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.