Aaron deigns not to translate.
Seeing that he does not appear to move, Kishan reaches into her coat and once again pulls out the stick of sidewalk chalk.
"Hold him!"
Her sword still ready, she crouches down, her eyes held on Set the entire time. Then working round in a circle, she draws a wide circle around him. Once completed, she bites the cut on her finger to restart the bleeding, and touches it to the circle, closing it. A shield against spirits and magic in place, she starts drawing a second circle around the first, this time adding intricate symbols at even intervals.
Circle: (Affects Insubstantial 2, Dimensional (NeverNever), Selective (Magic and subject of imprisonment only).)
. . . Create Object 7 (Impervious 4, Continuous, Linked; Limited: Circle only, Limited: Drawn Circle, Touch)
. . . Nullify 4: All Magical Effects (Area, Continuous, Linked; Limited: Drawn Circle, Touch)
While Drachman is holding Set, she steps up to him and if possible, plucks out a single strand of his hair to tie the circle to him and him alone. Once it is finished , she wills it into existence.
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"What do you mean, demon?" Jarrod asked, looking around at the others. All had a grim look on their face, and all were watching the kid. "Look, I know I ain't some kind of magic user or something out of a Brothers Grimm story, but I'm not letting the kid get killed without some kind of proof." With that, waiting for the ritual or whatever to be completed, he walked into the circle and stood by Set.
"Drachman, don't let go yet; I don't want anyone getting killed without a decent warning."
"Mr. Jackson, I've read many of the reports on events in the Chicago area, mostly based on information submitted by Dresden after he joined the Wardens. Those reports contain numerous examples of occasions when lives would have been saved if someone had just taken their heads out of their asses for a minute, and trusted someone when they tried to warn them about the dangers of the supernatural. I recall an occasion when there was a creature called a Loup Garou ignorantly placed into county lockup. Dresden tried to warn the department, and if I remember correctly, got arrested and shot for his trouble. Despite that, he went on to place himself in harms way by going to the police station while there was a warrant out for his arrest. I think something like 6 cops were killed that day - it's an event I'm sure you remember. If you and yours had listened then, it is possible those men might still be alive. Step out of that circle before the 'boy' you are trying to protect, sends you to join them."
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"Yeah, a lot of people died that day. Many of them were my friends," Jarrod admitted, his mind flashing briefly to Carmicheal. "And yeah, there were many times when we should have listened to Dresden, but we didn't and we paid for it. Some of us more than others." The last part was said quietly, as though he didn't mean for it to be heard. His eyes looked off into the distance for a moment before snapping back to Kishan's eyes, before lowering to her nose.
With a sigh, Jarrod looked down at Set before looking back at the Warden. "Look, if you say that the kid's dangerous, I won't argue. But let's at least get all the facts straight before you go using that sword. Besides, we're guests in the building, so let's get John's opinion on what to do, alright?"
Aaron nods, and again without taking his eyes off Set addresses Jackson.
"I know first hand how hard this is to understand if you haven't seen one of them in action. This is how they work, using their guise as an innocent, or a friend, or even a loved one to get you to lower your guard, even if for just a moment. And then they strike."
"No chances. I'd like to avoid hurting the boy if possible, but if necessary...I won't hesitate."
"As I said, I don't want him hurt. I have no idea if he is a willing party to that things plans, or an unwilling victim. I have no intention of doing anything until we at least try to separate the two, fin out they're in league, or acting to stop imminent harm or escape. If the boy is innocent, I do not want him to see harm any more than you. Now, step out of the circle; it will not harm him, it is made only to contain - to prevent the Fallen leaving unseen or its host from carrying it free."
Aaron steps out of the circle.
Kishan chuckles, the nature of the question a little disarming given the tension of the previous moments. "Not exactly; some of it comes from journals and texts, some is taught master to apprentice, and the rest is experimentation."
Kishan switches her sword into her off hand, and draws a heretofore unseen handgun. The thing looks like a relic of the first world war, but it looks pristinely maintained.
"My magic won't penetrate the barrier; it works both ways... Aaron, let go carefully, and step out of the circle. Take care not to smudge the ideograms."
Aaron steps out of the circle.
The speed in which the evening made another left turn leaves John stunned.
"Possession? By a Fallen? I offered guest rights to the kid, not his daemon!"
two impulses warred in his heart, as fear and hatred of such a creature met desire to protect a guest
"Are ya' sure it's in him? Could he be being used? I don't see one of those creatures being packed in a shipping crate for as long as he was without leaving a bigger mess than a fire. He said they wanted the "blood of dragons" or somethin' didn't he, Aaron? Does that mean all the folks inside the crate were tainted? And we just left them."
"What does the boy say?"
"Aaron, if you would translate again?"
Kishan moves up to the edge of the circle, stopping short of the hastily drawn symbols.
"'Set', I wasn't sure what to make of you, and so I looked upon you with my Wizard's Sight.". She shudders for a second as the memory washes over her. "Do you know what I saw? Did you know what you carried? Are you 'you', or am I addressing the Fallen now? If so, you can drop the pretense and start speaking English."
Once Aaron is safely out of the circle, he relaxes his guard slightly, Very slightly.
"Will do."
We, my family, are the Blood of the Dragon. Is this what you saw? Long ago, there were Angels who lusted after mortal women, humans and jinn alike. These stories are known in many ways to many people. But we are more than stories. We are there descendants.
The power of what you call the fallen is in all of us, but in some it is stronger. I am able to know things that are known, like your names. But there is no angel here. Just me.
Arabic
Recognizing one word, he interjects, "Did he say Jinn?" He shakes his head slowly. "They're the ones trying to kill me. They claim my powers are a perversion of theirs."
I have no idea if that is possible or not. Could a person be part Fallen naturally? Aren't White Court Vampires something like that... having a dualistic nature... I wished I knew more about this area...
Kishan racks her brain trying to bring to mind everything she can recall about inherited supernatural aspects, to determine if it might be possible that 'Set' is what he claims, and might be entirely in control of himself (or more or less in control of himself).
Kishan nods slowly, "You are saying that you were born this way, by blood of those called the Nephilim in Judeo-Islamic traditions. Does this Blood influence your actions? Does it ever control you?"
While she cannot understand his language, she is able to understand tone and body language. As she waits for the response, she concentrates her will into her perceptions.
Set appears to be telling the truth, but I doubt that you have any doubt that one of the Fallen could lie to you undetected.
Around the world, there are stories of people from the sky, be they Nephelim or Star People or something else, mating with humans and producing offspring with all manner of strange powers. These stories can be found from the Rus to the Ramayana, and among the earliest Americans as well. Whether some of these instances were the Fallen, you don't know, but it wouldn't be impossible based on what you know of the Denarians and other Fallen. Some of these stories create heroes, and others create monsters. What the Nature of someone descended from one of the Fallen might be is outside of your experience of knowledge. That there might be a whole family or community of such individuals is mindblowing. That they might just have arrived in your hometown is unsettling.
looks appraisingly at Wisp when he mentions his need for living space
at Aaron and the Warden
"Wait, slow down. I've heard old tales of Jinn and Nephilim but give me some back ground on Fallen. I've been told they're bad news but no details."
looks appraisingly at Wisp when he mentions his need for living space
at Aaron and the Warden
"Wait, slow down. I've heard old tales of Jinn and Nephilim but give me some back ground on Fallen. I've been told they're bad news but no details."
"Long story short, the Fallen used to be angels before they, well, fell along with Lucifer in rebellion against heaven. Generally speaking, they're what people think of when they hear the word "demon" or "devil". Evil incarnate, consummate liars and schemers. They can have many forms, most of them horrifying or disgusting. Some appear as nothing more than a nearly invisible shadow, whispering doubts in men's ears and driving them to do something they believe they have no choice but to do."
"Thankfully, this appears to be of the former variety, given the Warden's reaction. It is "merely" something that could potentially kill us all if we drop our guard, rather than something that controls us."
"More thankfully, it's not a Denarian, it seems. I barely survived my first encounter with one, and I'm not sure if I would fare much better now."
"The Denarians are some of the worst of the Fallen, particularly since they typically choose to take on the fell spirits they carry with them. Besides making them effectively ageless, it gives them a remarkable level of demonic power; including the ability to take on terrifyingly monstrous forms."
"I have no idea if what he is suggesting is possible, but I strongly advise that we proceed extremely cautiously. If by some chance what he suggests turns out to be true, 'Set' will be none the worse for his time contained in the circle, but were we to release him before we are sure, one of the fallen could do untold damage on the loose in Boston, not to mention what it could do to us should it have the opportunity."
She regards the boy in the circle, looking so normal and vulnerable now, without her wizard's sight.
"We will have to figure something out soon, of course. This circle will only last until daybreak. Does anyone know what time sunrise will be tomorrow, like, exactly what time? Perhaps someone can look it up so we can be prepared, and have a deadline at least. Of course, I can draw a new one then, or reinforce this one against the cycle of dawn, if we expect to keep him there longer than that. One way or another though, we'll need to figure out what to do here."
"Chances are, we will need to find someone with more experience in these matters than us. But we'll have to do it without alerting the Fomor to where he is. This circle will block any attempts to track him, for now, the same way it blocks the flow of magical energies."
"Anyone know a particularly trustworthy and discrete priest or imam? It would have to be one acknowledging of the true nature of the supernatural."
As of June 2005 some 15,000 items have been reported as stolen from the Iraq Museum during its looting in April 2003, of which about half are said to have been retrieved since then. Yet over two years after the looting we still lack final numbers and tallies of what is missing and what has been retrieved, though some lists of missing items have become available.
"I may know of a guy. Word was there were items missing from Iraq after the looting of its museums in '02. He was said to be an expert on early religious lore of the area and paying top dollar on any artifacts that came available, especially any 'active' artifacts. But its been years."
"Let me make some calls."
"I'm thinking the dawn ending your circle isn't a problem if the boy is kin to but not part of the Fallen. Your decision, though. If you want to come upstairs, you're welcome. Just remember, the boy is my guest, at least for now. I'm gonna go make some calls."
Regardless of how he is answered, John walks away. Obviously something has captured his interest. He returns some hours later and addresses the group.
"After the looting of the Iraqi National Museum, two men from the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago started up a data base to list the items removed. Most of those items have not been recovered. Both those men have moved on to other projects, but both have continued to involve themselves in the recovery process, though less openly.
One now has a position with Penn State. The other is with the Royal Ontario Museum and may or may not be on a dig in Syria. They are Chuck Jones and Dr. Clemens Reichel.
What I remembered and now have confirmed is that there was a time when the word went out very quietly that a good price could be had for the recovery of some of those missing items, as long as the items could be authenticated by ‘an expert in Mesopotamian archaeology’ who could ‘place them in their historical matrix’. The people I checked with confirm that the price was for ‘items of unusual providence’ which is the standard code for ‘preternatural’.
If you’re lookin’ for an expert in the peoples of pre-history in the Mesopotamian area where civilization and writing were born, in Nephilim, in Jinn, in Fallen angels who bred wit’ the descendants of Jinn and such, that sounds like a guy in the know.
Jones is the fancy librarian and Reichel is the field guy. From his on-line info, Reichel is the guy we want."
Aaron looks to make sure not even a single hair of his managed to fall out of the circle when he fell asleep.
"I don't think we have time to fly to Syria to get the information we need. Unless you can make this prison last for several days, and somehow find a way to keep the kid fed and watered while we're gone, Warden?"
"Or he could be in Canada or even closer. There's supposed to be a problem or delay with the dig. Someone might be able to check with Jones at Penn. He'd know. Hell, it's possible Jones can help us- he's sort sort of special librarian who works with on-line sources and special collections."
'I'm guessin' its not the same Chuck Jones from the cartoons. Unless it's a crazier world than I thought."
Dr. Lakshmi Kishan graduated with honours from Oxford University, and was awarded a Doctorate of Philosophy in Medieval History, following a successful thesis defense. She continues to play a roll with Oxford as an Associate Professor with the faculty of History. She is presently living and working abroad, consulting with a prestigious American university, studying the influence of religious and occult practices on the development of social norms during the early colonial period.
Warden Kishan, you are quite clever, but I will not make such a mistake as to tell you my name. You may call me Set. We have paid these men to bring us to America? Is this America? But they separated those of us who are gifted, and I could tell that they were going to use us to empower the sword.
I told the others, and at first they did not believe me, but my friend told them of other things I had seen that had come true and they came to believe what I said. And so three of us were attempting to open the door that we would not be lead to the slaughter. Jerrias was strong with fire, some said he had the blood of the Jinn, but in truth it was the power of the dragon in all of us. The creatures said that all of had a hint of dragon blood and that we could awaken Nothing, but we did not understand them.
Jerrias was strong with fire, and so my friend was helping him to make the fire, but I was the one for fine work, and so I was using Jerrias' magic and cutting the door, but then the container moved, and I panicked, and the fire got away from me and lashed out at them. I have killed them Warden Kishan, and so you must kill me. I have traded one sword for another.We, my family, are the Blood of the Dragon. Is this what you saw? Long ago, there were Angels who lusted after mortal women, humans and jinn alike. These stories are known in many ways to many people. But we are more than stories. We are there descendants.
The power of what you call the fallen is in all of us, but in some it is stronger. I am able to know things that are known, like your names. But there is no angel here. Just me.
"These questions intrigue me too. Especially the bit about the Blood of Dragons. That hits a bit too close to home for comfort. I think this sword will work for me, but I need time to study it before I can be sure."
"I think we should find Reichel and see if we can confirm some of this. But I don't want to leave Set unguarded."