Mage: The Ascension - Sunrise City

Mage: The Ascension - Sunrise City

The further adventures of a circle of mages in San Francisco

Sunset City 1 (not yet called that)

Sunset City 2

Sunset City 3

Sunset City 4

Cara Lawson, Akashayana

In every generation there is a chosen one

Simon Donovan, Hermetic

May have consulted on the new season of The Librarians

Alissa Kwan, Ecstatic

All the pretty girls and all the pretty boys they get dressed up and go out dancing

Michael Lang, Verbena

Cowboy Druid

And last but definitely least:

Didi Duvall, Hollow One

Wants to be Agatha Harkness when she grows up

4A.01: Into The Portal

26/07

Our heroes (and Didi) have been enjoying relative peace and quiet - cut to Cara kicking a ghoul in the face and Simon casting out a demon - when Martin, the master of Time magic who pressed them into rewriting history to save his wife a while back, approaches them seeming tense.

Someone is planning to launch an attack on the city's Tradition Library, the base of the mages on the west coast.

When it was built.

Over a century ago.

It's been well enough concealed that he just detected it.

We go to try and stop the time warping ritual before it activates.

But it's too late.

So Martin throws us back in time to stop it.

At least this time he tells us that's all he can do and gives us a moment to nod before he widens the portal and in we go.

Promising a soft landing.

--

Didi wakes to find herself in a nice bed. In a nice room.

With a couple of women in old-fashioned maid uniforms coming to help her get ready for the day.

II's 1883.

Surprise! Mage: The Ascension - Victorian Age

Didi tries not to look too stoked about getting a wardrobe full of Victorian dresses in mourning colours.

Miss Didi Duvall

When separated by weird events, the first place the circle will check is one of their regular hangouts, the café near the university history buildings.

Of course none of that has been built yet. But the first place to look would be a café near where it will be.

And she's perfectly happy to take a carriage to get there.

Judging by the outfits, the maids, the house and this, she's rich.

--

Simon was first to arrive. He looks about as academic as usual, even more tweedy. He looks up from a newspaper and goes to pull out her chair.

Dr. Simon Donovan

Simon: "Well, you look... this is not all surprising."

Didi: "Hard same."

And then Cara arrives, also wearing a gorgeous visiting dress in royal blue, and looking rather less keen on it than Didi.

Miss Cara Lawson

Didi: "Oh my gosh you look amazing." (hug)

Cara: "I better, I had a maid working on all this for like twenty minutes."

Next is Alissa, all in lavender pink complete with floral bonnet. She gives Didi and Cara hugs and shows off, all smiles.

Miss Alissa Kwan

Alissa: "So I just arrived by carriage. And you all look sooooo good!"

Cara: grumble

Alissa: "So are we, like, rich? I seem to be an old money debutante or something."

Simon: "No day jobs means we have time to investigate."

Cara: "Once the maids let us out. I coulda been slightly less rich just fine."

Finally, Michael arrives, in a nicely tailored black suit and coat with matching cowboy hat and a jangle of spurs.

Mr. Michael Lang

Didi: "So Simon has gone full Giles and Michael's Wyatt Earp."

Cara: "This is fine I'm not jealous at all."

Didi: "There's a bunch of ways this could have gone. No help and we'd have arrived as is, no place in the world. We woulda had to steal. Or get jobs."

Michael: "Not a problem, I could rob a bank."

Alissa: "Or get jobs."

Didi: "Hey, we're very qualified to be dancing girls at the saloon."

Cara: "Okay, liking being idle rich more."

Didi: "Especially you with the high kicks."

Cara: "..."

Didi: "Or we could all have ended up in one household. I'd probably be your maid. Which would mean you'd still be my dress-up doll."

Cara: "But I'd get to shush you."

Simon sets down the second city newspaper he's read through. "So. The university medical school opened its third building in 1881. The kind of thing that make a city a candidate for a Tradition presence. The Library won't open for a few years but plans are being drawn up."

Michael: "So what do we do, wait for the guy to make a move?"

Simon: "We can investigate but we can't draw too much attention. Just being here is a paradox."

Cara: "Okay, I'm the most experienced time traveller here."

Didi: "Meaning this is your third time instead of your second."

Cara: "Yes."

Cara: "So we stay undercover, research... avoid contact with the Mages of this time unless we have to, they're the most likely to glitch this."

Alissa: "So we do what we're expected to do?"

Cara: "Until we have reason not to."

Alissa: "So are we all going to the theater tomorrow?"

Cara: "I guess - "

Didi, squeeing: "That means dressing up even more!"

Alissa, squeeing: "What were you thinking? I have a fitting later today."

Didi, squeeing: "Me too!"

Cara. not squeeing: "(sigh)... Me too."

Cara: "Okay, as long as we can get back, we be good. Take only photographs, leave only footprints. Maybe some light Quantum Leap put the wrong things right. And we shouldn't be, we've got some options. We can get a cryo chamber if we have to. But if we do get stuck here, I'm gonna kick this century's ass. I'm talking voting equality, vaccines, warn people about the earthquake, go to Austria and kick H*tl*r's dad in the nuts, we'll start there."

Simon: "But if we're not careful, paradox will throw us back to our own time with the mission uncompleted. Or erase us entirely. Or rewrite us to be who it thinks we should be here and now."

Didi: "... So, being careful."

--

OOC

We picked outfits for day one and beyond, and revealed them as we met up in character.

Didi, Alissa and Michael are already enjoying it, Simon is unfazed and Cara would like it if not for practical considerations like being able to fight. Her player is so mean to her.

TPO Cara: I'm sure she'll get to wear trousers at some point in the adventure. Maybe the end when we get back. If we do...

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