Much like human creativity, magic has many different ways in which it can be expressed. I doubt this is coincidence. Just as a writer expresses it through words, a painter expresses through image, and so forth.

Hm, it seems like January wants to simply move on from her odd vision. But Blood Raven clearly sensed something, and I have a feeling this isn't coincidental either. Either January still has some baggage from the event (which wouldn't be surprising), or there's still some danger out there lurking in the magic. If it's the latter, the sooner she gets on it, the better. But it will be painful to deal with.

Renee: Everyone was stoned out of their gourds on meth in World War 2. It was not just the Nazis. The Western Allies gave it to their troops as well, especially pilots. Bombing raids could take 12 - 14 hours, a little meth keeps the crew awake the entire time, and gave them a sense of invulnerability that I am sure came in handy once people started shooting at them.

Xochitl's rune magic is what sets her apart from all the other mages in the story. I worked hard to try to give all these magicians their own shtick. A way that their personality shapes how they use magic. It took me a while to figure out what that was going to be for Xochitl. At first I was just going to use drawing and art as her centering skill. But then I realized (just as the characters in the story did) that she was a rune mage. It gave me an opportunity to showcase one more means of doing magic in the Crowverse, as well as gave Xochitl something that makes her unique.

Is your new Illusionist Now-Yha-See'm? Or Dahvide Cahpafield?


Acadian: I am not sure if scrolls will ever become part of January's arsenal. But they might. In any case, it was just what popped into my head as I was writing it, and providing examples of runes in magic.

Blood Raven has a lot of experience at dealing with her lack of pop culture and current fashion awareness. So she is usually pretty quick on her feet in circumstances such as Kaelin's quip about records. She also has spent a lot of time around students. So she is not phased by the unexpected.

As every, thanks for finding those nits for me, so I could fix them.


WellTemperedClavier: January just has PTSD thanks to nearly being sacrificed by the Hierophant. Certain situations will trigger it going forward. Unfortunately the use of runes is among them. Which is going to be hard for her, given who her apprentice is. Other things will trigger it as well, as we will see later in this Book. I don't know how her PTSD will be eventually resolved. She is still in the early stages of denying it exists. That will not be possible forever though.










The Gundestrup Cauldron


Book 11.6 - Raven Sisters

"We have one final piece of business to discuss however," Blood Raven turned to face the others gathered around. "Faces and names have been shared, perhaps wisely, perhaps recklessly."

She cast a sideways glance at Riven before moving on.

"Yeah, I know, oaths must now be taken," the San Franciscan heroine nodded. "I realize that. Bring on the blood bowl."

"The blood bowl?" Kaelin raised an eyebrow in Vulcan incredulity. "What are the Lions up to now?"

"It is not about football, but covenants," Silverlight nodded. "It is the old way of sealing a pact."

"Wait, what pact are we making here?" Xochitl looked about with wide eyes. "Is this a cult? Are you people a cult?"

"No," Calypso said. "We are superheroes. Many of us have families and loved ones, people who will die - and die badly - if our names and faces are made public."

"Remember what happened to Hailstorm," January said grimly. "After he was doxxed by a reporter, his enemies did not come after him. They kidnapped, tortured, and murdered his family, friends, and even coworkers. He died in an asylum, and the reporter killed himself once he saw what he had done."

"You seem like a pretty cool kid Xochitl," Riven said. "But the fact is I don't know shit about you. That's why the others were all masked up to meet you, and why they gave me the hairy eyeball when I wasn't. For all we know, you could be a Nazi. Or ten or twenty years from now, you might become one. Anyone here might."

"This life breeds paranoia," Silverlight explained. "It is not simply being crazy. It is a real necessity when there are people who actually want to murder us and our loved ones."

"But I'm not even a superhero!" Xochitl exclaimed. "I might never be one!"

"Yet we are." Ôkami stated plainly. "You could kill a hundred people with just a tweet. Just such a tweet from one of us could kill you and your entire family, simply because of your relationship to the rest of us."

"We are not going to force you to do this," Blood Raven declared firmly. "I lay no compulsion upon any to do so. An oath is a statement of intent. Magic is the act of making one's intent reality. Every time we use magic, we are making an oath, whether to aid or harm, defend or destroy. Your oaths are yours to make, and yours alone."

Blood Raven raised her hands above her head in a gesture of supplication. January felt power flow through her and into the sanctum. The room answered. A small stone plinth rose up from the floor under their feet with a loud grinding of rock. In just moments it grew to the height of Blood Raven's waist, then stopped. Its shaft was circular and fluted with regular grooves, like a Greek or Roman column. This widened out to a flat, square-shaped capital that was held up by elegantly curled Ionic scrollwork.

Atop this sat a silver cauldron or bowl roughly a foot and half in diameter, and half that in height. Both its inner and outer surfaces were covered in raised designs. January could see that it was not cast from a single mold. Rather it was made of numerous interlocking plates. Each of these were decorated with a dizzying array of figures hammered into the metal.

She recognized the famous image of Cernunnos. The Celtic god of the Green held a torc in one hand and a horned serpent in another. Another plate was dominated by a torc-wearing woman, flanked by spoked wheels, and what appeared to be both elephants and griffons. Still other plates depicted bulls, a boar helmeted warrior, and more warriors blowing long, serpentine trumpets that stretched up high above their heads, and other scenes. It was all so busy with artwork that there was too much to take it all in at once.

Samhain manifested in Blood Raven's hand. As usual, January felt the sword, as well as saw it. Its imprint upon astral space was by now something she was long accustomed to. It was like after you lived with someone long enough, you could tell it was them in another room simply by the sound of their footsteps. In the case of Samhain, it was a scent of blood and roses, mixed with the raven-whisper of the Morrigan, goddess of death and magic.

Blood Raven took the leaf-shaped blade and held the Damascus steel up so all could get a good look at it. The dark steel of the double-edged blade was filled with waves of lighter silver-white. January had read that was a side-effect of the forging process, which gave the metal an almost liquid appearance.

The crossbar was etched with the likeness of wings, and in the center was a raised section cast in the form of a raven's head, seen from top down. It appeared as if it was looking down the blade, and its beak led directly into the single fuller of the blade. Behind this the grip was wrapped in red-brown leather, which finally gave way to a V-shaped bronze pommel, again etched into the shape of a raven's angular tail feathers.

"I make my oath to all those assembled here," Blood Raven said clearly. "Phantom Queen, the Raven goddess who rules over magic and death, most glorious, and most great. To you All-Father, who sees all things and hears all things. To you rivers and seas, to you earth below and sky above, and to you fire and light. I call upon you all to bear witness."

"The covenant we make this day binds us in sacred fellowship. To protect and defend we swear, in thought, and word, and deed. Secrets of lives we keep in confidence, never to reveal to those outside this circle. To this we swear."

With that Blood Raven lowered her sword, and held her index finger up to the tip. She pressed the meteoric steel into her flesh, and a single drop of blood issued forth. The wound-dew dripped down into the cauldron, and made a loud noise as it struck the liquid that now pooled within. It was like a peal of thunder, that reverberated through the entire space and all gathered within. Where the other liquid in the cauldron had come from January could not guess. It was just there, dark as wine, and now filled the vessel to the brim.

A soft, but definite red glow rose up from the blood-infused liquid. It bathed the sanctum in roseate light. Blood Raven lowered her hands to her sides, then turned to the others.

"Who will join me in this covenant?"

January did not hesitate. She stepped up and reached for Samhain, meaning to follow Blood Raven's example. But the elder heroine shook her head, and the sword vanished a moment later. Instead she took one of January's hands in her own, and thrust both down into the cauldron before them.

One by one, the others congregated around the cauldron to form a circle. Ryo took January's free hand, and together they lowered their linked hands into the bowl as well. Then came the next of their sisters, and the next. Each time they did so, that crimson glow grew brighter and brighter, and filled the sanctum with ever greater phosphorescence.

Finally Xochitl stepped up, her face still uncertain.

"You need not take part in this childe," Blood Raven intoned. "I will train you no matter the case, and your sisters shall protect you regardless. This is our oath to you."

"And this is mine." Xochitl took Riven's free hand in her left, and Blood Raven's in her right. She took a deep breath, and they plunged their combined hands into the cauldron. That completed the circle. With it the red phosphorescence that suffused the room transformed into a great pillar of light that shot to the ceiling, which now appeared to be miles overhead.

January heard thunder boom overhead, and lightning crack. The roar of the surf filled her ears, as did the rush of flames. The earth shook and murmured under her feet, but she remained standing, thanks to the others who held her up. They all supported one another through this assault of the elements, until finally it, and the light abated.

January looked down to see that the liquid within the cauldron had vanished. Not a single drop remained upon its surface. She stared down at her hands. Not even a stain remained behind to show what had happened. But she suspected that the liquid - if it had even existed beyond a magical metaphor - was now a part of her, and all the others. It was their oath, and now a part of all of their beings.

"So," Ôkami began nonchalantly, "do we now get a pair of pants that we trade from one to the other each week, that magically fits us all?"

"How about a pair of ravens?" January found herself smiling.

"Is it always this... dramatic?" Xochitl breathed.

"In the old days, we would have filled the bowl with wine, washed our hands with water, and then slit the throats of two lambs, or bulls, or some other animals." Silverlight explained. "There was a lot more as well of course. Like pouring out the wine on the ground, and swearing that an oath breaker's brains would be thusly poured out as well. The Illiad goes into great detail."

"Ewww," Xochitl put words to January's own feelings on the subject.

"Yes, to our modern sensibilities it is rather much," Silverlight said. "But we have to remember, those people were not monsters. They weren't a bunch of brutish orcs. They simply lived in a different world. When we want a chicken sandwich, we go to the grocery store and buy some frozen patties or fillets in a nice, neat plastic bag. When they wanted chicken, they had to go out back and cut its head off with a hatchet. That was just an ordinary part of life for everyone, and it was that way for most of human history. It is hard for us to grasp, because today we are all so far removed from where our food originates and how it is prepared for us. Really, we are the outliers, not them."

"You can take the culture out of the anthropologist, but you cannot take the anthropologist out of the culture," Riven murmured.

"To answer your question, my young apprentice, it is always that dramatic." Blood Raven now spoke. "Magic is the ability to create change. Change is always dramatic, and often messy. Embrace it."

A wise precaution to protect each other’s identity and a fascinating ceremony to seal the deal. Xochitl’s apprehension of what she was getting into was very understandable. Fortunately, Blood Raven again, rose to the occasion to assuage her concerns.

And when it was done, we have humor from Ôkami. Uncharacteristic from him but welcome in that it shows he is getting more comfortable in this arcane group.

Let me get my hatchet so I can go make a chicken sandwich.

Yeah that's right. Methheads do think they're invulnerable. I've known a few over the years. So yeah, that does fill in an extra dimension from the soldiers' point of view.

New Illusionist is Fay Daway. Here is her gorgeous wood elf self. She is partially inspired by Quinn.

Yes, you have worked hard, it certainly is necessary. A lot going on in this scene, even though it's not action-packed. Whoa... Okay. I was going to make a statement at how lighthearted this gathering is. Just like some of the shows on the CW, they have lighthearted moments, too. But now it's got a serious element.

Because yeah, of course all these supers have friends and family. And they aren't just impervious. This is the Age of Information; anyone who's dedicated can dig in and find stuff which is usually private. It's why I got so freaked a couple weeks ago when the teen found out that Stormcrow = January Ward. Not that Xochitl herself is going to do anything to mess up Jan's life, but you know... she's a neophyte. As Riven points out, this is serious business! - How willful is the teen? She'd better not blab to her besties about any of this (which I'd imagine is pretty darn tempting)!

Whoa, this is wicked. This ceremony. Really well-described.



Yup. As a vegetarian myself, been saying this for years. "Why are you vegetarian, Renee?" The answer is similar to what Silverlight just said, which freaks people out, so I usually don't give an immediate answer. Because I feel like if you're going to eat an animal, you should be able to go through the brutality of killing it. We're so far removed from the fact that lives are being taken all the time, just not human ones.

Nicely said, Silver. Anyway, Quite a scene this was.



This post has been edited by Renee: May 21 2023, 03:08 PM

What a dramatic event. For all the fighting that was going on recently, this still felt truly momentous. They're committing themselves. It's the sort of thing that can greatly enrich a life, but is also very dangerous. You can't take back what you say here. All you can do is hope that it works out.

Like any relationships, I suppose.

A lot of courage here, especially on Xochitl's part.



I like Silverlight's words here. The past was a very different place, even if it's as little as 10-20 years ago. Humans don't have long memories, so it's easy to forget how quickly norms can change based on things like technology and economy. It also emphasizes how important it is to actively defend the norms that protect you.

FWIW, assuming we avoid civilizational collapse and continue developing on more inclusive lines (a big assumption), it would not surprise me if vegetarianism someday becomes the norm. Me going over to the supermarket to get some chicken meat could well seem an example of the cruelest barbarism in time. Not that that stops me, but it's worth considering.




This post has been edited by WellTemperedClavier: May 26 2023, 03:13 AM

Acadian: As I was writing that, it occurred to me that from an outsider's point of view, that ritual could very easily look like a cult. We know it isn't. But Xochitl would not.

I am not sure why I put the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants reference in Ôkami's mouth. It just felt right. I think for the reason you cited. It shows he is becoming more comfortable in this group of (mostly) strangers, who are all united by their relationship with Blood Raven.

When I was a youngin' my grandmother would tell my brother and I stories of how when she was our age, her mother used to literally take an axe and go chop off the head of a chicken or other animal in the yard. They were rural peasants in Poland, and that was the only way they ate meat. So I was definitely channeling a lot of that.


Renee: I am old enough to remember who Faye Dunaway was. She was in Three Days of the Condor.

I wanted some kind of magical means of sealing a pact to make this whole meeting secret identity safe for everyone involved. I did a lot of research into oath-taking ceremonies in Ancient Greece, and especially from the Iliad. From there I updated it to fit into the Crowverse, as something Blood Raven would perform. That is where the Celtic element of the Gundestrup Cauldron comes from, and some of the entities she invokes.


WellTemperedClavier: It is a momentous occasion. I don't know what will happen long term (who knows Xochitl might indeed become the next Anakin Skywalker). But in the short term ideas I have in mind, this covenant will lead to a lot more cooperation between the various daughters in their endeavors - from mutual training sessions, to joining one another on adventures.

I hear you about people having short memories, and how we easily we fall into the thinking that things have always been the way they are now. When you read history about social institutions it can be surprising how many things we take for granted today were really recent inventions. Like funeral homes, or police departments. Sure there were similar things in the past, like Crassus' "fire department", but when you dig in, boy was that a lot different from a modern fire department! Just comparing life in the world before the Industrial Revolution to after it is astounding, given how much it changed the day to day lives of people.

I remember talking with a coworker about how gross maggot cheese is. Then I reflected that in a hundred years, people will probably say the same thing about us eating sugar. What barbarians!







Book 11.7 - Raven Sisters

"Since we speak of change, I come to one of the reasons I bade you all to gather this day." Blood Raven now turned her eyes to take in all those assembled before her. "I have ruminated upon this for some time now. It is time for me to move on."

"Move on?" January blinked. The words made no sense to her.

"For fifty years I have been this city's guardian," Blood Raven turned to face January. "I have overstayed my time here, in more ways than one."

"But... but... but..." January stammered. "We need you!"

"Nay," the other woman shook her head. "You have proven otherwise. You and your friends - your Allies - are the future of Detroit."

"The same is true for all of you," Blood Raven turned back to face her apprentices. "You are the future. Of all my legacies, you are that of which I am most proud."

January was not the only one who was stunned by the revelation. All of the others stood by in varying degrees of bewildered silence. January's world shook. It felt like the ground had vanished beneath her feet, or worse, like the wind was gone beneath her wings. She had no foundation, no center. Suddenly nothing in the world made sense.

"Where will you go?" Silverlight was the first to regain composure enough to ask the question, and continue on. "What will you do?"

"I think it is time I returned home," Blood Raven said. She briefly turned to January, then back to the others. "No, not here in the Witch House, my home, where I was born, in Boston."

"Don't tell me you are going to take up knitting once you get there?" Riven said facetiously.

"I think perhaps I might return to teaching," Blood Raven considered. "It has been long since I have partaken of that occupation. Perhaps I shall start a school."

"A school for 'gifted' youngsters?" Calypso teased.

"I shall not be shaving my head and fitting myself for a wheelchair, if that is what you mean to imply," Blood Raven smiled. "I have considered what you suggest however. But whether meta or magician, the 'gifted' require little actual teaching. They simply need someone to show them that they can do whatever they imagine, and practice at making that reality. I fear a school might be superfluous."

"Well, you could give them a safe place to do those things," Riven said, quite seriously this time. "Maybe with ten foot thick steel walls, so they won't blow up the neighborhood by accident. And who knows, along the way they might read Emily Bronte, and learn how to count on more than just their fingers and toes."

"That is a consideration, among others," Blood Raven's face took on a serious cast, and for a moment her gaze turned down to the floor.

"And this is where the other shoe drops," Calypso murmured.

"Yes, the other shoe," Blood Raven said. "When I was but a child, I had no idea what my father truly was. Not even after he died could I have guessed at the truth. But now I believe that he had been at work that entire time. Not in our original house in the North End, but under it. There are old rumors... of tunnels and passages that connected certain houses to one another, and to certain secluded places upon the shore where one might come and go unseen. Smuggler's ways some called them. Witches' ways said others."

"So you think something may be down there, after all these years?" Riven said grimly. She loudly planted a fist into one open palm. "Well let's go then, and connect it to Jesus' Wi-Fi."

"Nay, delay your rotation young woman!" Blood Raven held up a hand and laughed at her oldest student's enthusiasm.

"That is slow your roll," Ôkami's voice floated from a shadow near the fringes of the sanctum.

"Yes, thank you," Blood Raven continued on. "Slow your roll Riven. I know not if there is anything there at all. This will take much time and effort. In fact, I know not if that house even stands yet. I suspect not, for it would be older than even I! There will be surveys to perform to discern its old location, then land deeds and titles to procure, and finally earth to move and shape."

"And contents to correlate," January finally recovered her voice after getting over the shock of learning that he mentor was about to walk out of her life. What was she going to do without her? "It sounds like you have a true Lovecraftian adventure ahead of you: ninety percent studying in the library, ten percent fainting or fleeing to escape impending doom!"

"But, what about me in all this?" Xochitl asked. Again, the teenager looked small and uncertain among the gathered heroes and mages.

"I leave you in the best hands imaginable," Blood Raven clasped one hand upon her shoulder, and the other on January's. "Your sisters will all be here for you. You can ask for no better teachers. They have already proven so this day."

"Or should you so desire, I shall make return journeys to teach you. I did exactly the same with Riven, Calypso, and Silverlight. I can do so again, once I forge a new waypoint within Boston." Blood Raven continued. "I shall always be here when you need me.

* * *

*blinks*

The warnings were there, but it was still a surprise to learn that Blood Raven is going to semiretire to go on her own personal quest. Nice that she will still be on standby. I’m looking forward to seeing how Jan adapts and evolves. I’m also curious about Cray – will he move on with Blood Raven, leaving Gadget to fill his shoes, or will he stay with the alliance of mages?


Nit: ‘January finally recovered her voice after getting over the shock of learning that he {her} mentor was about to walk out of her life.’

Yeah... move on? What does that mean? Hmm, where is home? I can't remember. IT's been a long time. Trying to remember where because... New England? YES... Boston. 🚩 Well that's not too far away. Any sort of crisis, Branwyn can still be available if it's a really big crisis.

This new direction she's going sounds quite compelling, however. Because what if she's right (and we all know she is) about these underground tunnels?




And one brother! Then again, Ryo's not really such an engaging character. He's probably not keen on taking up mentorship over a teenage neophyte.

Anyway, this seems like a plot device. Doesn't mean she's gone for good. Who shall take up the void in the land of the Lions while she's partaking this sojourn?

Acadian brings up Cray, so he's ninja'd my edit, here. Cray will stay busy, I assume. He's still a hacker, and he's got other things going on. But also, what about that gigantic tower she calls a home? All filled with musem-quality artwork and war memorabilia? And crazy-modern computers and stuff.

This post has been edited by Renee: Jun 1 2023, 02:21 PM

Xochitl taking an Anakin route would be a pretty grim possibility!

Wow, was not expecting Blood Raven to leave.

Still, she's right in that Detroit's heroes are able to stand on their own against pretty formidable odds. They've learned most of what they can from her, and she could do more good elsewhere. The house in Boston sounds ominous, and the tunnels make me think there's definitely something lurking down there. Would probably be for the best if someone keeps an eye on them.

Acadian: As you and others have noted, I have been giving hints of Blood Raven's plans to move on since the end of the Battle of Belle Isle. Things like how she reminded January that she can count on Cray in all things, or how she should seek alchemical training from Kaelin. Even this whole long scene of all the Raven Sisters together was in pursuit of her goal of leaving. She has gotten her affairs in order, and left both Detroit and the wider world ready to go on without her.

It is still a hard thing to swallow, especially for January.

As for Cray, we shall see in today's post.


Renee: Blood Raven is a Masshole! Wicked Awesome!

Btw, I have been doing some preliminary work on a Baltimore based superhero. They will be an arcane archer, and either ride a ghostly horse, or a souped up cyber motorcycle. Maybe Mongol-themed.

And one brother. But you are correct, in that Ryo is not the most outgoing and extroverted member of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Raven. But he will be around for some of Xochitl's training, along with others of their coven.

January will take up the void that Blood Raven leaves behind. And the other members of the Great Lakes Alliance. This book is all about that.

This is something I have had in mind since I first introduced Blood Raven. Eventually January needs to grow beyond her, and stand or fall on her own. It is the reason why Obi-Wan dies in the first Star Wars movie, and later on Yoda as well. It isn't Luke's story with them around. It would have been their story, with Luke as just a helper. So narratively speaking, they both had to go.


WellTemperedClavier: My original concept for Season One was based on Lovecraft's story The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. That is why her family name is Ward. I was originally going to make her a descendant of Charles Ward, and the Big Bad would have been Joseph Curwen. But as I developed the story, it went off in different directions. That worked out much better, as it allowed me to do more with Nátthrafn, making him a Viking Lich and all. I did still keep the idea that he can return by someone of his bloodline calling him back. I liked that sense of Atavistic Horror, that a shadow could come out of one's past and engulf them.

One of the other holdovers from the Lovecraft story is Curwen's hidden laboratory under his farm, where the most liveliest awfulness still writhes in the darkness. I do not know how much of that I will use going forward. But I do like the idea of Blood Raven searching the depths of Boston's darkest underbelly in search of her father's unholy legacies. Come to think of it, Pickman's Model was also based on the idea of there being hidden tunnels and ways beneath the North End, and unwholesome denizens thereof.







The Raven's Nest (Detroit Radiator Building)

Cray (RL James Remar)

Cray's Daughter (RL Aria Goodson)




Book 11.8 - Raven Sisters

July 10th, evening

"So, you were just going to slink away without a word then?"

January stood with her hands on her hips. She stared across the Raven's Nest. The gold marble floor was divided up into four wings, separated by the giant block of black marble that took up the center of the space. She could not see Blood Raven through the ebony marble of course. But there was no mistaking the other woman in the astral.

To January's right was Cray's computer haven. To the left was Blood Raven's contemporary occult study. Dead ahead of her had been Blood Raven's genealogical study. January's name - and that of her entire family history - had once graced that giant marble wall in the center of the room. Now all of that was gone, and instead the space was furnished as a sitting room, decorated with Victorian chairs, couches, and coffee tables.

January stepped off the landing pad of the waypoint system, and strode around the central block of marble. This took her through what had been the contemporary study. The old black stone tech bro executive desk was gone. So too the shelves and bookcases that had once been crammed with modern books upon magic, religion, occult studies, and role-playing games. Even her old Civil War uniform and musket were gone, along with the glass case that had contained them.

She continued on to the ancient wizard's den on the far side of the space. Here too the old Queen Antoinette desk was gone. Likewise the ancient stone block that may have been the real Emerald Tablet, and all the old tomes of magical lore. All were missing.

Blood Raven stood here, before the freight elevator. Like January, she was not clad in her armor, but rather in everyday clothing. Beside her were several wooden crates, taller than she was. All looked new, and still had that fresh smell of wood about them. It was a sharp contrast to the dust on the floor that outlined the positions of the missing furniture.

The old elevator rattled to a halt, and a moment later its two vertical doors clattered up and down to reveal Cray within. He stood beside a rusted and scratched up metal dolly, and beads of sweat dotted his brow. In spite of his obviously menial activities, the middle-aged man was as ever clad in slacks, a sweater vest, and tie. He smiled slightly when he saw January. But then his face turned somber when he looked to Blood Raven.

"You told her, did you not?" the now auburn-haired heroine sighed. "Et tu Brute?"

"She had a right to know." The old man shrugged.

Blood Raven shook her head. Even now, without the cape and armor, she was not really Branwen to January. Nor was she Anne, or any of the other names the elder heroine had used throughout the years. She would always be Blood Raven. It was hard to imagine her as just an ordinary person, with an ordinary life. Did she even have a life outside of the cape anymore?

January's teacher turned a moment, and sent a glowing tendril of power from each of her hands. These snaked out through the air, and wrapped around different crates. With just a glance the glowing whips of energy lifted the wooden containers as if they were weightless, and gently deposited them within the freight elevator. In just a few moments the last of them were inside, and Blood Raven followed them within.

She paused there, and turned to look back at January. The young woman felt herself summoned, and followed into the wide freight car. Cray coughed, and awkwardly excused himself. A moment later he stepped outside, and the doors of the elevator clanked shut.

"You're not even going to say goodbye to him?" January wondered as the elevator began its long descent down through the skyscraper. "Or is he going too?"

"We have made our farewells," Blood Raven sighed, and turned to face January. "I knew this would be difficult. It always is. I have done this a hundred times. It only grows more arduous with each repetition. I have found that quietly moving on is most expedient. I wrote a letter for you, and one for Xochitl. Cray was to deliver them both tomorrow. But it seems that will not be necessary now."

"So you really are just leaving then?" January asked. Part of her was still dumbfounded by her mentor's decision to go. "I thought we were building something here, with the Alliance, with the governor, the attorney general, with everyone."

"You built those things great-granddaughter," Blood Raven insisted. "You have done so much, in so little time. It astounds me still. I am so proud of you. You are truly the best of our bloodline."

"You are as much a part of this as I am," January argued. "You are the one who led us all this time. The Battle of Belle Isle, that was all you. The rest of us just helped. You saved the world."

"We all saved the world - together - and that is because of you." Blood Raven shook her head. "They never would have followed me, if not for your bringing them all together to begin with. For that I shall be eternally grateful, and for the things you have reminded me of in my old age, such as the importance of striving in concert for common cause."

"Then why leave?" January said. "Strive in concert with us. I thought you were happy this morning, when we were all here together. Wasn't that why you wanted all of us Raven Sisters to meet?"

"I was happy!" Blood Raven insisted. "I am mightily contented. It warms my heart to see all of you young people together. As I said before, you are my legacy. You are my greatest achievement. All of you are. That is why I wanted all of you together. I wanted you all to see that. You have done the thing every teacher prays for. You have grown beyond me. You will all do great things - you already have - and I am so proud of you all."

"But it is time for me to move on from this life," Blood Raven continued. "I have spent fifty years here in Detroit, longer than I have ever tarried in one lifetime. It is not wise for one such as I to do this. Nor is it to attract as much attention as I have of late. The others... of my kind... have begun to whisper of my recklessness. It is time for me to go, and for Branwen Renner to fade into obscurity."

"I am so glad, and thankful, that you and your friends are here to take my place and carry on. Cray shall remain. We spoke of this. His life is here. It is where he belongs now. He wants to continue working with the Alliance."

"I don't know what we'd do without him," January said quite honestly. "I don't know what we will do without you."

"You will spread your wings and fly granddaughter!" Blood Raven practically beamed. She laid her hands upon January's shoulders, and leaned in close to stare her in the eyes. "It is time for you to step out of my shadow, and be your own woman. Claim your own victories, and make your own mistakes. All of your life is in front of you. I know that you shall be magnificent."

The elevator lumbered to halt with a groan of metal. The twin doors trundled open a moment later, revealing the dusty loading dock of the Detroit Radiator Building beyond. January saw a rental truck there, backed up to the concrete platform. Its back door was open, and the interior of its cargo bay was packed with boxes and blanket-draped furniture.

Without a word, Blood Raven turned aside and lifted the last of the crates with her glowing ribbons of power. In no time at all she had them packed away within the truck and shut its rear gate, all without moving an inch from January's side. Finally she turned to the younger woman, and folded her arms around her in a warm embrace.

"This is au revoir, not adieu," her mentor insisted. "It is not as if I never congregate with your sisters after all. We shall meet again as well."

January wanted to say something. But the knot that had grown within her throat choked off any words that she might have attempted to issue forth. She heard herself sniffling, and felt her eyes well with water. She could only raise a hand to wave goodbye as Blood Raven strode across the dock and then leaped off its edge to the driveway below. Blood Raven paused to return the wave. Then she climbed into the truck, and drove off into the night.

January shut the roll up door that led from the enclosed loading dock behind her. She stood there upon the concrete driveway for a long time. Finally, when she was ready, she returned to the elevator. She took it back up to their headquarters in the Raven's Nest, to her headquarters now. Somehow she and Cray and the others would have to fill the empty spaces left behind.

"So how did that go?" Cray's voice wafted across the now empty space before the elevator. January turned to see the elder hacker rounding the corner from his computer domain. His thumbs were hooked into the empty belt loopholes in his slacks. As ever, a class ring decorated one of his fingers. With gray hair and mustache, reddish brown glasses, and his eternal grampa attire, he looked older than her actual father. Granted, he was far more sympathetic and approachable.

January sighed, and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what I should have expected."

"Yeah, your great-great - lots of greats - grandma has always been like that," Cray noted. "I think it comes with her age. She's seen a lot of people come and go through her life. I imagine she's had to leave a lot of them. I can't imagine what is like knowing that no matter where you are, or how much you love it there, you will have eventually to move on and leave everyone behind. It must be hard."

"Yeah," January murmured. She gazed out the window. The skyscrapers of the Financial District rose up before her eyes. Beyond them lay the black ribbon of the Detroit River, and the bright lights of Windsor farther still. But her eye was drawn to Belle Isle. The state park should have been dark at this time of night. Instead it glowed with the warmth of the miniature sun that was Y Ddraig Aur, who remained eternally vigilant near its south-western tip.

"So you are staying?" January turned to face the much older man.

"I am staying," Cray repeated. "I've been here for oh, fifteen years now, since I got out of prison for blowing the whistle. I've got a life here. I've got a daughter, and an ex-wife."

"You have a daughter?" For the second time in the night, January felt like a ton of bricks had fallen atop her. It occurred to her that while Cray had been the trusted voice in her ear for months now, she really knew almost nothing about him. That was clearly going to have to change.

"Yeah, I've got a daughter!" Cray practically beamed. Like every parent that January had ever met, he instantly reached back into his pocket for his phone. She idly noted that it was one of the those fancy Hamsung models that folded in half, easily ten times the price of her own personal phone. It instantly glowed to life, and just as quickly he had his picture gallery up and tapped on a photo. He turned the screen around to display a child with long brown hair and warm green eyes. January guessed her age at being somewhere between six and twelve. She was not really good at telling that sort of thing with children.

"Wow, that's great," January said. She really did not know what to say when people showed you their kids. Well, obviously something nice of course. But could you really congratulate someone for having children? Aside from the awesome and overwhelming responsibility, it seemed like a huge pain in the rear. January knew what kids were like after all. She was one once herself. She would not wish such an ordeal upon her worst enemy...

Then again, Nátthrafn did have children, many of them apparently. And one of them had been Blood Raven, her own great-grandmother, seven-times removed. So her own worst enemy had in fact, endured such a fate. Though somehow she doubted that Natty Dark had been up late at night changing diapers...

"How did the whole divorce thing work out? I mean, does your daughter live with you?"

"No, she lives with her mom," Cray explained. "But I get her most weekends."

"So how do you work the whole... this... into all that?" January waved her arms wide to indicate the entire loft that surrounded them. "I mean, do they know?"

"Oh hell no," Cray's eyes boggled at the thought. "They think I'm a network engineer who usually works remote for an IT company. I tell them I'm always on call as part of the job. That explains why I have to unexpectedly disappear to a computer sometimes. It's also boring enough for them to not want to know more."

"I'll have to remember that one," January mused. "I mean, no one is going to believe that I'm an IT guy, but it could work for Avery or Ryo."

"Yeah, the double life is tough," Cray nodded. "It's hard, lying to the people closest to you. But it's something we have to do."

"It's like being in the closet again," January frowned. She could not help but think of her mother, who still had no idea that her daughter was the same Stormcrow who seemed to be inspiring her so much of late. Every time her mother brought up Stormcrow, it was hard to bite her lip and shut up. But January knew well enough that some truths did not bring comfort or joy, but rather quite the opposite.

"I... never thought of it that way," Cray took a moment to consider. "But now that you mention it, I can see what you mean. It must be extra hard on kids like you and Avery. I mean, you've had to be in the closet for real when you were younger. Now you are stuck right back there, even if for entirely different reasons."'

"Yeah, as Blood Raven likes to say: The world is wider, and stranger place than any of us imagine." January sighed. She turned to look at the empty space that loomed around her, and pushed away the moroseness that threatened to smother her.

"So what are we going to do with this place?"

"We'll just have to fill it," Cray said. "With something that is us. I was thinking maybe a few pinball machines, or some old arcade games, like Defender, or Asteroids. Maybe put in a pool table."

"Avery will like that," January smiled in spite of herself. "Maybe we could hang up a punching bag, or set up a Wing Chun practice dummy. Ryo will probably want to put in a wargaming table. He loves painting the little figurines."

* * *

A really well done farewell. It quite reflected the fact that Blood Raven has had to do this numerous times. In fact, it reminded me of other stories where the student has learned everything a mentor has to teach and is coaxed out into the world solo.

I’m glad that Cray is staying to help anchor things. Funny but true that Jan realizes how little she knows about the older hacker. What he begins to show her of himself though is promising and I can see a real friendship could grow there.

So the Stromcrow is now Mistress of the Raven’s Nest. What adventures we have to look forward to!


Nits:
’Aside from the awesome and overwhelming responsibility, it seemed like a huge pain {in} the rear.’
’But January knew well enough that the {delete ‘the’} some truths did not bring comfort or joy, …’

Massholes!

A Baltimore super who rides a demon cycle sounds swell. Two suggestions: he or she has to be familiar with Old Bay seasoning, which "goes on anything" as many Baltimorons insist. Doesn't have to like it, just be familiar with it. And if he or she's into sports at all, there'll be some sort of hatred for the Pittsburgh Steelers! Not actual hatred, just ... Pittsburgh is B'more's sister in rivalry. Not just for football, but back in the day when both cities were more industry-based. I believe this could have something to do with why The Pitt became one of Fallout 3's DLC. ☢ One of these days I'm going to have Cho or Janet go there to find out.

So you're saying Miss Raven is really gone for good? Hmm... They won't even consult one another in the astral (or some other such) plane???

As always, I am awed by your description of their living spaces, even though in this case, all of Branwen'st things have been packed away, as if they were never there at all. Such imagination.

Well hey, at least since she's magical, the Bloody Raven won't ever have to make those awkward phone calls. "Hey... so I'll be arranging to migrate toward my original locale as of next week, forfeiting my entire domain here in Michigan. Perchance might you find fit, and be available for assistance?" - Nope, that's one conversation she'll never have to burden her friends with.



"Of my kind?" .... other vampires? Or other supers? Either way, what a statement. It is, in fact, quite true. She's definitely a Chaotic, operating within a world full of Lawfuls for sure. Anyway, good thing Cray's still going to be available. He's quite a character, in an unassuming sort of way.

Cool. "We shall meet again". Phew.

Hamsung!!!!

Yeah, those little figureines are fun to paint. I still have dozens of them. Anyway, sorry to hear Raven has moved on. But maybe Avery can finally move out of his grandma's basement. He and Cray together... imagine the spectral possibilities.

This post has been edited by Renee: Jun 4 2023, 09:49 PM

I can definitely see how that'd be inspiration! I'd have actually mentioned Pickman's Model earlier, but for some reason I'd misremembered that as taking place in NYC instead of Boston.

While I sympathize with Blood Raven's reasons for leaving, I can see why it would upset January. January was closer to her than the others. As a mentor and dear friend, it'll be a difficult parting.

January thinking of her as "Blood Raven" as opposed to any other name shows just how strong an effect that particular persona had on January's life.

It makes sense that Blood Raven tends to be abrupt about this. Since that sort of thing would hurt after a while. Plus, with so many friends lost to the onward march of time, it gets hard to become close to anyone.

And Blood Raven is correct: for all that she helped, January's the person who actually brought the team together. That's the strength that January has, but Blood Raven lacks. Heroic though she is, she tends to be a bit aloof, which isn't great for a team leader.

I like that Y Ddraig Aur is still there. It's a lasting memento of their victory.

Yeah, I can't see Nátthrafn as being an attentive dad. Hell, you probably wouldn't want attention from him.

Well, it's melancholy but also sweet. January can definitely stand on her own, and while Blood Raven will be pursuing her own goals in Boston, she's far from vanished. Now, January's in a good place to chart out her own course.

Acadian: January does need that push out of the nest so that she can learn to fly on her own once more. It started out as just her and Gadget. But once Blood Raven came along, everything changed dramatically. January's horizons really expanded, and she became part of a much larger world, where everything took on much greater import. Now she has to learn to remain in that wider world, but without the guiding figure of Blood Raven to watch over her. It is intimidating.

As I was writing that I realized that I did not know that much about Cray myself. So I was literally doing some character building in order to put in his ex-wife and daughter, along with his liking retro arcade games. He is heavily inspired by the character Gambi in the TV show Black Lightning, where the same actor (James Remar) plays a mentor/tech support/quartermaster type character. I borrow so heavily from that role in my head, that I have been forgetting to really flesh out who and what Cray is in the Crowverse. I also just figured out he loves Classic Rock, big fan of Fleetwood Mac, Bob Seger, Peter Frampton, etc... So maybe he will have some memorabilia to put up, like a guitar of Jimmy Page's.

The rest of this book is all about January's new adventures, standing on her own. And by her own, I of course mean with a lot of help from others. Because the real superpowers are the friends you make along the way.


Renee: Is there a large Korean population in Baltimore? Because the character I am working on is shaping up to be a Korean immigrant, a horse archer based on the RL Hwarang.

I do know about Old Bay. I have some! It's think its pretty much an entire Mid-Atlantic and New England kind of thing.

I also have in mind a Philly-based hero. But really in the conceptual stages right now. I like the idea of someone train-inspired. He would probably be a power armor character. But I can't think of a name. I'd like something railroad-related, like the name of a famous train. But nothing I come across - like the Orient Express - works. Mr. Penn Central or Captain Amtrak sounds pretty weak too. Maybe something like Firebox, or Rail might work. Though the latter kind of sounds like a Pr0N star...

Being a super means you can lift all your furniture on your own. Well, Cray was there to help as well.

This is not really an Urban Fantasy series (though technically I think you make a case that superheros might fit in that genre). So I don't plan to really flesh out vampire society in the Crowverse. But it has been mentioned before that there are other vampires in addition to Blood Raven, and that they have rules about keeping the existence of their kind on the down low. Blood Raven has been playing very fast and loose with those rules, living in one place in the same identity for 50 years. She has to leave. It is long overdue.

I don't really see Ryo as an artist. But I think he would like the precision and patience it takes to paint the little Warhammer figures. He could easily sit there for hours doing it.


WellTemperedClavier: Blood Raven's leaving is really not much of a big deal for the others. They have all been Raven-free for a long time. But where Blood Raven simply trained them, and then occasionally dipped into their lives afterward from time to time, January has been working very closely with Blood Raven for some time now. And given the world-shattering stakes - and her blood ties - she does indeed have a big emotional investment in Blood Raven. So it is a big deal to her, where to the others it really changes nothing much at all.

Except for Xochitl. She has an investment in Blood Raven as well, and we will be exploring that today. Come to think of it Ryo does too. But Ryo is unflappable.

Blood Raven is indeed abrupt, and aloof. It comes from her age, and having to move on like this so many times. January always was a foil to her in that respect, in that she has always been earnest in her desire to create bonds of alliance, if not real friendship, with others. As you noted, that is January's greatest super power.

I expect Y Ddraig Aur will be there for a long time. I intend to continue referencing it in the future. It is now Detroit's biggest landmark! I think at some point when Belle Isle gets cleaned up and reopened there will be a ceremony at the foot of the dragon, that the Allies will of course attend. Maybe others as well.

Thankfully for his kids, when Nátthrafn was alive it was in eras where the wimmin's did all the child-rearing. Including servants and slaves. As Blood Raven herself once noted to January, her nanny as a child was a slave owned by her father. It is one of the reasons she is an abolitionist. She was made a party to slavery from the moment of her birth.









Xochitl

Blahaj Tee

Three Wil Wheaton Tee

The Golden Bough - Sympathetic Magic




Book 11.9 - Raven Sisters

July 11th, morning.

Is the landing pad clear?

January texted on her smartphone.

The 'rents are gone, and bro is in the shower.

Came Xochitl's reply.

January slid her phone into the back pocket of her pants. She closed her eyes, and brought up her mana. She stretched out with it and touched the waypoint network. A glowing pentacle rimmed with Celtic knotwork glowed to life in the floor of the sanctum beneath her feet. She felt the interface of the system of nodes rise up in her mind. Like swiping left or right on a phone, she flipped through the various other waypoints available for her to use.

Finally, she found the newest one, and connected to that. The enchantment built into the runes did the rest. It linked the two points in space and time, and the next thing January knew, she was standing in Xochitl's bedroom.

The early morning sun streamed in through the large windows that stood at opposite ends of the attic. The roof rose up to a sharp peak overhead, obliging January to either duck her head or remain in the center of the space. A bed lay nestled beneath one of these slanted ceiling sections, and a dresser sat against the wall opposite it. Between the two, and directly beneath the window on this side of the attic sat a desk that was piled with art supplies, a laptop, and a drawing tablet.

The walls and ceiling were slathered in artwork. Some were black and white pencil sketches that had clearly been done by hand. Others were in color, and possessed more detail and finish, but were likewise plainly drawn the old-fashioned way. Finally some were on glossy paper, and these showed a depth of color and precision that made January imagine that they had been crafted upon the computer via the art tablet, and later printed out.

They came in a range of subjects. Some were idyllic nature scenes featuring things such as lush green forests and vibrant sunsets. Others were of people, such as Blood Raven and herself. These competed with sketches of mythological creatures such as dragons and griffins, and finally geometric designs that looked Mesoamerican in origin.

It briefly reminded January of her friend Rus' room. He too festooned every inch of his personal space with his artwork. But where he preferred to draw space marines and orks, Xochitl clearly had different inspirations.

Xochitl herself sat there on her bed. The teenager's hair spilled down her face in an unruly ebon waterfall, nearly obscuring her soft brown eyes. She wore an oversized Blahaj tee that fell to her knees, featuring the iconic shark in the colors of the Trans Flag: blue, white, and pink. A pair of fluffy slippers clad her feet, but otherwise her legs were bare.

"Did I just wake you up?" January asked.

"Oh no, totally not." The young woman yawned loudly, and stretched her arms high over her head.

"Clearly not then," January smiled and shook her head. "I'm sorry. I forget not everyone gets up as early as I do."

"Don't tell me you're a morning person?" Xochitl murmured. "My parents are. They are up at the crack of dawn every day, even when they aren't working at the Burger Baron. You'd think that being the owners, they'd give them themselves a better schedule."

"They own it?" January wondered, raising an eye brow ever so slightly.

"One franchise store yes, over in Ann Arbor." Xochitl rubbed her eyes. "My older brother works there too. He likes it. So he'll probably run it someday. Me, I'd rather be anywhere else."

"Yeah, I can see that," January turned around to take in the drawings that decorated the walls and ceiling. "We all have to follow our bliss, even in the morning."

"Blech," Xochitl made a face. "Mornings..."

"I guess I am morning person then." January smiled. "I can't sleep in the light. It just doesn't work for me. Not even on the weekends, or after a gaming all-nighter."

"Nerd!" Xochitl cried with a smile.

"Guilty as charged your honor!" January laughed. "We Knights of Nerddom do an all-nighter every New Years Eve. Then we go out and get breakfast."

"That sounds awesome." Xochitl mused. "I don't have any friends who are into role-playing games."

"Well, maybe we can get you out some night," January said quite honestly. "We usually meet in my friend Avery's basement. But gaming nights have been a little far and between lately. Our friend Blackjack's been out of town, and Kell is going to be moving Up North for school soon. My own life has been busy lately too."

"Busy, yeah, I bet the end of the world gets in the way of your social life." Xochitl yawned again.

"Actually the end of the world was postponed due to a gaming session," January smiled. The young Mexican-American looked at her with confusion in her eyes. So she went on. "It's a long story, but we were gaming all afternoon and into the evening. The Hierophant grabbed me afterward, when I was alone. If not for that gaming session, the Battle of Belle Isle would have happened in the middle of the day."

"Now that is wild to think of," Xochitl's eyes widened as she considered the ramifications. "If that had started when Belle Isle was open, there would have been thousands of people there."

"And a lot of them would have died," January nodded. "Gaming saves lives. I wish I could say that in public, but it would be too big of a clue as to who I am out of the cape."

"I get it, what happens in Cape Club, stays in Cape Club," Xochitl raised her hand in the air, as is she was swearing an oath.

January herself was not wearing her Stormcrow suit. She was dressed in her Three Wil Wheaton tee and a pair of jeans. She dug into her purse, and pulled out a sealed envelope. Xochitl's name was written across its face in delicate, flowing calligraphy.

"Cape Club is why I am here this early," January handed the letter to Xochitl. "Well one reason. I have to fly soon to meet someone. But first I have news, and this, for you."

The teenage girl took the envelope and turned it over a few times in her hand, then looked to January.

"It's from Blood Raven," January declared. It was simplest to just get right on with it. "She left for Boston last night. She wanted you to have this."

"I haven't read it of course, but I think it is about your training. She and I have talked about it before. Like she said yesterday morning when we are all together, she will continue to train you if you want. I know that, without looking at what's in there. It might take her some time before she can though, with everything else she has going on. I expect that once she makes a new lair in Boston, she will forge a new node for the waypoint network. But that could be a while. She is going to have to find a place she will want to set down roots first."

"Or, if you want to roll the dice, I'll teach you," January forced the words from her mouth with an effort of will. "I don't know everything like Blood Raven does. But I know people who do: our sisters. What I don't know, they can teach us together."

Xochitl carefully opened the envelope, and drew out the folded up letter within. January could not make out the exact words inside. But she could see that it was written in the same elegant hand that was on the envelope. January idly wondered how people could have the patience and genuine artistic skill to write so beautifully. Her own penmanship was not chicken scratch, but it was far from calligraphy either.

January stood in silence as the young woman read. Xochitl said nothing, but her frown grew deeper and deeper. January felt her heart quicken is pace, and mouth begin to dry. She wanted to fidget. She wanted to move. She wanted to fight.

Instead she breathed deeply, and felt her mana within her. She raised it up, and let it flow through her aura like a cool stream. She concentrated on her breathing, felt her energy, and let that wash away the anxiety that wanted to yell and scream in her head. It even worked, for the most part.

Finally Xochitl put the letter down on her desk, and exhaled sharply.

"I guess it's nothing I didn't expect, not after what she said yesterday," Xochitl said. "But I didn't think it'd be so soon. I thought she'd still be around for a while."

"I knew this would be difficult. It always is." Blood Raven's words from the night before came back to January.

"I think she's a rip the bandage off kind of person," January tried to explain. "She's had to do this before, and it's painful for everyone, her too. But she has to go."

"But why does she?" Xochitl wondered. "I get that she wants to investigate this stuff in Boston. But why can't she do that and come back? Why does she have to leave forever?"

"How can I explain this?" January wondered aloud. How indeed, without revealing that Blood Raven was a vampire, and as such she could not afford to draw too much attention to her kind by living in one place for too long. "She's been here for fifty years. Fifty years. People are noticing that she has not gotten any older from how she looked in 1967. She should be eighty years old now."

"What?" Xochitl's blustered, and her eyes practically exploded from her head. "She's eighty? She only looks thirty. Though I guess that's about the same, right?"

Privately, thirty did seem ancient to January's nineteen-year old mind. But she did not need to get into that.

"It's a lot more," January noted dryly.

"So, she looks young. She's a meta-human. Well, a magician. I guess a good skincare routine plus sorcery helps a lot." Xochitl reasoned. "What's the big deal?"

"I can't say," January replied. "I mean that, I can't. I've probably said too much as it is. But you are smart, you would have noticed it anyhow. All I can say, is that people as old as Blood Raven prefer to keep it on the down low. There's a good reason for that, number one being their safety."

"What, is she in the closet somehow?" Xochitl's brows furrowed in concentration. "Is she hiding something?"

"We are all hiding something in order to protect others," January insisted. "But I guess you could compare it to being in the closet. Just like a lot of us Queer people - or Witches - have to hide what we are. It's important."

"This is weird," Xochitl shook her head in frustration.

"Yes it is," January now found herself smiling. "Welcome to living a magic life."

"Wait, is she from some lost, hidden magical race?" Xochitl's eyes lit up, and January's heart nearly stopped. "Is she a Fae? She's Irish right? She said her people were from Ireland, hence the red hair. She's one of the Faerie Folk. She's a Sidhe!"

January's heart began to beat again, and she fought back a sigh of relief. Blood Raven the Faerie was much better than Blood Raven the vampire. She did not much like lying to Xochitl. But in this case, it might be better to just let her believe what she wanted to believe.

"I never said that," January insisted. "More importantly, you never said that, got it? We don't talk about this sort of thing, ever, to anyone. Not even your Raven Sisters."

Privately, January had no idea how much her other sisters knew. Like Xochitl, they were not stupid. Surely they had noticed their teacher's lack of aging in the last half-century. Especially given that some of them had met her when they were children, and were now in their thirties and forties. They had plenty of time to notice that as they aged themselves, Blood Raven had remained stuck upon a single print of time.

Likewise, they had been there for the ritual at the Battle of Belle Isle. The deepness and strength of their combined magic that day had revealed to January many moments from Blood Raven's life. That had included her death and resurrection as a vampire. How much of that had the others seen? More? Less? The same? Again, none of her sisters were stupid. Some of them - like Silverlight - were also deeply versed in magical theory and history. Surely they knew already?

But even if that was the case, the Queer person inside January knew that it would still never be cool for her to out her mentor as a vampire. That was not her secret to divulge. But at the same time, how could she start her relationship with Xochitl on the foundation of a lie?

"She's not a Fae," January said plainly. "This is isn't an Urban Fantasy novel. There aren't any lost races, or hidden civilizations, or aliens, or any of that lurking beneath the surface of the ordinary world. There is just us, you and me, and people like us."

"And people like Blood Raven?" Xochitl ventured.

"And people like Blood Raven," January repeated the young woman's words. "I'm sorry that I can't tell you more. But it isn't for me to do that. Think back to before you transitioned, and imagine if someone outed you at school."

"Yeah, I get it," Xochitl murmured with a frown. "As much as I am curious, yeah, it's not my beeswax. You can trust me. You both can trust me. I am always going to be on your side."

"So then, that out of way, where do you want to go with your training?" January picked up the chair beside the desk, and flipped it around backward. She then spread her legs in a most unladylike fashion and straddled the chair. She laid her hands on the top of the backrest, and leaned forward to rest her chin on her steepled fingers.

"I think... I know, that I want you to teach me." Xochitl breathed. "I mean, no offense to Blood Raven, but you're here. She's not. She's been a good teacher. But you've been a good friend."

"Then we'll make it so," January smiled, even though inside she wanted to panic once more. She had no idea how to do this. But then again, she had no idea how to fly when she went out that window with Lighthammer, and that had worked out in the end. After a crash of course, but who was counting?

She held out her closed fist, and Xochitl grinned, and pressed her own knuckles against January's.

"Okay, in that case, I have a reading assignment." January waved a hand to stifle Xochitl's groan. "It's a section from a book called the Golden Bough, by James Frazier. It's going to be all about sympathetic magic, and the Law of Contact, and the Law of Similarity. Once you're done, we'll get together and talk about it. Remember what Blood Raven said. The things you don't understand are the most important. Write down what you don't get, and hopefully I can explain."

January hoped she sounded a lot more certain than she felt. In any case, it looked like she was going to be spending some of the experience points she had earned from saving the world in raising her Magical Theory skill...

"Oh, just a warning," January added. "The Golden Bough is an old book, from the late 1800s, early 1900s. That means it comes with some baggage common to a lot of writers of that time: old, White Men writers, talking about Indigenous Peoples. So... don't be surprised to see some terms for native populations that you wouldn't be subjected to today."

"But that aside, what he says about magic itself is spot on. I've used this kind of magic myself. Blood Raven and I both did. It's one of the ways we stopped the Hierophant." January thought of the poppets that she and Blood Raven had created to build a system to warn them of Abyssal summonings. "That's why I put it on the syllabus. This stuff works."

"And until then, keep practicing with your runes," January added. "The more you practice, the better you will get."

* * *

My hometown Ellicott City, has a Koreatown, but EC is not Baltimore, it is maybe 3 towns away from B'more. Ellicott City is mostly sprawl, and Koreatown hasn't got the "feel" of an old-world ethnic area such as Chinatown in San Fran.

Apparently, Baltimore does have K-town.

Baltimore’s “K-town,” or Little Korea, is bounded by North Avenue on the south, N. Howard Street on the west, 24th Street on the north, and N. St. Paul Street on the east...


.... but I personally did not that area is known as K'town. These days, I go into Baltimore as little as possible; too many random shootings/car-jackings. BUT I can tell you this: that area ... North Avenue to 24th Street, does (or did) have a lot of Asian restaurants & businesses. I lived in that area during part of my 20s. It is also pretty sketchy /somewhat dangerous, especially at night, even though that is Charles Village. Actually, that is lower Charles Village (there's an Upper and a Lower). Upper Charles Village (above 25th Street) it suddenly gets prettier & a bit safer. And as you keep continuing north toward Hopkins that entire area is lovely. But below 25th (and anywhere to the east) it gets sketchier and sketchier.

That's the entire thing about Baltimore: you can be in an area like Fells Point or Chas. Village or Bolton Hill where it's beautiful. Home properties are high, and all that. But walk just a few blocks and there'll be litter in the streets. Gunshots at night, and so on. A lot of the nicer areas are like havens, surrounded by poverty & decadent rowhouses, just like you'd see in The Wire.

In any event, your Korean super will have plenty to do crimewise, even if he or she is relatively new in town.

Now... if your super is LGBTQ let me introduce you to Mount Vernon, specifically Eager Street where Club Hippo... whoa. What's this? The Hippo has closed!! It's now a CVS???

Oy. Anyway. Mount Vernon probably is still the premier area for LGBTQ. Like I said though, I hardly ever go in the city nowadays.

And now, let's see what's been happening in Michigan. Xochitl looks familiar. Hmm, I know her face from some movies, at least, I think I do. I keep thinking of America what's-her-name, but that's not her.

Wow, that teleportation ability is stunning! Xochitl's room sounds cozy. I can see her and January becoming good friends. They're relatively close in age.

Yep, that's right. They'd been gaming just before all of that happened at Belle Isle.



Yeah it would be, especially if she's got an online gamertag of some sort.

Very true about calligraphy being almost a lost art. I've often thought this is due to the fact that back then, there was no Internet, no computers, no TV, even. Writing letters with elegant scrawlings could then become an art form; something to dedicate oneself toward. And reading letters could be a form of entertainment, in a way.

Wow.. Jan's really full of energy ain't she? Almost like rage. Almost sounds like she can barely control herself, while trying to stay patient while the teen reads this elegantly-written letter. That's an interesting segue of thoughts.

Raven should be 80 years old now! Never really thought of it that way. Even January's family, the Wards. Eventually they'll all have aged while Branwen has not. ... "A good skin care routine..." If only it worked that way!

This post has been edited by Renee: Jun 14 2023, 01:53 AM

Cape Club! Xochitl is already learning how complicated the caped life is.

A wonderful description of the artwork that decorates Xochitl’s attic.

Jan did a good job threading the needle of not spilling the blood on Blood Raven’s vampirism. She is right that it is Blood Raven’s secret to divulge (or not). It seems her young apprentice understands that so it is on to some teachin’. Well, a reading assignment anyway. Xochitl seems pretty cluey and trustworthy so far.

Tough job that January has here: Xochitl does have a stronger bond with Blood Raven, as you said, and that'll make it harder for her to take this. I did enjoy how Xochitl has some believably teenage rushes of enthusiasm, like when she starts speculating about Blood Raven being Fae; it fits her character quite well.

Interesting bit where January chooses to keep Blood Raven's vampirism private. Everyone in her circle has to keep some secrets just for safety's sake, and it makes sense that she'd see the commonality.

For some reason, I thought January was a bit older than 19, like more in the 22-24 range. That's a testament to her maturity!

Another detail about Baltimore which might help are its police cameras like this one.

So basically, if you're in a "safe" neighborhood, like Charles Village (including the area they're referring to as K-Town), Federal Hill, Hampden, Roland Park, chances are you won't see any of these cameras, and this is for two reasons.

1). The 'better' neighborhoods often have community watches. Dedicated neighbors who spend time watching their streets at night.

2). People who live in those better neighborhoods don't want to feel like they've got this presence watching over them.

However, if you're in a neighborhood with a lot more problems: Cherry Hill, Druid Hill, Greenmount, Upton, Pulaski, etc., the cameras tend to be on every corner, very obvious for anyone to see! - Maybe you've got them in Detroit, as well.

Now... this isn't to say that cameras which link directly to the police aren't also in the nicer neighborhoods; chances are they could be, these days. If so, they are hidden. And I'm only mentioning all this because of Cray & Avery. Because... we know what they can do with cameras on supposedly secure networks, right?

All: I am thinking of switching to a twice weekly posting schedule. How would that work out for everyone? I have a pretty big backlog of Crowtent in just this Book, and I am working on the next one already. It can take half a year to get one Book posted, which I know makes it easy to forget things that happened earlier. So I was thinking a more regular schedule might be desirable.

Renee: Thanks for all Baltimore info. It really helped me bring the character together. She will be from Mount Vernon. That is the neighborhood that just calls out to me as being hip enough to be right for her. She is shaping up to be a musician, maybe a guitar player. She might play in clubs around there.

Xochitl's picture is from RL Xochitl Gomez. She starred as America Chavez in the most recent Dr. Strange movie. So you probably saw her there.

My penmanship has always been terrible. I call it my 128 bit encryption, since no one else can read it. So I envy people who can write elegantly and gracefully, like in calligraphy.

Anne/Branwen/Blood Raven is actually 250 years old now. Remember, she is a vampire. It is her identity as Blood Raven that has been around for 50 years, with her appearing to be 30 from the start. Hence as far as the rest of the world is concerned, they would think Blood Raven is 80 years old.

Detroit does have something like those cameras in Baltimore. You are right in that Cray and Avery would have a field day with those cameras! The system in Detroit is called Project Green Light. The Detroit PD will put cameras in a business that they directly monitor. But you have to pay the police extra for it.


Acadian: I was originally going to stick with January letting Xochitl believe that Blood Raven was a Fae, like from a modern Urban Fantasy novel. But it just was not right. She could not start out her relationship with Xochitl with a lie. So instead she went with the very unsatisfying and messy not-answer that she gave instead. That she just can't say why Blood Raven can't remain in the public eye for too long.

Granted, how long Blood Raven can keep from Blood Ravening is questionable. She is not the kind of person who can sit back for long, and not take action when it so clearly is in need. So do not be surprised to see Blood Raven appearing on the Boston Evening News in the future

Xochitl can be a little challenging to write, given her youth and the generational differences. I have to really think back to how being 15 felt. She's very eager, and ready to jump out into the world. Like Avery, she makes a good friend for January.


WellTemperedClavier: Xochitl definitely has some feelings of being abandoned by Blood Raven, especially since she dropped the bomb that she was leaving right after her first real magic lesson. It is one of the reasons why she chose January to be her teacher. As she said, January is there, Blood Raven is not.

But as Blood Raven noted herself when they first met Xochitl, January can be more than just a teacher, she can be Xochitl's friend, in a way Blood Raven never can be. I think even Xochitl herself can recognize this. January's kindness and empathy have a way of shining through in her relationships. She is kind of the Captain America of the Crowverse, except maybe even nicer.

Xochitl can be bubbly and enthusiastic. Those are some of her best qualities! She has a lot of youthful energy and purity of spirit. In some ways, she can be the ray of warmth and hope to January, that January has been to Blood Raven. Especially going forward into Season Two.

January is very mature for her age. More than I was a that time. Though I was always more mature than others my age. I always fit in better with the grown-ups than with the other teens or even children. But Jan's life has been tougher than mine in some ways, though easier in others. She's a lot more determined, and certain, and stubborn than I am.

Though she still is amazed at how old thirty is. She still can't imagine living to such a wizened and decrepit old age.





Metro Airport is on the Stormcrow Map

Detroit Metro Airport

McNamara Terminal Fountain

Video of the spot in the McNamara Terminal where today's episode takes place

The inspiration for Norville Lillard



Book 11.10 - Raven Sisters

July 11th, morning

Less than an hour later January strode through main concourse of Metro Airport. All around her the McNamara Terminal hummed with life, as travelers walked to and fro through the long, narrow building. The ceiling high above curved downward to one side, and was buttressed by cable stays that angled down to meet at descending rods at regular intervals. At least January thought they were structural. For all she knew, they might just be there for looks.

The entire wall on one side of the concourse was taken up by floor to ceiling glass windows. These looked out upon a wide apron that was packed with massive airliners. The nearer ones were connected to the concourse via jetways. The farther ones were linked to a pair of smaller concourses that lay on the opposite side of the giant airplane parking lot. Beyond that stretched out the runways of the airport, and January saw an airliner lift gently into the sky from the longest of these.

She stood within an intersection that cut across the long, slender promenade of the concourse. To her left ran a hallway that led down to the Light Tunnel that connected her concourse to the ones farther beyond. She knew that its name came from the LEDs built into the walls, that washed them with ever shifting light shows.

Just beyond the tunnel a carpeted lounge was set against the glass windows of the concourse. Small cafe tables rose up at irregular places, surrounded by tall chairs. Decorative trees sprouted from planters, and comfortable sofas ran directly alongside the windows. A small grand piano even stood here, though no one was playing.

To her right the intersection led down a wide hall to the main entrance of the entire terminal. Lining the walls here were shops and restaurants. A Burger Baron had a prominent spot at the intersection, and across from it was a Cinnaton shop, from which wafted the smell of fresh bread and the promise of sugary delights.

A nasal voice speaking in a strong New England accent caught January's attention.

"It has been two and a half days since the Abyssal attack upon Detroit, with no further sign of the inter-dimensional invaders. Governor Gretchen Whitaker has deactivated the Michigan National Guard and sent them back to their homes, and the Ohio governor has done likewise with the troops from his own state. There is currently no word on when the 82nd Airborne Division and 75th Ranger Regiment will be withdrawing. Both still remain camped out upon Belle Isle, and man other strategic points throughout the city."

January turned to see that a large TV was playing Worldwide Network News. There on the flat screen she saw the craggy features of Nathaniel Creed as he reported from their studio in New York City. In a smaller window beside him was a picture in picture display of a helicopter's view of the devastation of Belle Isle.

"In related news Governor Whitaker has requested Federal Disaster Relief to help clean up the extensive - some would say catastrophic - damage to Belle Isle and its connecting bridge. But the President has yet to make a determination upon it. Still, he twitted upon a popular social media platform that he has, and I quote, 'a big problem with those women from Michigan, and men who think they are'. He went on to say that they are 'in way over their heads', and 'don't have a clue'."

January shook her head and continued on. None of this came as a surprise of course. Not from this President. Anyone who did not bow and scrape to the decrepit, bigoted, narcissist got the same bullying treatment. She consoled herself with the knowledge that he had lost the popular vote. Besides, she knew how to deal with bullies.

In any case, it looked like Michigan was going to be on its own. She wondered if she and the others in the Alliance might be able to help with rebuilding? Blackhawk had already repaired and refloated the coast guard cutter that had run aground in Canada. She had also partly restored the bridge to Belle Isle. But her electromagnetic powers could not pour new concrete, so there was only so much she could do there.

January's wings and muscles were not going to help rebuild the Belle Isle Casino or other buildings, or plant new grass, or fix the shattered fountain. But maybe she could reach out to others, like the Technocrat? Or maybe closer to home, to her sisters like Silverlight? The lunar heroine seemed to know her way around elemental spirits. January imagined an earth elemental might be quite handy at construction and landscaping.

She paused a moment, at another screen that displayed her kissing Vortex the moment after the Abyssal gateway had been closed. It was strange enough just seeing herself so many places now. But it was almost as unworldly as the Abyss itself, seeing herself kissing another woman on national TV. On International TV, as Gilda Gadfly now pointed out as she proceeded to describe January's second lesbian kiss to be caught on camera.

The near end of the world was one thing for the viewing public. But it apparently it could not compare to shock of seeing a transwoman kissing a ciswoman on television.

That little voice of empathy within her head reminded her that the world had gone just as crazy over Riven and her husband Thunderbolt's own public love affair. They had even gotten married a second time in their super suits and sold the wedding photos to Person Magazine. And of course one the most famous pictures of the end of World War Two was of the powered armor hero Arizona kissing that nurse in Times Square.

She moved on to a fountain that lay just beyond the grand piano and lounge area. Its base was a circular slab of black granite that rose up to waist height. Its surface was cut with concentric rings, like the lines on a flight map. Numerous metal nozzles were set into its surface. From these shot up jets of water, which all arced inward to splash down in the center of the slab. As she watched the steady stream of water turned to a sequence of intermittent jets, that pulsed on and off around the fountain in a steady pattern.

January took a moment to stare at the intricate dance of the jets and spurts of water. They rolled this way and that around the fountain, as if they were dancing. She noted that shiny pennies lay scattered beneath the surface of the water, and for a moment she wished that she had some change to throw in for luck.

"That is an awesome Stormcrow cosplay."

January turned to see a tall, slender young man standing behind her. He had long, shaggy brown hair and a scraggly chin beard, which left his upper lip bare. Next to him was a great dane, whose soft brown fur was decorated with large, dark spots. He wore a therapy dog vest, and his tongue lolled from his head as he stared beatifically at January.

"It's not cosplay," January smiled. She allowed her wings to sprout from her back. Since there was no one else too near, she gently flexed them for a moment, before folding them up along her shoulders and back as she usually did when not in the air.

"Wow! You're, you're..." the reedy man stammered.

"Stormcrow, yes." January nodded and extended her hand. "And you are?"

"Norville... Norville Lillard," he managed to spit out. He gestured to an ID badge that was clipped to his green shirt. Then he nodded down to the great dane at his side. "Scoops and I volunteer here. The pay is terrible, but the snacks are great."

"Um, would you like to pet Scoops?" Norville seemed to gather his wits, perhaps now on familiar ground once more.

"I would love to," January smiled. She knelt down and slid one gauntleted hand down the scruff of the dog's neck. He stared at her with that pure, unadulterated love that only dogs seemed able to possess. He was not even taken aback by her wings. In fact, he leaned forward and licked at the exposed skin of her jaw. January was obliged to keep her mouth tightly shut in order to avoid a repeat of her kiss with Vortex.

"He really likes you," the shaggy man proclaimed. "I mean, more than usual. He must know who you are."

"We crows tend to get along with wolves, and Scoops here is still part wolf. Every dog is. Aren't you Scoops?" January noted, once it was safe for her to speak again. "We've been teaming up for thousands of years."

"Really?" Norville wondered aloud.

"I read about it on the internet, so it must be true," January shrugged. She continued to pet the dog. She had to admit, it felt good. The simple contact, the warm fur, and the adoring canine grin of the dog all combined to make for a soothing experience. She looked back at the vest that proclaimed Scoops' status as a therapy animal. Clearly, it worked.

"Besides, I've got a good friend who's a Sending Wolf," January quipped as she rose to her feet. "An Ôkami," she added when she could see the lack of understanding writ large across the young man's face.

"I hope you don't mind, I'm sure you get this all the time, but I've got to ask."

January braced herself for what was to come. There were so many things it could be, given that she was trans, a woman, a lesbian, and a superheroine. Not all of them were pleasant.

"Could I get a selfie?" Norville asked. "I mean, you're... you're my hero. You're everyone's hero. You saved the world Monday night."

"We all saved the world," January breathed a sigh of relief. That was so much better than the alternatives. "Together, that's how we get through life. And I would love to take a selfie together. That is kind of why I'm here after all."

She waited while the shaggy young man fished out his phone. January absentmindedly noted that it was the same discount model of smartphone that she owned. She waited patiently for the camera app to load, and for him to hold it up to get them in several pictures.

"Did you come to take selfies with fans?" Norville then asked. "I don't think Blood Raven ever did that."

"You'd be surprised! She even smiles upon occasion!" January's laugh at the remark was genuine. She happened to know that her old mentor had indeed done both, on more than one occasion now. "I'm here to meet someone I'm a fan of myself."

Well for me, twice a week is possible, but it could also get complicated at times. Mmmm, I'd better put the rest in spoiler tags to save space.



Anyway, up to you.

Mount Vernon is an awesome neighborhood. I lived there in '94 & '95, in a 3rd floor walkup. Two bedrooms, for just $450 a month!!!!! (imagine that) and we'd often use a third room to house overnight guests, which we'd sometimes need because we were in our 20s, which means we'd often get smashed at The Hippo or some other local nightclub/bar, and now we'd have a place for someone to crash, if need be. This was on Biddle Street, right near the edge of the neighborhhod. Let's see if this map will work.

As you can see, Highway 83 is right there to the east. And you DON'T want to cross over 83. There is no reason to. Cross 83 out of Mount Vernon, and now you're in rough territory. I can remember hearing gunshots at night coming from across the bridge. One of the city's jails is also right across, and to the south. And even though Mt. Vernon itself is one of the better places to live, there were a couple times I had to call 911. One time, I caught somebody trying to steal a car right in the alley behind our apartment.

But still, your super will have a great place to live in Mount Vernon. Assuming you write about any mishaps in Baltimore, she unfortunately won't have to go far to find crime.

I've never seen Doctor Strange, but now I've got something to look forward to watching at some point. 📺

Cinnaton! .... The president "twitted!" I am laughing but it's also rather serious. So it looks like the pres doesn't approve of capes saving the world, eh? I wonder what the alternative would be. Because I don't think our military alone could've done it.

Yikes, so now this shaggy guy with the dog knows who she is!!! Alright, what's going on? Maybe she's doing this as a test. Maybe to reveal her true self to the world, or something. January = Stormcrow?

This post has been edited by Renee: Jun 17 2023, 05:43 PM