Alistair Mordechai’s personal hit squad of Kingfishers that make it their business to guard the Seer and help him complete his more dangerous tasks. If you’ve ever wondered how it’s possible that Alistair can pull off the impossible, you’re looking at the reason in this blade’s members. The original members have been at work since the 15th Century.
The numbers of the Reservoir Dogs change almost every generation as Alistair's most trusted operatives retire or get killed on the job. Furthermore, the existence of the Reservoir Dogs is a bit of an open secret among Kingfishers and other close associates of the Mordechai Brothers. If you find out about them, you find out about them. If you don't, then you don't. Even reliable information networks like Network Zero classify the blade as an urban legend within the Vigil.
JACK MARLOWE Alias: Number 010, Hell's Winter
Affiliations: The Lucifuge Zangyaku INFERNAL SIN-EATER(?); BLADE LEADER OF THE RESERVOIR DOGS; “HELL’S WINTER OF THE THRONES” / SHADOW OF HEAVEN [ONI-TSUKAI {TEN}/ISHA {TEN}] OF GISI [FALNER] / GRAY ROOK [KINGFISHER]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: ZANGYAKU [THE THRONES].
Alice Marlowe was the 010 of the Lucifuge during the Victorian Era of England. The Lady had made a mistake with her, and kidnapped Alice when she was already a teenager after killing the girl’s mortal parents right in front of her. This made Alice an incredibly reluctant Number within the conspiracy, and she constantly attempted to break away from the organization. In fact, she gave birth to Jack on the run, following the murder of her lover.
Jack was 17 when the Lady – tired of Alice’s insolence – tracked the Marlowes down, dragged them back to Italy, and used her powers to seal Alice’s psyche away. She then replaced the “original” Alice with a persona of her choosing: a woman who was blindly devoted to the Lucifuge with absolutely no self-preservation instincts. The Lady then proceeded to make an example out of Alice by turning her the resident sex toy and “stress ball” for the other Numbers, and also used Alice to keep Jack in line. By the time Jack was 21, the artificial persona that the Lady had implanted in his mother was starting to shatter under the strain of all of the abuse. Alice died four years later. By then, she was a total incoherent wreck. Jack received the Legacy of Hell’s Winter only moments after, when his mother’s corpse was still barely cold.
Having learned from his mother’s example and become incredibly familiar with the inner workings of the Lucifuge, Jack played both sides of the field by presenting himself as a completely loyal Number to the Lady and using his charm to throw people off of his trail. He managed to fall in love with a mortal woman and marry her. He had hoped, of course, to protect her until Gabriel was old enough for them to run. Unfortunately, the Lady had his wife murdered when Gabriel was only five years old.
With that sort of story, it's no surprise that Jack wanted to take his conspiracy down. It's a damned good thing that he managed to do it in 2012.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
The Legacy of Hell's Winter is striking a Bargain with the collective despair, bitterness, and resentment of Numbers long dead. It tends to manifest in familiar faces to the Sin-Eater in question. Case in point: Hell's Winter comes in the form of Alice Marlowe for Jack and Gabriel.
Jack has gamefully declined a leadership position within the Thrones. He's happy to let 108 or whoever else have it because he'd much rather focus on the work he's doing for the Mordechais.
GABRIEL MARLOWE Alias: Number 011, Hell's Winter
Affiliations: The Lucifuge,Taskforce Valkyrie, HECATON Special Operations, Zangyaku INFERNAL SIN-EATER(?); BLADE LEADER OF THE RESERVOIR DOGS; “HELL’S WINTER OF THE THRONES” / LIEUTENANT COLONEL, DIVISION ALPHA OF HECATON SPECIAL OPERATIONS [TAFT BASE] / GRAY ROOK [KINGFISHER & EAGLE]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: HECATION SPECIAL OPERATIONS.
Gabriel Marlowe has three solid childhood memories of his mother: the smell and warmth of her whenever she'd sing him to sleep, the sight of her bleeding out on the floor of their family home in London, and the icy whisper of her voice in his ear right before he died. Fortunately, his father's support and his Bargain with Hell's Winter has given him a whole lot more time to get to know her, and remember why he wants to see the Lady burn.
After murdering Jack's wife, the Lady had five-year-old Gabriel locked up in the dungeons of the Devil's Spire. She had the boy beaten and starved all the way until he died, and then she had Jack facilitate the Bargain between Hell's Winter and his son. As a reward for his obedience, the Lady allowed Jack to raise his boy with minimal interference. She's yet to discover that she's made a terrible mistake.
Gabriel's life took an interesting turn after an engagement for the Lady led him right to Alistair Mordechai's doorstep. Successive encounters with the Fisher-King were enough to make him believe that he and his father could be free themselves and their fellow Numbers from the Lady. He put Alistair in touch with his father, and it was not long before the two became the leaders of the Reservoir Dogs.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
The Legacy of Hell's Winter is striking a Bargain with the collective despair, bitterness, and resentment of Numbers long dead. It tends to manifest in familiar faces to the Sin-Eater in question. Case in point: Hell's Winter comes in the form of Alice Marlowe for Jack and Gabriel.
Gabriel's work with HECATON Special Operations is a closely guarded secret even within the ranks of the Phantom Corps. Only a handful of the top brass in HECATON itself knew about it - but now, following the Ides of March, the gig is up.
Gabriel is one of the Thrones who has decided to retain an honorary position in Zangyaku instead of joining the conspiracy wholesale. He's making his transfer to the newly minted Division Alpha of HECATON Special Ops official.
DEIRDRA MAX Alias: None
Affiliations: The Midnight Riders, Taskforce Valkyrie, HECATON Special Operations, Zangyaku RISKBREAKER; DULLAHAN; SECOND OF THE RESERVOIR DOGS / GRAY KNIGHT [KINGFISHER, WOLF & EAGLE]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: THE MIDNIGHT RIDERS.
A lot of Midnight Riders think of Deirdra as the third-in-command of the entirety of their conspiracy, and in many ways? They’re not wrong. Deirdra has been following Shane since the former(?) Malice King picked her up during the American Civil War. He found her out in the front yard of her home on the prairie, shaking from the trauma of her awakening (and subsequent slaughtering of the men responsible for raping her), burying her son. He patched her up and brought her with him on his travels, letting Calintz help her get used to her newfound abilities.
Deirdra’s almost constant presence in the Philippines has more than a few people of the questionable sort very concerned. She’s regarded as one of the finest Keepers of the Vigil tonight, and known for not compromising when it comes to doing what’s right.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
Deirdra agreed to be Wesley Essex's mentor early on in the campaign. Yes, she's aware of the fact that he's got a crush on her.
Deirdra's work with HECATON Special Operations is a closely guarded secret even within the ranks of the Phantom Corps. Only a handful of the top brass within HECATON knew about it - but now the gig's up.
RODRIGO "DIGONG/RODY" BASA Alias: The Jackal, Hotrod (only to Gil)
Affiliations: The Knights of St. George, The Vice Conglomerate, Zangyaku, Netsach RIVERS HUNTER [MAGE]; “THE JACKAL” / GRAY ROOK [KINGFISHER, SWALLOWTAIL, WOLF & GOAT]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: NESTACH [THE KNIGHTS OF ST. GEORGE].
A Filipino Dragonslayer from Alexander Morgenstern’s generation, and practically a living legend for Sophia’s peers. His dangerous reputation precedes him so much that his moniker is used to scare children of the Knights and fresh recruits. Given Digong’s track record and methods with his family’s “sacred” marks, nobody should be surprised. A veteran of several wars beyond and behind the Veil, and that special kind of asshole who thinks the world can burn as long as his “family” and that which is his own stays intact, it’s hard to tell whether Digong resurfacing means everything is going to be okay or that people should probably run for the hills.
Let's be blunt: Rodrigo married Consuela because he felt sorry for her, and because she wouldn't leave him alone. It helped, as well, that getting intimate with her meant having an in on the Maharlika - something that could potentially work to the Seer's advantage. What he did NOT expect was that his wife's hubris would truly drive her to madness, such that she'd sell out her own people for power. Digong might not be the perfect husband (or person) by far, but the one thing he'll never do is bite the hands of the people he gives a fuck about - or, barring that, the people he can use in the future.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
The Basa Family's techniques of killing and controlling Mages involves using their body parts as weapons. This is grounded in the principle that the Basa are Hubris embodied, the dark shadow that chases all Awakened who reach too much for the sun. The weapons then act almost like universal banes unique to the Awakened, Touched, and Sleepwalkers. The stronger the target (at least in theory), the more terrible the injury.
Rody and Gil go way, way, WAY back. One does have to wonder how in the Fifth World they became friends in the first place, though.
In light of Grandmaster Sophia Morgenstern becoming the leader of Netsach, the position of Grandmaster is now open to all eligible Knights. Digong is a part of that list, for better or for worse.
GUILLAME "GIL" BATTALI Alias: The Sommelier, Romeo (only for Digong)
Affiliations: The Knights of St. George, Taskforce Valkyrie, HECATON Special Operations, Zangyaku, Netsach RIVERS HUNTER [CHANGELING]; “THE SOMMELIER” / GRAY ROOK [KINGFISHER, SWALLOWTAIL, WOLF & GOAT]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: NETSACH [THE KNIGHTS OF ST. GEORGE].
Another Filipino Dragonslayer from Alexander Morgenstern’s generation, and Rodrigo Basa’s erstwhile partner (because nobody else in the Order outside of Alexander could stand Digong or “get” him). Gil, for all intents and purposes, seems to be the exact opposite of Digong: principled and dutiful with a strong sense of justice that he makes a point out of acting on at every opportunity. Reports say that he’s been missing for a damned long time (thank you, Other World), but Alistair Mordechai has given him standing orders to – well – stand down and spend some quality time with his daughter Alex.
The ultimate proof that Guillame is stupidly romantic is the fact that he married Rita, Alex's mother. He saw her as much more than she actually was, and only swallowed his pride and accepted the fact that he had made the wrong choice much later into their marriage. She wasn't ready to be the wife of a Rivers: heck, she wasn't really ready for the World of Darkness, much less life Honest to Elaine, he was planning on doing something about it before getting lost in the Other World happened.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
Gil is the first Battali Rivers to discover the truth behind the identity of the Battali Line’s Companion. He is, as a result, Titania Silvertongue’s favorite, known to all in Arcadia as the Green Knight.
Thanks to a lead from Father Leslie Montero, Alistair was able to pull Gil out of the Other World and bring him back home. He's spent as much time as he can with his daughter in spite of how crazy everything has gotten around these parts.
In light of Grandmaster Sophia Morgenstern becoming the leader of Netsach, the position of Grandmaster is now open to all eligible Knights. Gui, like his partner-in-crime Digong Basa, is on that very short list.
PLEASANCE FINCH Alias: None
Affiliations: The Methuselah PROMETHEAN [GALATEID] / BLACK INQUISITOR-PAWN OF QUEENSCRAIC [LONDON] / GRAY ROOK [KINGFISHER]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: THE METHUSELAH.
Ply Pleasance Finch with enough wine, and maybe she’ll tell you a story. She’ll tell you about a pretty whore who – much like many other pretty whores – died of consumption in some dark alleyway at winter. She’ll tell you about how a lonely monster found her body and mistook her for her mortal sister of decades past, whom she had loved the way a husband might love a wife. She’ll tell you what it’s like to be Rapunzel in a Tower, too isolated and naïve to realize that “horrific” was the new normal until her little mind snapped. And then she’ll tell you about the day the Seer found her.
On paper, Pleasance was one of Queenscraic’s finest agents, noted for being one of the more tolerable Black Pieces on the board of the Methuselah. In truth, she was Alistair’s saboteur, singularly devoted to undermining the conspiracy’s authority by keeping things in a perpetual state of near-turmoil. If Helena Lovecraft made it her business to maintain the Seer’s assets, Pleasance made it her business to maintain his information (spy) network. Her “little birds” – the orphaned, the disenfranchised, the invisible of society whom she or her people have saved – are scattered all over Europe and former colonies of European countries. Shifts in the Vigil and in the World of Light may have compromised many of her circles, but Pleasance is, if for nothing else, resilient.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
Most of the people working for Pleasance don't even know that they're working for anyone at all. She's good at her job like that.
The other Reservoir Dogs have only heard from Pleasance once since the Ides. As of her last check-in, she was still in Queenscraic trying to manage the fallout from the destruction of Sydney.
HELENA LOVECRAFT [CORINNE BLACKWELL] Alias: Madam, The Devil of Jersey
Affiliations: The Vice Conglomerate CARD(?) / “MADAM” / GRAY ROOK [KINGFISHER]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: THE VICE CONGLOMERATE.
The only daughter of a small-time businessman who was sold into marriage to their landlord over a game of cards, Helena was the first Card to draw her Second Breath on American soil after her husband beat her to death. Alistair was the one who discovered that – as a result of dying and coming back without knowing it – Helena was sleepwalking through her homestead, murdering anyone whom her Persona caught doing evil. He helped her on her Pilgrimage, and also gave her the means to seek some closure: bullets through the crotch and brains of the bastard who did her in, fired from a gun in her hand.
Helena is fondly called the sugar mommy of the Reservoir Dogs. She worked tirelessly from the shadows, putting her fingers into every conceivable financial pie and taking charge of growing the Seer’s assets all across America and – later on – all over the world. She was the last Dealer of the Devil Arcana before Jessiah Vice shut the Grand Game of Fate down. She murdered her predecessor for the sole purpose of gaining control over all Devil Cards, and subsequently using the Cards in her deck to aid the Kingfishers - that’s what they say, anyway.
PLOT POINTS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
Helena was one of the first Dealers who assisted Jessiah Vice in his quest to break the Grand Game of Fate.
Given how markets are crashing all over the Fifth World, it's only a matter of time before Helena will need some, ah, assistance with protecting the Kingfisher's assets. She hasn't called yet, though, so everyone is assuming that things are fine. For now.
SAVOIS MONTESSI Alias: The Professor
Affiliations: Aegis Kai Doru RISKBREAKER; DIRECTOR OF THRASOS / OPERATIVE OF KISMET / GRAY BISHOP [KINGFISHER & BULL]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: AEGIS KAI DORU.
If the World of Darkness could have academic celebrities, Savois would undoubtedly be at the top of the list. The last three centuries of Savois’ life have been devoted solely to scientific discovery, and developing meaningful connections between World of Light science and the bendable “logic” of the World of Darkness in a fashion that could potentially put a lot of members of Taskforce Valkyrie’s Null Mysteris to shame. And just before anybody thinks that she can’t amount to anything but an armchair scholar at best, colleagues who have taken a peek at her notes have seen that she is, to date, the only operative of Kismet who has developed a plausible way to neutralizing or killing every known Malice King.
The older operatives of Aegis Kai Doru call Savois Orin's daughter; Kaizen Tempesta calls her his older sister. They do this for a damned good reason. The golem pulled her from the wreckage a train crash caused by a Relic gone amok: he was assisted by Alistair, who happened to be in the area. Although he tried to hand her away to a friendly couple within his conspiracy, Savois insisted on staying with him. She also kept in touch with the Seer, and came to admire his work. She was, prior to recent events, Orin's constant reminder of the possibility of returning to his "family" in the other Malice Kings.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
Copies of the Professor's files were originally left in the care of Certain Elements of the Vigil. At present, however, the contents of these files are being distributed to the most trusted operatives within the United Vigil, for reference.
Team Death Wish has caught this one's attention. That's probably a bad thing, right...
CHELSEA MORGAN Alias: Azariel, the Deep Sea
Affiliations: Zangyaku, the Brotherhood in Violence ??? [DEMON: AZARIEL, THE DARK SEA] / ZASHIKI-WARASHI [ONI-TSUKAI {SHIROMI} / NAMI {MIKI} OF SETH’S REST / GRAY KNIGHT [KINGFISHER]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: ZANGYAKU.
Hands down, Chelsea is the youngest member of the Reservoir Dogs by all conventional definitions, even when one takes her true nature into consideration. Birthed during the Secret War of Heaven, Azariel was a part of the last batch of Angels assembled by a desperate God Machine. Her role was to defend the Machine against its enemies by devouring any potential threat, and assimilating any potentially helpful asset. What the God Machine did not anticipate, however, was that Azariel’s psyche would end up absorbing the memories of everything she ate. The Machine cast her down when she refused, for the third time, to assimilate a target. Maes and Alistair found her at that point, and Maes – with Elaine’s blessing, of course – made the Well of Souls her new Source. She has only recently started to regain her sanity again, as from the point of her Fall up until the 1800s, she was riding through the trauma of having no strong buffer against the memories and experiences of her previous victims.
Chelsea is one of the handful of oni-tsukai who man Seth’s Rest, Zangyaku’s (no longer so) clandestine power base on the Cooley Peninsula of Ireland. This remote, isolated station let her live out her days peacefully and allowed Zangyaku (and the Blackguard of the Brotherhood) to be incredibly hands-on with her integration into the “real world”. It also kept her hidden away from any who might seek her out, including the God Machine itself. Every member of the blade knows how important it is that Chelsea stays safe, so she’s their absolute last resort in a pinch. This continues to hold true in spite of how things have gone down in the Fifth World
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
Chelsea only shares her food with people whom she feels she can trust.
FRIEDRICH "FREDDY" WEISS Alias: None
Affiliations: The Methuselah, Netsach RISKBREAKER; ARBITER FOR 216 CITIES & COUNTING; A HAND OF THE GOLDEN DANW / GRAY BISHOP [KINGFISHER]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: NETSACH.
Since his Awakening sometime in the 14th Century, Arbiter Weiss has made it his express goal to become an Arbiter in each and every city in the Fifth World well before his death – and from the looks of it, he might just manage to do it. There isn’t an Arbiter worth his salt within tonight’s Accords that hasn’t at least heard about Friedrich. He’s a bit of a celebrity on… well. Several continents.
Several conspiracies have tried to court Friedrich, hoping to lure him over to their end of the fence. He’s shot each and every one of them down, citing his disgust at how the Vigil has been since 1865. It was the most subtle way that he could put things, especially since he did not want to reveal his actual allegiances to anyone.
And then Netsach happened.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
We still don't know what favor Freddy owes Alistair.
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wakingthedead2016-05-18 02:59 pm
JACK MARLOWE :: 010, "Hell's Winter"
Alias: Number 010, Hell's Winter
Affiliations:
The LucifugeZangyakuINFERNAL SIN-EATER(?); BLADE LEADER OF THE RESERVOIR DOGS; “HELL’S WINTER OF THE THRONES” / SHADOW OF HEAVEN [ONI-TSUKAI {TEN}/ISHA {TEN}] OF GISI [FALNER] / GRAY ROOK [KINGFISHER]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: ZANGYAKU [THE THRONES].
Alice Marlowe was the 010 of the Lucifuge during the Victorian Era of England. The Lady had made a mistake with her, and kidnapped Alice when she was already a teenager after killing the girl’s mortal parents right in front of her. This made Alice an incredibly reluctant Number within the conspiracy, and she constantly attempted to break away from the organization. In fact, she gave birth to Jack on the run, following the murder of her lover.
Jack was 17 when the Lady – tired of Alice’s insolence – tracked the Marlowes down, dragged them back to Italy, and used her powers to seal Alice’s psyche away. She then replaced the “original” Alice with a persona of her choosing: a woman who was blindly devoted to the Lucifuge with absolutely no self-preservation instincts. The Lady then proceeded to make an example out of Alice by turning her the resident sex toy and “stress ball” for the other Numbers, and also used Alice to keep Jack in line. By the time Jack was 21, the artificial persona that the Lady had implanted in his mother was starting to shatter under the strain of all of the abuse. Alice died four years later. By then, she was a total incoherent wreck. Jack received the Legacy of Hell’s Winter only moments after, when his mother’s corpse was still barely cold.
Having learned from his mother’s example and become incredibly familiar with the inner workings of the Lucifuge, Jack played both sides of the field by presenting himself as a completely loyal Number to the Lady and using his charm to throw people off of his trail. He managed to fall in love with a mortal woman and marry her. He had hoped, of course, to protect her until Gabriel was old enough for them to run. Unfortunately, the Lady had his wife murdered when Gabriel was only five years old.
With that sort of story, it's no surprise that Jack wanted to take his conspiracy down. It's a damned good thing that he managed to do it in 2012.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
FACE PEG: MICHAEL FASSBENDER
GABRIEL MARLOWE :: 011, "Hell's Winter"
Alias: Number 011, Hell's Winter
Affiliations:
The Lucifuge,Taskforce Valkyrie,HECATON Special Operations, ZangyakuINFERNAL SIN-EATER(?); BLADE LEADER OF THE RESERVOIR DOGS; “HELL’S WINTER OF THE THRONES” / LIEUTENANT COLONEL, DIVISION ALPHA OF HECATON SPECIAL OPERATIONS [TAFT BASE] / GRAY ROOK [KINGFISHER & EAGLE]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: HECATION SPECIAL OPERATIONS.
Gabriel Marlowe has three solid childhood memories of his mother: the smell and warmth of her whenever she'd sing him to sleep, the sight of her bleeding out on the floor of their family home in London, and the icy whisper of her voice in his ear right before he died. Fortunately, his father's support and his Bargain with Hell's Winter has given him a whole lot more time to get to know her, and remember why he wants to see the Lady burn.
After murdering Jack's wife, the Lady had five-year-old Gabriel locked up in the dungeons of the Devil's Spire. She had the boy beaten and starved all the way until he died, and then she had Jack facilitate the Bargain between Hell's Winter and his son. As a reward for his obedience, the Lady allowed Jack to raise his boy with minimal interference. She's yet to discover that she's made a terrible mistake.
Gabriel's life took an interesting turn after an engagement for the Lady led him right to Alistair Mordechai's doorstep. Successive encounters with the Fisher-King were enough to make him believe that he and his father could be free themselves and their fellow Numbers from the Lady. He put Alistair in touch with his father, and it was not long before the two became the leaders of the Reservoir Dogs.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
FACE PEG: GREG NAWRAT
DEIRDRA MAX
Alias: None
Affiliations: The Midnight Riders,
Taskforce Valkyrie,HECATON Special Operations, ZangyakuRISKBREAKER; DULLAHAN; SECOND OF THE RESERVOIR DOGS / GRAY KNIGHT [KINGFISHER, WOLF & EAGLE]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: THE MIDNIGHT RIDERS.
A lot of Midnight Riders think of Deirdra as the third-in-command of the entirety of their conspiracy, and in many ways? They’re not wrong. Deirdra has been following Shane since the former(?) Malice King picked her up during the American Civil War. He found her out in the front yard of her home on the prairie, shaking from the trauma of her awakening (and subsequent slaughtering of the men responsible for raping her), burying her son. He patched her up and brought her with him on his travels, letting Calintz help her get used to her newfound abilities.
Deirdra’s almost constant presence in the Philippines has more than a few people of the questionable sort very concerned. She’s regarded as one of the finest Keepers of the Vigil tonight, and known for not compromising when it comes to doing what’s right.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
FACE PEG: ANNA SPECKHART
RODRIGO "DIGONG/RODY" BASA :: The Jackal
Alias: The Jackal, Hotrod (only to Gil)
Affiliations: The Knights of St. George, The Vice Conglomerate, Zangyaku, Netsach
RIVERS HUNTER [MAGE]; “THE JACKAL” / GRAY ROOK [KINGFISHER, SWALLOWTAIL, WOLF & GOAT]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: NESTACH [THE KNIGHTS OF ST. GEORGE].
A Filipino Dragonslayer from Alexander Morgenstern’s generation, and practically a living legend for Sophia’s peers. His dangerous reputation precedes him so much that his moniker is used to scare children of the Knights and fresh recruits. Given Digong’s track record and methods with his family’s “sacred” marks, nobody should be surprised. A veteran of several wars beyond and behind the Veil, and that special kind of asshole who thinks the world can burn as long as his “family” and that which is his own stays intact, it’s hard to tell whether Digong resurfacing means everything is going to be okay or that people should probably run for the hills.
Let's be blunt: Rodrigo married Consuela because he felt sorry for her, and because she wouldn't leave him alone. It helped, as well, that getting intimate with her meant having an in on the Maharlika - something that could potentially work to the Seer's advantage. What he did NOT expect was that his wife's hubris would truly drive her to madness, such that she'd sell out her own people for power. Digong might not be the perfect husband (or person) by far, but the one thing he'll never do is bite the hands of the people he gives a fuck about - or, barring that, the people he can use in the future.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
FACE PEG: SCOTT ADKINS
GUILLAME "GIL" BATTALI :: The Sommelier
Alias: The Sommelier, Romeo (only for Digong)
Affiliations: The Knights of St. George,
Taskforce Valkyrie,HECATON Special Operations, Zangyaku, NetsachRIVERS HUNTER [CHANGELING]; “THE SOMMELIER” / GRAY ROOK [KINGFISHER, SWALLOWTAIL, WOLF & GOAT]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: NETSACH [THE KNIGHTS OF ST. GEORGE].
Another Filipino Dragonslayer from Alexander Morgenstern’s generation, and Rodrigo Basa’s erstwhile partner (because nobody else in the Order outside of Alexander could stand Digong or “get” him). Gil, for all intents and purposes, seems to be the exact opposite of Digong: principled and dutiful with a strong sense of justice that he makes a point out of acting on at every opportunity. Reports say that he’s been missing for a damned long time (thank you, Other World), but Alistair Mordechai has given him standing orders to – well – stand down and spend some quality time with his daughter Alex.
The ultimate proof that Guillame is stupidly romantic is the fact that he married Rita, Alex's mother. He saw her as much more than she actually was, and only swallowed his pride and accepted the fact that he had made the wrong choice much later into their marriage. She wasn't ready to be the wife of a Rivers: heck, she wasn't really ready for the World of Darkness, much less life Honest to Elaine, he was planning on doing something about it before getting lost in the Other World happened.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
FACE PEG: RAOUL BOVA
PLEASANCE FINCH
Alias: None
Affiliations: The Methuselah
PROMETHEAN [GALATEID] / BLACK INQUISITOR-PAWN OF QUEENSCRAIC [LONDON] / GRAY ROOK [KINGFISHER]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: THE METHUSELAH.
Ply Pleasance Finch with enough wine, and maybe she’ll tell you a story. She’ll tell you about a pretty whore who – much like many other pretty whores – died of consumption in some dark alleyway at winter. She’ll tell you about how a lonely monster found her body and mistook her for her mortal sister of decades past, whom she had loved the way a husband might love a wife. She’ll tell you what it’s like to be Rapunzel in a Tower, too isolated and naïve to realize that “horrific” was the new normal until her little mind snapped. And then she’ll tell you about the day the Seer found her.
On paper, Pleasance was one of Queenscraic’s finest agents, noted for being one of the more tolerable Black Pieces on the board of the Methuselah. In truth, she was Alistair’s saboteur, singularly devoted to undermining the conspiracy’s authority by keeping things in a perpetual state of near-turmoil. If Helena Lovecraft made it her business to maintain the Seer’s assets, Pleasance made it her business to maintain his information (spy) network. Her “little birds” – the orphaned, the disenfranchised, the invisible of society whom she or her people have saved – are scattered all over Europe and former colonies of European countries. Shifts in the Vigil and in the World of Light may have compromised many of her circles, but Pleasance is, if for nothing else, resilient.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
FACE PEG: NATALIE DORMER
HELENA LOVECRAFT :: The Devil of Jersey
Alias: Madam, The Devil of Jersey
Affiliations: The Vice Conglomerate
CARD(?) / “MADAM” / GRAY ROOK [KINGFISHER]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: THE VICE CONGLOMERATE.
The only daughter of a small-time businessman who was sold into marriage to their landlord over a game of cards, Helena was the first Card to draw her Second Breath on American soil after her husband beat her to death. Alistair was the one who discovered that – as a result of dying and coming back without knowing it – Helena was sleepwalking through her homestead, murdering anyone whom her Persona caught doing evil. He helped her on her Pilgrimage, and also gave her the means to seek some closure: bullets through the crotch and brains of the bastard who did her in, fired from a gun in her hand.
Helena is fondly called the sugar mommy of the Reservoir Dogs. She worked tirelessly from the shadows, putting her fingers into every conceivable financial pie and taking charge of growing the Seer’s assets all across America and – later on – all over the world. She was the last Dealer of the Devil Arcana before Jessiah Vice shut the Grand Game of Fate down. She murdered her predecessor for the sole purpose of gaining control over all Devil Cards, and subsequently using the Cards in her deck to aid the Kingfishers - that’s what they say, anyway.
PLOT POINTS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
FACE PEG: KRYSTEN RITTER
SAVOIS MONTESSI :: The Professor
Alias: The Professor
Affiliations: Aegis Kai Doru
RISKBREAKER; DIRECTOR OF THRASOS / OPERATIVE OF KISMET / GRAY BISHOP [KINGFISHER & BULL]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: AEGIS KAI DORU.
If the World of Darkness could have academic celebrities, Savois would undoubtedly be at the top of the list. The last three centuries of Savois’ life have been devoted solely to scientific discovery, and developing meaningful connections between World of Light science and the bendable “logic” of the World of Darkness in a fashion that could potentially put a lot of members of Taskforce Valkyrie’s Null Mysteris to shame. And just before anybody thinks that she can’t amount to anything but an armchair scholar at best, colleagues who have taken a peek at her notes have seen that she is, to date, the only operative of Kismet who has developed a plausible way to neutralizing or killing every known Malice King.
The older operatives of Aegis Kai Doru call Savois Orin's daughter; Kaizen Tempesta calls her his older sister. They do this for a damned good reason. The golem pulled her from the wreckage a train crash caused by a Relic gone amok: he was assisted by Alistair, who happened to be in the area. Although he tried to hand her away to a friendly couple within his conspiracy, Savois insisted on staying with him. She also kept in touch with the Seer, and came to admire his work. She was, prior to recent events, Orin's constant reminder of the possibility of returning to his "family" in the other Malice Kings.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
FACE PEG: MORENA BACCARIN
CHELSEA MORGAN :: Azariel, the Deep Sea
Alias: Azariel, the Deep Sea
Affiliations: Zangyaku, the Brotherhood in Violence
??? [DEMON: AZARIEL, THE DARK SEA] / ZASHIKI-WARASHI [ONI-TSUKAI {SHIROMI} / NAMI {MIKI} OF SETH’S REST / GRAY KNIGHT [KINGFISHER]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: ZANGYAKU.
Hands down, Chelsea is the youngest member of the Reservoir Dogs by all conventional definitions, even when one takes her true nature into consideration. Birthed during the Secret War of Heaven, Azariel was a part of the last batch of Angels assembled by a desperate God Machine. Her role was to defend the Machine against its enemies by devouring any potential threat, and assimilating any potentially helpful asset. What the God Machine did not anticipate, however, was that Azariel’s psyche would end up absorbing the memories of everything she ate. The Machine cast her down when she refused, for the third time, to assimilate a target. Maes and Alistair found her at that point, and Maes – with Elaine’s blessing, of course – made the Well of Souls her new Source. She has only recently started to regain her sanity again, as from the point of her Fall up until the 1800s, she was riding through the trauma of having no strong buffer against the memories and experiences of her previous victims.
Chelsea is one of the handful of oni-tsukai who man Seth’s Rest, Zangyaku’s (no longer so) clandestine power base on the Cooley Peninsula of Ireland. This remote, isolated station let her live out her days peacefully and allowed Zangyaku (and the Blackguard of the Brotherhood) to be incredibly hands-on with her integration into the “real world”. It also kept her hidden away from any who might seek her out, including the God Machine itself. Every member of the blade knows how important it is that Chelsea stays safe, so she’s their absolute last resort in a pinch. This continues to hold true in spite of how things have gone down in the Fifth World
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
FACE PEG: LANEYA GRACE
FRIEDRICH "FREDDY" WEISS
Alias: None
Affiliations:
The Methuselah,NetsachRISKBREAKER; ARBITER FOR 216 CITIES & COUNTING; A HAND OF THE GOLDEN DANW / GRAY BISHOP [KINGFISHER]. PRIMARY COMPACT/CONSPIRACY: NETSACH.
Since his Awakening sometime in the 14th Century, Arbiter Weiss has made it his express goal to become an Arbiter in each and every city in the Fifth World well before his death – and from the looks of it, he might just manage to do it. There isn’t an Arbiter worth his salt within tonight’s Accords that hasn’t at least heard about Friedrich. He’s a bit of a celebrity on… well. Several continents.
Several conspiracies have tried to court Friedrich, hoping to lure him over to their end of the fence. He’s shot each and every one of them down, citing his disgust at how the Vigil has been since 1865. It was the most subtle way that he could put things, especially since he did not want to reveal his actual allegiances to anyone.
And then Netsach happened.
PLOT POINTS AS OF 01 OCTOBER 2016
FACE PEG: JUDE LAW