would have to know what one-hundred percent was. I would have to have or know the whole truth of it."
"What if you did?"
Culkin laughed, "then I would probably be God."
"I see." after a moment, "Thanks for explaining all of this Culkin. You are very wise."
"I'm a fool." he disagreed.

The river began to widen, the levy banks had long ago disappeared and were replaced by shipyards.
Saeed's phone rang, it was Barry, Saeed answered.
"They are coming." came Barry's voice. It sounded labored, out of breath or in pain. Or both.
"What? Who?" Saeed interrogated.
"Humans, working for the vampires. They have boats. We're on our way, but we'll be an hour or more. Text me with where you guys go."
"Okay." Saeed responded and ended the call. He looked at Culkin, "They are coming for us, they know we're in a boat." Saeed began to look around for potential bad guys. "Humans" he added.
"Throttle up Saeed, head for deeper water."
"But they have boats!"
"Good" said Culkin. "But we need to be in deeper water. Gas it."
Saeed complied, the engine rev'd lifting the nose of the boat and Culkin a little as small boat sped towards the deeper bay.

Episodes of Shade: The Mage From Cairo - 5. Fight

     Alarmed, Saeed and Barry stood. "What do we do, Gwenny?" Barry asked.
Gwenny turned to The Druid Culkin and asked, "How many are there? And where are they?"
Th Druid closed his eyes for a moment, "Three. There is one at the front of the house, he's your decoy. The other two are circling around each side of the house towards the back, searching for a weakness in your protective wards."
"Saeed, you best turn invisible, at your earliest chance get outside the house and teleport away from this place." Gwenny instructed.
"Not this time, with all respect, I'm not running again." he responded.
"I agree he should stay." Said Culkin. "He will be useful." Gwenny did not look convinced. The Druid added, "But do make yourself not visible." With this he too stood.
Gwenny turned to Barry, "Transmute yourself into something tough Barry." With this he began walking into the dinning room gesturing and chanting. Saeed cast his invisibility charm. Gwenny closed her eyes in concentration for a moment or two, upon opening them she said, "I think the wards on the house will hold. I don't think they're getting in here, and if they do..." she looked to Barry leaving the rest of the statement unsaid.
"Still," injected Culkin, "it is best we deal with them before they do. Saeed, can you teleport into the barn and free that Percheron? It's the big black one son."
"Don't lose that necklace I gave you." Gwenny added, "You won't be able to re-enter this house if you do, and whoever recovers it will."
"Okay." Saeed agreed and with a single word he bent the space around him everything going translucent as he stepped into a world more ethereal than his own. Willing himself forward he raced with lightning speed to the barn travelling through the opaque walls of the house then the barn. He materialized in the center of the structure between two rows of stalls. One one side there were two horses and on the other a single, very large black horse, 'Percheron', he thought to himself. He unlatched the animal's stall door and it gave him a short nod of appreciation before exiting. It sauntered over to the barn door and looked back at his stall where Saeed stood as if to say, "Hey invisible guy, with opposable thumbs, little help here?" Saeed complied and freed the very large animal. He then looked around for a vantage point, he would not be much good in a fight against these foes as he had not yet learned any offensive spells. He settled on the loft above the stalls.
     Things outside were getting a bit more interesting. The vampires stood in a triangle formation around the house. One at the front of the house and the other two at the opposite end on either side and far enough away from the structure that they could see each other. They're working on Gwenny's wards, he thought. Then from the house came the calm and strong voice of The Druid, his voice was somehow amplified, "Greetings from the Druid Culkin, you are not welcome here. I implore you to leave this place. Our wards will hold, but my patience may not. Remain here at your own peril."
     The vampires looked uncertainly at one another but after a moment continued to concentrate and chant faintly. Though Saeed could not see the third vampire well he could tell that all three were of European ancestry. Each wore black leather garments though not uniform between them. They kind of looked like members of one of those American biker gangs, the second one had a shaved head the other two had long light-brown or perhaps even lighter hair that was shoulder-length.
Saeed wondered if Gwenny and Culkin knew what the vampires were up to and considered teleporting back into the house, but movement in the shadows near the second vampire at the back left end of the house stole his attention. With the vampire's attention focused on the wards around the house he failed to notice the 1000kg Percheron backing quietly out of the shadows behind him. When the animal was close enough it kicked backwards striking the vampire directly in the back of the head.
The force of the blow crushed the vampire's skull, broke his neck and sent him into a forward somersault that ended with the vampire facing skyward motionless.
Saeed gasped at the violence of the attack, though he knew that the vampire would eventually recover it would be hours or perhaps even days before he could pose a threat again. Saeed quickly covered his mouth to stop the noise, it appeared that no one had noticed the gasp above the noise of the attack.

Saeed could see most clearly the first vampire at the front of the house, nearest him. The vampire stopped his focus and regarded the Percheron, whom cantered sideways a few yards towards the undead trespasser.
Culkin's voice again came amplified from the house, "One down. Can you last til dawn?"
The large horse trotted off into the darkness of night.
The third vampire came to the front of the house to join the first, looking silently at each other for a moment, then turning together they looked to Saeed's position in the barn loft.

Saeed's pulse quickened, They know someone let the big horse out, they know I can at least go undetected... Maybe they're just guessing?
The first vampire started moving towards the front of the barn and the third towards the rear of the barn. I'm not waiting to find out! Saeed prepared his spell but as he was about to speak, the air around him went silent, he found that he could not utter a sound. Air was moving past his larynx but no sound was coming out, there was no sound at all! He began to panic. He was still invisible but also thought that he read somewhere that vampires could sense body heat. He considered hiding behind something that would block the heat, but was afraid to move because of sound. But wait he thought, there is no sound! He looked around but there was nothing but hay and tack. THINK! he chastised himself. There were animals downstairs still, he decided to try and descend the ladder and quickly get near one of the remaining horses to mask his heat.
As he descended the ladder, a rung broke, and he lost his grip falling a few feet onto his back knocking the air out of his lungs.. and it made a noise. The silence was gone down here.
On either side of him about fifteen or twenty feet away were the two vampires standing as still as statues looking at the place where Saeed had landed, listening to him gasp for breath. He notices that each vampire wore a bronze armband, or was it a torc? Saeed needed to stand to teleport, he knew as soon as he moved the fast-moving vampires would be on him. Then he realized, I do have an offensive spell... for vampires!
"Ra'se tep!" Saeed cried, closing his eyes briefly as he uttered the last syllable. A blinding flash of light and heat, bright as the sun, filled the barn. It was quickly followed by the shrieks of seared vampires, this bought him time. He quickly stood and cast his teleportation spell willing himself towards the house, as he did he slammed into a barrier that prevented his movement about twenty feet from the porch ending his spell. He didn't understand, then he realized reaching toward his neck, he had lost the necklace that Gwenny gave him when he fell from the ladder. Her wards were preventing him from getting any closer! He was now visible and exposed outside of the ethereal reality of the teleportion spell.
Facing the house he drew a deep breath, you have to be smart Saeed he told himself. Drawing a small dagger from his belt under his shirt he slowly turned to face the barn and see what awaited him.

A vampire emerged from each end of the barn, still smoking a little. One of them laughed at the tiny knife Saeed held in his off-hand.
"Come here boy!" he said. "I'm going to use that little blade of yours to clean your flesh out from under my fingernails when we're done with you..."
"Be nice Charles." Said the other vampire, "He might taste as good as his pretty, little aunt. We might want to keep him around for a while."
Saeed again felt the anguish of loss, but it gave him focus. "Come on you crispy, burnt corpse! Do it!"
They came, and they were fast, but Saeed was split second faster, casting his telportation spell once again the world around him bent and he willed himself back into the barn. He ended the spell when he found the necklace, put it on quickly, re-initiated the spell and willed himself towards Gwenny's house.
Saeed reappeared in the living room next to the table that he had, not so long ago, served tea to a blind druid and Gwenny. He nearly collapsed from the exhaustion of magic use.
Outside the house the angry shrieks of vampires that had just been denied their quarry pierced the night.
Shay and Barry stood in the center of the room, Culkin was seated on the couch and Gwenny stood near the window next to the front door peering out from behind the curtain. Barry had changed, a lot. He was bigger, for one, tusks grew out his face and bull-like horns from his head. His think neck was covered in scales which gave way to coarse black fur down his torso. One of his hands had talons the other had changed into a lobster-like pincer. Something about his face was still Barry, but the rest was fairly unrecognizable.
"Woa" Saeed reacted.

The Druid Culkin turned to Saeed and nodded, "Well done my lad, they are leaving."
"Yep" confirmed Gwenny. "They took the other one with them too."
The room grew quiet. Saeed got the feeling that everyone was now in much more danger than they were just a few hours ago, except for maybe himself.
Shay was the first to break the silence, "We won't be safe here." She turned to regard Gwenny, "Not for much longer." She added.
"I think you are right my dear." confirmed Gwenny.
"Yep," Culkin said as he stood, "but what I cannot figure out..." turning to Saeed, "is why they are so persistent in getting to you young man?" After a moment he went on, "It is not like a vampire to pursue someone without either a vendetta against their quarry or something else to gain that is worthy of their efforts."
Saeed considered this, why me? Am I the reason my aunt is dead? Were they after me the whole time? Why!
"Rest now Saeed." said Gwenny, "we'll figure out our next steps and start those tomorrow morning."
Though they did not anticipate a return visit this night, they set watches. Saeed lay in a bed in a guest room up stairs, pondering these things. Wondering who he or his family had offended that would cause a vendetta, or, what other return these vampires could have that was worth the effort?

Episodes of Shade: The Mage from Cairo - 4. Visitation

     The afternoon turned into evening, Saeed and Barry helped Gwenny with dinner while Shay apparently finished up, whatever she was doing, in the barn. When she finally came in she was not alone, there was an elderly man with her whom she was assisting through the threshold of the home. Saeed barely noticed the man, he was mesmerized by Shay. She was a bit fairer than Barry, but bore features that betrayed her common ancestry with her darker skinned cousin. She was about fifteen if Saeed could guess, about Saeed's height with a head of unkept, chaotic, black hair.
"Gwenny, B, we have a visitor." She called out as she kicked off her shoes and motioned for her companion to take a comfortable looking armchair.
Barry was drying a dish with a hand-towel and glanced in Shay's direction to see just who the cat had drug in. When he saw the man his hands stopped, "Gwenny, it's him. The Druid."
"Here?" she questioned. "Now?" she stated more to herself as she took off her apron. She looked at Saeed and Barry, "you two finish up in here, I'm going to see what has prompted this visit."

     The Druid was an old white man with a long beard and long somewhat un-kept hair, Saeed thought the name fit. It looked as though the man's eyes displayed the cloudy quality associated quite often with one of the various maladies that cause blindness. From the kitchen Saeed and Barry could observe him, as they watched the Druid turned his head towards the approaching Gwenny.
"Culkin!" she greeted warmly, "to what to we owe this visit?"
His rather forlorn face dissolved into a warm smile,"Ah Gwenny," he stood and embraced her, "we shall get to that in short order." He turned into the direction of the kitchen and spoke, "tea lads." he commanded. His voice was much younger than his appearance, and somewhat refined. His unaccented American was articulate, learned, and perhaps a bit old-fashioned sounding.
    Saeed finished up with the remaining dishes while Barry put on a pot of water for tea. Saeed glanced out of the kitchen and saw that The Druid, Culkin, had moved from the entry and sat down in the den with Gwenny in one of a few chairs situated around a small antique coffee table. Shay was not in sight.
     The tea was hot so Barry with Saeed in tow brought it to the pair of elders in the den and were invited to sit in the empty chairs. Culkin began, "The purpose of my visit, is to bring you all up to speed on the movements of your vampires." he finished resting his gaze on Saeed. " He paused look downward now at no one, "as you well know, the group that attacked you and your aunt, Saeed, had been expelled from the Reno Coven and for some reason opted to head south to Carson City before turning west towards San Francisco. I've been in contact with my agents as well as my contacts within the local police agencies and some of the criminal elements in the greater Sacramento area. Vampires are quite difficult to track, thus one needs many sources." He sipped his tea while everyone waited patiently, thus far he hadn't really revealed anything. "My agents found them," he continued, "upon entering the area. The police helped me narrow down which buses left Carson City under the cover of night and would arrive in Sacramento while still under the cover of night, I focused my agents on those buses. You would think that they would have left the Sacramento area weeks ago, I mean, why stay?"
"They're still here?" Gwenny interrupted.
"Yes." He replied incredulously. "At first I thought that they had somehow slipped past me, but then one surfaced. Then another. Sometimes just one of them sometimes a couple. I have not uncovered anything that would suggest that they intend to stay permanently so I played with other theories. Eliminating theories that did not fit, I settled on just a couple. Those theories prompted me to stop using the police, and then the criminal underground. At present I am relying only on my own agents. When I learned that Saeed had arrived I thought it best that I come warn you all before they could act."
Gwenny was alarmed. "Why didn't you just call? Culkin, what are you getting at?"
The Druid opened his mouth to reply, but he stopped, then tensed. Outside a horse neighed, in the same moment Gwenny stood, alarmed, "One of my wards was just triggered." She said, looking to Culkin for the answer.
He quietly and calmly said, "They are here."

Episodes of Shade: The Mage from Cairo - 3. Bloodlines

Bloodlines

     In the house Gwenny showed Saeed to the room he'd be staying in and invited him downstairs to the kitchen. There she put a pot on the stove for tea, "I have some Halal chicken if you're hungry Saeed." He gladly accepted and started in on a long-overdue meal.
"So", she said, "When I learned you'd be visiting us I decided to do a bit of research. First I tasked The Druid on locating and tracking vampire movements in the area."
"The Druid?" Saeed interrupted.
"Yes, he's a very old mage. I think. Anyway, he is gifted with animals and such and through them he has a very good pulse on the movements of super-natural beings in the area. He is also a gifted healer and has made other connections through such talents and can tap into the networks of mortals and immortals for information, informants of a sort I guess. Anyway, I have him checking in on their movements. I started my own research into your family history." The teapot began to whistle so she paused to remove it from the heat and fill a couple cups with the hot water.
"I don't know of any mages in my family." Saeed assured her.
"You're right, partially at least. I have a theory that I have yet to disprove about mages. I believe that those that are gifted in the Arcane talents are descended from the old immortals, or..."
"The old immortals?" Saeed questioned.
"Yes, before Vampires and the others there are legends of great ones among men." She sipped some tea, he did likewise. "You know how the Egyptian legends speak of their gods dwelling among them?" He nodded. "And you have heard of the Nephilim?", again he nodded. "These were all children of the old gods, like the legend of Hercules and other Greek heroes."
"The Nephilim were the offspring of Angels and the daughters of men." Saeed interrupted. "There is only one God."
"What are angels dear? Lesser divinities, and there are legions of celestial beings, Angels being the lesser of these. I have been able to trace the lineage of many mages back to the sects of what ancient peoples called gods. But the rules of inter-planar travel prohibit celestial beings from remaining in the realm of Earth for long, the messengers of heaven deliver their message then they return. They cannot dwell with their people, anyway, I can trace family histories back thousands of years."
"Begging your pardon Gwenny, but how is such a thing even possible?"
"Well Saeed, I am not a gifted mage to be honest, at my age I am barely considered talented among Adepts, while there are Arch-Mages decades younger than me. I am, however, quite gifted with divination... and I am also clever."
Saeeds face twisted into expressive confusion.
"The trick with divination is that the diviner must be clever, clever in the way a detective is clever. The diviner needs to know which answers to seek, which questions to ask. I cannot for example ask, 'Which legend is Saeed descended from?' I have to ask specifics that lead me to answers. You I believe to be descended from the immortal the Egyptians called Isis, god of magic, healing, and protection. Might have something to do with the blessing on you as well as your gift with wards."
"What about Barry?", he tested.
"Barry is the grandson of a voodoo shaman, as is his cousin Shay. This shaman was a first generation Blooded Haitian. This is the other inheritance that I believe gives mages their gift. Which is really the same, just more recent."
Saeed was working this out, "So," he began, "Since demons are supposedly the fractured souls of Nephilim, their power has the same origin. And since Blooded are the offspring of demon-possessed, their power is also the same? All going back to the Nephilim?"
"Exactly." she confirmed. "Though there are some differences in the manifestations of such inheritance."
"Like their ability to resist fire?"
"Right again."
"What about you Gwenny?" he probed.
"My family history is sprinkled with fortune tellers going back before its immigration to the New World, but ultimately the credit is given to the Celtic or Welsh Deity Celi."
"Wow, somehow that all makes sense. So what then makes some of us more or less talented?" asked Saeed.
"The individual itself is a significant factor. But bloodlines matter, a lot. Which is why Barry is so gifted. That and his drive." She added.
"But how can that be, my family has no mages in recent history, let alone any talented mages." His eyes widened, "am I adopted?!"
"Not at all Saeed, but where you are from, the culture would not have accepted mages. Therefore your family members that inherited such talents would most likely kept them secret, since your line is so old it would be very likely to skip a generation or two. Your great grandfather was a sailor, and the only survivor of two shipwrecks. Think he was just lucky?" she smiled.
"I remember the stories. You are implying that he was a mage. My family would probably not be proud of that." he said flatly. "You said that these immortals pre-dated vampires? I have not studied their history yet, where did they come from?"
"Oh that is a biblical tale of a sort. In short a third or fourth century BC priest drank something containing the blood of an angel, which killed him, then raised him again as a vampire. That is the most widely accepted story, but Egyptians have an older record that documents the existence of vampires. So the blood that that Jewish priest ingested was supposedly from a weapon used in the battle between Lucifer and Michael, the Arch-Angel, so the cause would be ingesting angelic blood. So theoretically if someone else in the ancient world also ingested angelic blood then vampires could be even older than two millennia."
"So, if there was another weapon found earlier from this battle between Michael and Lucifer, or some other trace blood... or even some other source..." Saeed thought aloud, "then vampires could possibly pre-date Nephilim?"
"Wow young Mr. Azam, you piece things together quickly." Gwenny said and sipped more tea.
They both sat quietly for a while. The sound of Barry coming through the front door broke the silence. Saeed glanced from his tea to Gwenny's face gave a short nod saying, "Thank you." Which drew a warm smile in response.

Episodes of Shade: The Mage from Cairo - 2. Elk Grove

Sacramento

     As the bus approached the terminal Saeed had already sent a text to Barry, an Apprentice of the local Mage Grove, as the called them here in the states. Saeed wondered how old Barry was, most mages held the title of Apprentice upon completion of their basic education around the age of sixteen and did not reach the title of Companion until their mid-twenties or later. But this was America, so perhaps things were different here. After Companion comes the rank of Adept, most mages that hold a regular day job never advance beyond this rank or grade, if they ever reach Adept to begin with. If a mage commits his or herself they can reach Adept in their thirties, most commonly forties. Particularly talented mages can reach the rank of Arch-Mage, Grand Arch-Mage is a title given to an Arch-Mage that is a head administer of a school or large order, typically democratically elected.
     Saeed waited by the curb with his two pieces of luggage and backpack. Some 15 minutes passed, Saeed was considering calling when a young masculine voice in an American accent from behind and left of him questioned, "You Sai-yeed?" The voice the inflections of a West Coast accent, not the beach-surfer-dude sort, rather the pattern of speech more often associated with inner-city urban teens.
Saeed turned to address the question, "Yeh, you Barry?"
The voice belonged to a late teen of African descent, tall and thin in stature, he wore strange garments, thick and padded, and very colorful. The helmet in Barry's left hand helped Saeed to recognize that these garments are the sort of protective gear worn by individuals that ride street motorcycles.
"Yeah." Responded Barry, "Not bad kid."
"What?" Saeed asked confused.
"That ward you got there, or had." Barry motioned with his helmet. "I got off my bike a bit further away, I was wondering if you might have done something like this so I didn't want to come up too fast."
Saeed frowned a bit, the ward had indeed dissipated but he had not noticed. When Barry saw this register on Saeed's face he continued, "Like I said, not bad, I would not really have expected anything from an initiate such as yourself, I countered it before I set it off. You didn't notice?"
Saeed shook his head feeling a bit defeated.
"Nah, you wouldn't have." Barry chuckled, "Don't worry about it kid, first try?"
"Second actually, experimented a bit on the bus." Saeed answered. Looking around he then asked, "So where's your motorcycle?" Wondering how he and his luggage were to be safely transported on such a vehicle.
"Down there." he pointed to a bright green street bike, "It's a Kawasaki Ninja." Barry turned to look himself, his proud smile melting as he noticed a young man in a hoodie standing next to it staring at it in a manner that made Saeed unsure of the person's intentions.
Barry called out, "See something you like?" The young man turned  his head to locate the source of the question, seeing Barry and Saeed he issued a series of expletives that equated effectively to an indignant "What's it to you?"
Skillfully responding in a similar vernacular also laced with expletives and expressions Saeed did not quite grasp the meaning of Barry effective told the individual to back off from Barry's property. As he said this Barry began to walk towards the bike as he did he seemed to grow a bit in stature, slowly. Was he casting a spell? Saeed wondered how he was accomplishing this while talking to the apparent adversary. He then noticed Barry making several small gestures with his right hand that seem to repeat. Somatics! Saeed recognized, casting spells without words was possible but difficult, gestures known as somatics was one method for doing so. Barry ceased the somatic pattern upon gaining 10cm in height and around 20kg in weight.
The other guy looking a bit confused but no less indignant flailed his hands in a defeated manner mumbling, "whatever..." as he turned and walked away.
Saeed looked at the motorcycle with uncertainty, "Just curious Barry, but where am I to stow my belongings?" Barry responded by pointing to a small cargo container on the back of the motorcycle that doubled as a back rest for a second rider. Saeed had doubts, but as he watched Barry opened it up and took Saeed's two luggage items and the container seemed to swallow up the much larger items.
"Ahh." Saeed muttered, "Of course it will fit." he said with a laugh. Remembering the exchange that Barry had just had with the stranger and the talent that he obviously had Saeed began to wonder a bit about his new associate, "Barry, why did you engage that guy in such a way? Could you not have been a bit more polite and perhaps less intimidating?"
Barry smiled at the question, "Yeah, but it would have prolly not ended there. You're in the states bro, especially here in California, people are seldom polite. And depending on the kind of person you might be dealing with you sometimes have to come off tough. Especially if you look a certain way. You my brotha would prolly do better with honey. If you tried to sell the 'tude I just gave that guy, I doubt things would go well for you. It's cultural."
Barry took his helmet in his left hand holding aloft in front of him he slapped it with his right in a clapping motion as he pulled his right hand away he appeared to pull a second helmet out of the helmet in his left hand. Again using no words, but Saeed realized that the required verbal components of this incantation would have been uttered when the two helmets were merged into one. Barry did not create two helmets out of one, he did something a bit more closer to storing one in the other. Saeed was impressed, it showed.
Barry laughed heartily, "Not fair of me, I'm showing off" he admitted. He helped Saeed with the helmet and started the motorcycle.
"Get on"
Saeed complied and off they went down the city streets of Sacramento, south to Elk Grove.

Elk Grove

After passing several housing developments, nice homes really but indistinguishable from one another, Saeed and Barry arrived at a older house on a plot of land that had to be a few acres in size. As Barry retrieved Saeed's belongings, Saeed inspected his new surroundings. The home was a two-story ranch house, like those he had seen in American movies, surrounded by Sycamores inside a split-rail fence. There was a barn nearby and Saeed thought he heard horses from within or beyond it.
Barry helped Saeed port his luggage to the house up a few steps to a wooden wrap-around porch, on it a white woman of approximately 70 years with long white hair, she wore a long green bohemian skirt, some sort of dark brown garment underneath a black crocheted shawl, around her neck hung a silver pentacle. She smiled warmly at Saeed, "Welcome to my house young man. Before entering I need to know if you have any wards or protections about you."
"No ma'am" Saeed replied meekly, glancing quickly to Barry which was not lost on the woman.
"Call me Gwenny," She said looking now to Barry, "Why don't you go look in on that infernal cousin of yours B, I think she's havein' a bit of trouble with the horses."
"Okay." Barry complied setting down the bag he had been carrying for Saeed on the porch. He then started making his way to the barn.
Looking again to Saeed Gwenny said, "Barry has been showing off a bit eh? Well he can't help himself sometimes, which means that you did have a ward on you earlier? Yes?"
"Yes."
"Barry is a gifted mage especially for his age. Who placed the ward on you?" She inquired.
"I did." he admitted. She raised an eyebrow, he continued, "I learned it on the trip down from Nevada, it was only the second time I tried it. Barry countered it without me knowing so it must have been mediocre to start with."
"Doubtful." She replied, Saeed's confusion was apparent, "Doubtful that it was mediocre, Barry is an Apprentice but is gifted well beyond his years, as I'm almost certain you are. Hold stil lfor a moment while I take a look at you." She produced a crystal on a chain and held it over Saeed.
"There is a blessing upon you, like a ward, but more permanent. The wards of my home may prevent you from entering." She paused for a moment wearing a considering expression. "Wait here."
She then disappeared through the door of the house emerging a few minutes later with something in her hand. It was a brass torc bracelet which she handed to him, "Here, wear this as long as you are in my house. It will allow you to bypass my wards."
He complied, placing it on his left wrist.
She smiled, patting him on the shoulder, "Come in son, I'll explain everything. We have a lot to discuss..."
With that they entered the home without incident.

Episodes of Shade: The Mage from Cairo - 1. Carson City

Carson City

     More than a boy, not yet a man, Saeed Azam had been in Carson City just a few months. He arrived in early October to visit his aunt and grandparents for the month of Ramadan, then was supposed to go back to Cairo to begin the new term at The Academy but events had not gone as planned. Saeed boarded a bus headed for Sacramento before continuing on to San Francisco. As he took his seat he reflected on the past couple of months, "How in blazes did I get here?".

     A couple months back, during Ramadan, Saeed was walking back to his Aunt's apartment with her one evening after a feast with his grandparents and a few others in the Carson City Muslim community when they were attacked by marauding vampires. Saeed had not been on his guard, even at 13 years old he was a formidable mage, however, according to lore Carson City was controlled by the Werewolves, Homo Sapiens Canis, and that vampires had long ago been driven out of the region and pushed further north into the Reno area. He was totally unprepared for such an encounter. Sadly Saeed could not save his aunt, she sacrificed herself to protect him, unaware of the nature of Saeed's gifts and what she faced. In the panic he recalled the vanishing spell he had recently learned to hide near a garbage dumpster that inadvertently helped to mask his scent. He later returned to where his aunt had been attacked, finding her deceased near the sidewalk in some desert brush. The vampires had drained her, Saeed wept silently as he recovered his aunt's mobile phone and called the authorities. As he reported the attack anger welled up from within him, arcane energy surged through his body, the street lights dimmed momentarily as he reigned in his emotions. Recalling that feeling he almost lost himself again on the bus.

     Saeed recalled that night vividly, his discussion with the police detective, the sorrow on the faces of his grandparents. Grandfather was a physician and had been deeply troubled at the mystery of his daughter's death and the coroner's report, "Exsanguination? Massive blood loss? From six small puncture wounds? That just doesn't add up! She suffered from no conditions that would have prevented adequate clotting!".

     Anguish filled Saeed's heart at the inability to explain to his mundane grandfather that vampires did in fact exist. Saeed was the first non-mundane person in his family, well that he knew of, and had been approached by a fellow student who had recognized his talents a few years back and transferred schools then. The order had an array of prepared excuses for mundane parents of young newly discovered mages, he recalled they said something to his parents regarding physics courses and a grant, both true incidentally.

He had spent the couple of months since the attack interacting with the local Werewolf pack, one of the detectives he met the night of the attack happened to be a wolf, and while the species were loyal first to their own kind, trueborn wolves were seldom a threat to humans. Unlike the accursed variety of Werewolf that are humans that have been bitten by either a trueborn (Homo Sapiens Canis) or another whom has been afflicted with lycanthropy. Such creatures are most often tracked down by trueborn packs and controlled or destroyed by other groups of supernatural beings. The Werewolves of Carson (WoC) had learned of Saeed's touch of the supernatural when he finally let on to the wolf-detective that he knew it was vampires that killed his aunt Babette.

     Saeed smiled, the first in a long time, as he recalled the detective's raised eyebrow and patronizing response, "Vampires don't exist, young man. Such stories were invented to scare children."

To which Saeed responded, "Yes I know, and neither do Werewolves officer Bailey."

At this the detective's tone changed, "I am not certain what you are getting at son? Say, how did you say you escaped again Saeed?"

     After a long pause Saeed explained to Detective Bailey that he could tell one sort of immortal from another, because he was a mage,  Magus of the Second Order of the Arcane, and that he used magic to escape otherwise they would have two corpses and no witnesses.

"Oh" Sums up the response. Shortly after that exchange Saeed found himself talking a lot with the WoC and after enough time and searching had passed they deemed it safe for Saeed to no longer be under their protection. What he had learned was the vampires were passing through the area after being expelled from the Reno Coven they headed south to give the WoC some troubles before most likely heading west to San Francisco.

     Saeed had hoped to also connect with the Grove of the Elks south of Sacramento on his way west in a town aptly named Elk Grove. The local mages would likely have more information regarding the movements and activities of California-Nevada vampire covens. Or so he hoped.

     As the bus departed the station Saeed vowed, he would not return to Cairo until his family saw justice. He put on his headphones and began listening to a lecture by the Grand Arch-Mage Fergus on wards and protective spells. He would know the next time a Vampire drew near.

Collaboration: Outline

Updated 3/23/17
In the modern world there are many secret organizations, some ran by warlocks, some by vampires, others by celestials.

In this realm there are:

Immortals:

Werewolves - trueborn (Homo Sapien Canis)  and diseased (Acursed, those that are bitten)

There is a clear difference between the race of werewolves, also known as Homo Sapien Canis, and those that are afflicted by lycanthropy the disease often called "Accursed".

Trueborn werewolves can change from their human form into the werewolf "hybrid" form at will. The change takes about a minute or less. Werewolves to have an affinity for wolves and other canines, they can influence and control such animals to do their bidding with few exceptions.

Accursed werewolves change during the full moon whether they want to or not. Their humanity has little or no control over their lupine actions. They seldom remember what they do when they change, and what they typically do is terrible.

Werewolf origins are fuzzy at best. They seem to have simply emerged in history around the year 950 C.E. in eastern Europe. One story that has emerged is that a powerful fey tricked a Germanic clan leader into accepting the gift to be able to change into a wolf so he could scout out his enemies forces. Instead he could change into a wolf-man capable of terrible savagery and he would age very, very slowly. The story goes the victim did see victory, unfortunately at the hands of his own savagery.

Trueborn werewolves are in control of their transformation, though when transformed are prone to a level of savagery uncommonly exhibited by humans. Thus they seldom change form except when they intend to draw upon both the strength and savagery found in their lupine form.

Vampires - trueborn (Homo Sapien Nosferatu)  and turned (also HSN but in this case the mutation is after birth, many would suggest that this makes them weaker with diminished powers but this has never been proven scientifically). Vampires crave power. When a vampire has aged a bit (few decades or more) they gain more control over their urges to feed. This new-found self-control is evident in their bearing. They will carry themselves with an air of being above everyone else. They are graceful, eloquent, and charming most of the time. They are, however, quick to anger with a propensity towards extreme violence. They possess some natural psychic abilities which gains strength the older they get. This is what allows them to 'charm' people, though most immortals and some supernaturals are not affected (psychics and some shaman). Younger vampires live primarily on their urge to feed. It is for this reason that vampires organize themselves into 'covens' that are led by older more mature vampires with some ability to control the ranks. Young rogue vampires are hunted by nearly all other groups described here due to their danger to others and the liability that they may expose this hidden world of the supernatural from the mundane masses that populate the world.

Vampire Origins:

Through analysis of historical records, religious documents, and divintations performed by oracles and psychics the widely accepted though little know origin story of Vampires is recounted below.

In the third century B.C.E. a Jewish temple priest by the name of Levi in Jerusalem came to be in possession if a spear fragment that he determined to be from the battle between the Arch-Angel Michael and Lucifer when Lucifer was cast out of Heaven.  Levi became obsessed with the shard, a preoccupation and an obsession that he kept secret from his peers and superiors. He became convinced that the blood stains on the shard were Michael's, eventually he extracted the blood and consumed it believing it would give him angelic insight or perhaps even divine powers. It appeared to have killed him but what they could not tell in that day was that the blood mutated him. He awoke some hours later in his tomb, had the strength to move the stone out of the way and he fled. It is said a village suffered some sort of plague or attack around the same time many conclude that the two events are related. As the story goes Levi travelled north eluding any that might recognize him. Most scholars conclude that the blood was not Michael's rather it was that of Lucifer. Though it is also argued that it was Levi's actions and desire for power that caused him to fall from grace and that this "punishment" would be the outcome regardless of the origin of the blood.

Vampires would be scientifically more accurate to be classified as mutants. Though their immortality and the vast powers they come to possess as they age would lend more to the argument of their supernatural nature. When a vampire is created it is mutated in the same way a trueborn is mutated, their biology is not dissimilar.

Demons - beings with infernal bloodlines. Demons were created when the Nephilim were destroyed. Nephilim were created when lower celestials mated with mortal women in the ancient world. When the higher celestials saw the damage these creatures were wrecking upon the earth they destroyed them. The spirit of a Nephilim was broken up creating many demons in the process. Demon spirits can possess mortals, sometimes one will mate with a mortal, this offspring has what is called an infernal bloodline. These individuals are mortal, but not mundane, and they are called 'Blooded '. These infernal spirits are not great enough to take form in the realm or Earth or the Otherworld and so the only means by which they can experience such realms is to infest the body of a mortal, taking possession of it. In rare cases the demon spirit is great enough to cast out the soul or essence of the mortal body they possess, such souls are sometimes lost. In such cases it is said that the physical body exhibits signs such as a change in eye color, skin tone, voice, and other manifestations of the vile spirit within.

Celestials: Celestials are beings that were created within the heavenly realm to serve a particular purpose or function. What is most know regarding celestials in the mortal realm comes from mortal interaction with celestials, most commonly referred to as Angels. This might be where a bit of confusion comes in, see Angels are a type of celestial, meaning that not all celestials are Angels but all Angels are celestials. The word Angel means "messenger", thus this is their function, Angels are the divine messengers to mortals. Angels themselves are not very powerful in the heavenly realms but are quite formidable when compared to the mortals and immortals of Earth and the Otherworld. The biblical devastation that has been attributed to Angels comes from events in which their message has been the Word of the powers of creation, or the Word of God to some, meaning it was not their will or individual power being put to work but that of their creator.
There are other celestials, some of their types have been named to humans in the past, beings such as Thrones, or Powers, among others wield great power relative to their Angelic lesser's. Lucifer was one of these higher celestials, one of the highest in fact, and his power remains great. He is of the oldest created beings, as old as our universe... his name means "Light Bringer". So guess how long he's been around (think Genesis)? While he has been banished from the heavenly realms, he has retained all of the potency that was imbued in him from the beginning.

Fay - Fay is a classification of magical creatures that are very reclusive. They originate from a parallel plane of existence, an otherworld, that is much different from our earth. The realm is neither heaven or hell. Fay include creatures such as fairies, sprites, nymphs, and dryads. It is suspected that these creatures also be credited for legends of elves but no one has ever seen or claimed to have seen such a fay.

Supernatural Mortals:

Mages (Wizards) - bloodlines reveal natural inclination to comprehending the arcane. Their magic focuses on illusions, wards and protections, teleportation, and dabbles a little in enchantments. Mages are a studious group, character tendencies lie with those strong in academia, and weak in athletics.

Warlocks & Witches - dabbling in sorcery, arts that are typically thought of as dark. They have some influence over spirits and can summon and control demons when they become very powerful. This practice deals primarily in conjurations and transformations. This group of people gravitate towards loyalty only to the coven in which they belong to. Governed by a high Lock or Witch, the coven will typically follow the prerogative of that individual. Characteristics of this group are the less-scholarly social rejects, though some tend to be comely  and athletic, they are typically the socially-awkward type.

Voodoo shaman - also dabble in sorcery, with a particular focus in necromancy. The biggest difference between the practitioner of voodoo and sorcery is the methods employed and the art's origins. Voodoo is known for creating zombies, witches are known for turning people into animals and keeping "special" pets. Voodoo practices deal with Necromancy, curses and hexes, and dabble a little in enchantments. Shaman are typically solitary in their vocation, meaning they don't tend to run with other Shaman. They do often affiliate themselves with another group most often mundanes, typically one would consider the group more of a congregation since the Voodoo is based upon a set of beliefs in how the universe works. For this reason it is often that a Voodoo Shaman head a criminal enterprise such as drug trafficking.

Psychics - mortals with the ability to read minds, scry other locations and times, tell fortunes. Powerful psychics can influence people, sometimes into doing things they would normally refuse to do, some can even take control of another person's actions. What psychics are capable of is NOT considered "Magic", they are in tune with the energies that ripple through time, sensitive to the auras of those around them, and willful in their manipulation of such naturally occurring phenomenon . These folks tend to be charismatic, more in touch with the heart than the mind, and are almost always disorganized. They also tend to be socially liberal "to each his own" is often a shared attitude of psychics. Their pursuits are typically personal happiness and acts of compassion towards the marginalized.

Blooded-offspring of a mortal and a demonically possessed mortal. These individuals are immune to fire and are sensitive to the presence of celestials and demons (collectively referred to as 'outsiders' because they are not of this world). The personalities and traits of these individuals vary as much as mundane mortals. The thing with Blooded is that they may gravitate towards any of the groups above and become one of these individuals. You might one day meet a Blooded Mage, Psychic or Witch. They of course would not identify themselves as being Blooded , and may not even be aware of why they are not harmed by fire. But scholars such as Mages would know why. Since Demons originate from the shattered spirits of the Nephilim who were half-Angel (Celestial) the Blooded share ancestry with Celestials as well. This is why they do not lean specifically one way in the spectrum of good or evil and as stated above one could be the vilest person on earth or the most devout Christian or Buddhist on earth.

This brings up a question often asked; are there such things as Psychic-Mages, or Vampire-warlocks? The answer to that is this: It is rare, but with the exception of Blooded, sometimes an immortal will have the time, resources, and inclination to partake in the study and art of that of a Mage, Witch, or Shaman… but not Psychic. Psychics talents are natural, and in this manifestation appear to be exclusive to mortals. There has never been a Psychic-Mage or other combination of mortal classification with the exception of the aforementioned "Blooded". The consensus on why this is, is that each discipline requires too much dedication to be developed in parallel and each discipline is associated with certain types of individuals. A person pursuing witchcraft is exploring a completely different, if not contradictory, approach to magic. Shaman are religious about their craft and view other methods as obsolete, but this too is a much different approach.

Mundanes - normal humans with no psychic or magic abilities.
Developed Mundanes - These are normal humans that through study and training have developed heightened senses. They are more sensitive to the energies and vibrations that permeate and surround all life. Such individuals can some to recognize the presence of immortals or magic. They have never been known to have any skill in spell casting or divination, but occasionally one with developed senses and combat training have made formidable adversaries going up against supernaturals.

Languages:

Vampires: Pure blood vampires have their own language (Vampiric) and writing loosely related to Aramaic. It originated in ancient times when vampire clans were first organized.

Celestials: Celestials speak and write the language of Angels. Little is known about this dialect.

Demons: Demons have their celestial origins, their language is very similar with bits of Latin and Aramaic interspersed throughout.

The Realms

Earth -First we have Earth, or our reality. The universe in which we see in the day and the night. It is the place where human laws of physics can be applied. It is the world that most mortals know.

Heaven -Heaven is the realm of the celestials. The place where Angels in all their ranks and God dwell. It is spiritually considered to be "above" the mortal realms.

Hell- Hell is an extra-planar place where Lucifer was effectively banished to during The Fall. It is also the place where demons dwell. Demons are not necessarily under the dominion of Lucifer, but as he is the most powerful being in the realm of Hell all others yield to his whims.

Otherworld- no one knows the true name for this other realm. It is a that is neither heaven or hell, nor is it Earth, it is probably most like earth. It is rich in flora and fawna, and also fay. All fay originate from the Otherworld. Some have made their way to Earth via temporary gateways that open up during specific days and/or astronomical events.

Travelling between the realms.

Mortals are the only beings that have the potential to visit Heaven, Earth, Hell, and the Otherworld. Fay can only travel between the Otherworld and Earth. Demons may only travel between Hell and Earth or the Otherworld. Likewise, Celestials can only travel between Heaven and either Earth or the Otherworld.

Both celestials and demons cannot transit directly from the realm of Earth to the Otherworld.

Special magic and ritual is required to move from one realm of existence to another. The very nature of each realm and ultimately His Word is why these laws exist. No amount of theoretical physics has been successful in explaining or describing why this is. It just is.