The Stormcrow, A Superhero's Tale Options

[Acadian]

It’s hard to soar with the crows if you spend all night hooting with your mom. Fortunately, Blood Raven is carrying a potent Upper potion - courtesy of master alchemish Kaelin.

Blood Raven has magically secured the perimeter.

No surprise that Higherpants’ house is unremarkable until they get to his lair beneath. Stormcrow learns that Silverlight is another accomplished ravensister who translates ancient arcane tomes better than the original translators.

"You have a bag of holding!" January exclaimed.
Woot! Every adventuress neeeeds one of those.

Blood Raven feels somehow older in this episode, manifesting in what seems like her clear intent to one day pass on her cape to her g-g-g-granddaughter.


Nits:
’So too was that need to yawn that had continually blossom{ed} within her throat.’
"But I didn't you teach her?" January wondered.’ - - Don’t think you want the ‘I’.

[Renee]

I agree (about Jan's mom) not knowing she's this world-famous superhero. I'm sort of glad she doesn't know yet; for some reason there's some tension there, or something. The day she figures it out (assuming she does on her own) is going to be one heck of an episode. And that's so true about daughter being able to just be herself. I can see why she doesn't want to give this up.

I keep wanting to get an Instagram influencer

Instacram!

July 9th, now. Hmm, so when did the Hierophant get pwned? Cool thing is, we can check the first post. Okay, first post has the timeline up until about mid-June. Just trying to figure out how long it's been since the battle. Hmm, probably just a day or two, since later on it states she hasn't slept much.

Everyone wants a quote from Jan, yet they steer clear of her many-times great aunt!

Wow, another coincidence: Raven gets handed a vial which is full of fluid which doesn't have an odor. You'll see why this is a coincidence when the next Laprima gets posted. Oh no! What did she just drink? Lol Restore Fatigue.

Ah, the secret lair in the cellar, hidden by a secret panel. Every bad guy needs one.

And yeah, January needs sleep. Come on, get some before the next mission calls, and it's too late. Well... I guess this is still the same mission (or quest, whatever) and it needs closure.

I assume EPUB = today's version of Cliff Notes. Whoa yuck... guardian goo. 👻

"I have been playing roles for two and a half centuries." Blood Raven shook her head, and her voice suddenly sounded old and tired. "Student, teacher, innkeeper, mother, nurse, private investigator, soldier, spy... They all grow so tiresome."

And I think Jan might be following suit as well. The more involved she becomes as a heroine, the less RPGs will be prevalent in her life. 🎲 Because gaming represents downtime, which she hasn't got much of lately. And she's also taking on frequent, real roles herself, almost everyday.

Cool, no monsters are about. Now get some sleep, friend.

This post has been edited by Renee: Mar 12 2023, 12:27 AM

[SubRosa]

Acadian: I thought January's lack of sleep would be an excellent opportunity to introduce some alchemy into the game, in the form of probably the most basic potion there is: restore fatigue. One of these days January will be getting an alchemy lesson so she can learn to make them herself. Or at least learn how they are made, since I don't really see her doing a lot of that.

Blood Raven definitely has learned to keep undesirables such as the police from poking into her business, with things such as this ward around the house. What happens in magic land, stays in magic land.

It was definitely time for January to get something to haul large amounts of objects around, and it just made such perfect sense for Blood Raven to have a bag of holding.

Put a pin in that sense you have that Blood Raven may be ready to retire and pass the cape along to January, because you will probably be feeling more of that.


Renee: When Barbara finds out that her daughter has been Stormcrow all this time, it is bound to be... interesting. Stormcrow has had a big effect on January's mother, as we will see in the future.

It has only been a day since this Book began. But a lot has happened in that day.

The upside to Blood Raven cultivating such a sense of dread about her persona, is that reporters and cops don't tend to bother her much.

EPUB is simply an electronic book format. I went back and tried to make that more clear.

I don't think January is going to ever stop gaming. But her gaming nights are likely to change as people move into and out of her life. It won't be just the old Knights of Nerddom for much longer.







As always you can follow January and Blood Raven on the Stormcrow Google Map

Downtown Detroit

Bailey Bridge



Book 10.29 - Alliance

"The governor is ready to meet you both," Cray said over the comm. "She's currently touring the battlefield at Belle Isle. But she will be returning to her office shortly."

"Very well, please inform her that we shall conduct ourselves to Belle Isle presently." Blood Raven replied to information specialist.

The elder magician took a moment then to close her eyes. January felt power rise up from within her. A moment later a glowing circle of Celtic runes sprang up around her, even as she began to sing in Gaelic. January shifted her own senses to the astral, and watched as her mentor reached out to the web of energy that she had woven around the house. One by one, she took hold of the threads that made up the cocoon, and drew them back into herself. Soon her work picked up speed, and she began to scoop up metaphorical handfuls of the strands and pull them en masse. In time she had gathered up all of the energy, and completely dispelled her barrier.

She led the way up the stairs and to the front door outside. From there she rose into the sky without a second glance to the police and press clustered about the sidewalk and driveway. January however, paused to wave, and shout that all was now clear. Then she too, rose into the firmament on crow's wings, and turned east to follow her teacher.

"Your powers of flight grow," the other woman noted when January caught up to her.

"Lighthammer taught me a lot about flying," January admitted.

"Indeed, one should never let one's mundane skills grow lax," Blood Raven murmured. "Among us, there is a tendency to shirk ordinary learning, and rather rely upon the brute strength of magic or meta-human power instead. I must confess to being prone to such myself."

"Really?" January wondered aloud. "You seem to know everything."

"I have not picked a lock in centuries." Blood Raven laughed. "I should be all at sea were I to attempt to do so now. Thankfully I have had Cray these last few decades to assist me. You can rely upon him in all matters, technical or otherwise."

"That's an odd thing to say," January turned her head from their generally eastward course. "You make it sound like you're going somewhere."

"Hmmm," Blood Raven turned to face forward once more. They skirted around Willow Run airport, even as a cargo jet rose into the sky from one of its runways. January kept her eyes on where she was flying as well. Usually there was nothing to run into once she was high enough. But airports were a different story. They always made her nervous when she was nearby them in the sky.

Soon enough a much larger airfield came into view. Metro Airport was the largest of its kind in Metro Detroit. It had a bigger, more complicated official name of course. But everyone knew it as simply Metro Airport, or Metro to be even shorter. With multiple runways running at angles to one another, and multiple terminals, it was a sprawling complex of concrete and steel.

An airliner was coming in for a landing as they neared, and January followed Blood Raven in banking to give it a wide berth. That sent them skittering north of the large airfield, and put them over Interstate 94. They followed this east without further words. Suburbs stretched out in all directions underneath them, split between small houses and factories in an endless blanket of urban sprawl. They did pass by the Big Tire when the highway turned to the north-east. That always gave January a smile. At some eighty feet in height, the roadside attraction was hard to miss.

In time they came to the tall skyscrapers of Downtown Detroit. They soared between these in an aerial slalom course. January could not resist turning up the speed as she did so. Blood Raven increased her velocity to match, and in moments the two women were racing between the tall office buildings. Past the Federal Building and the Book Cadillac hotel they went. Then came a loop around Blood Raven's own Detroit Radiator Building, which sent them rocketing down to near street level as they threaded the gap between it and the office buildings to its north. They banked hard on Woodward right afterward, and sailed past the Compuware Building and out over Campus Martius beyond.

Once again, January found herself placing a new significance on what should otherwise be an ordinary part of the city. For this was their old battleground with the neo-Nazis of the National Socialist League. Lighthammer, Blood Raven, and herself had all joined together here to fight off the Crystal Death augmented Nazis, and prevented them from murdering thousands during the Motor City Pride parade.

Another sharp turn took January out of the past and between more high rises, and then over the ornate roof sculptures that topped the Old County Building. The Millender Center rose up high to their right, first its seven floor parking structure, and then the rectangular apartment block that stretched over four times that in height. They soared right over Kaelin and Harper's club - the Aura - beyond. Next they threaded the gap between the white Blue Cross Building and a red parking structure beside it.

From here on out it was all open sky, and they turned more slowly this time, and passed over the YMCA and an old church. Once again, January recognized one of her former battlegrounds. For just up ahead was the raised parking structure which she had chased a flock of flying Abyssals through. In front of it was that billboard that said that Trans lives were sacred, which she had gone crashing through in a rather ironic moment.

Jefferson Avenue stretched away to her right. Alongside the divided roadway towered the numerous skyscrapers of the Renaissance Center. That too brought back recent memories of fighting Abyssals around its glass spires. She also recalled her meeting with Octavia Butler there. It was where she had told the reporter from Worldwide Network News that she was not only indeed a lesbian, but also transgender as well. Had that been only a month ago? It seemed like a lifetime now.

After just a few more blocks the green water of the Detroit River was underneath them. The long steel hull of Great Lakes freighter lumbered down the canal. The iron boat would have looked slender, were it not so massive. At a thousand feet in length, the ship was larger than even the Abyssal Colossus that had nearly killed them all the night before.

They winged their way north and east, and followed the course of the narrow strait between the United States and Canada. January idly noted that Canada was to the south, which was quite an unusual occurrence. She had read that the Detroit-Windsor border was unique in that respect.

Then they were over the south-western tip of Belle Isle. So much had changed since January had last seen it. It had been night then, during the battle. Even though her lightning had provided dramatic illumination at times, the gloom had hidden the true scope of the damage their battle had wrought upon the state park.

The entire south-western third of the island was tortured moonscape of rubble and craters. Not a tree or single blade of grass remained here. It was a sea of brown mud and gray concrete dust. Not a building continued standing. The casino had completely vanished of course, with not even one shattered brick left to show it had ever stood. Instead a great bowl-shaped depression had been gouged out of the earth there, in the same shape and size of the spherical gateway that had squatted there. Now filled with water, this formed a circular pond near the end of the island.

The massive complex of marble fountains that had stood nearby had been reduced to a sprawling pile of debris, of which nothing remained larger than the size of a fist. The administration and utility buildings that had girded the island's western shore were likewise reduced to piles of broken bricks. So too was the large boathouse that lay just beyond the head of the bridge to the mainland.

A temporary Bailey bridge had been thrown across the massive gap that Isaac and his mech had blasted through the roadway of the MacArthur Bridge. The source of the repairs was obvious, as one lane of the span was taken up by US Army trucks and tanks. The concrete road dividers and metal light posts that had been moved to create a fortress at the point of the break had also been removed already, and were stacked up along one side of the bridge. Even as January and Blood Raven approached, she could see military engineers working to hoist them onto vehicles and carry them away.

Farther inland she could see that the little stream that cut through the waist of the island was now once more filled with water. It had all been boiled away during the battle. The shelters and pavilions beyond had all been flattened. The only thing that stood was the jumbled walls of Fort Alliance, which she had helped build the night before from concrete road dividers and other wreckage gathered from the surrounding buildings. It had never been the prettiest of sights, and now in the light of day it looked more dilapidated than ever. But January could not help but feel a swell of pride when she set her eyes upon the makeshift refuge. That was where they had stopped the Abyssal onslaught for once and all.

The devastation continued on to the north-east, and did not end until it reached the glass walls and domes of the massive nature conservancy. Here the destruction abruptly stopped at a literal line. On one side was a field of green grass. On the other was a ruined landscape of churned up mud and dust that looked like it was from the First World War. Yet beyond that invisible line of demarcation the island lay as pristine and filled with life as it ever was, with green fields, green trees, and flowers of all colors blooming under the summer sun.

Dominating the no man's land of the island's south-western end was Y Ddraig Aur. The dragon's ghost stood within the rubble that had once been the James Scott Memorial Fountain. It towered hundreds of feet skyward, like a statue made of light and warmth. January could feel the latter as they drew near. It felt like the sun on a warm summer day, which of course it was, being July. But instead of that heat radiating from high above, it clearly spread from the afterimage of the golden dragon, a specter that had been burned into the fabric of reality.

January shielded her astral senses from the glare of the ancient guardian. Even the ghost of her radiated mana, just as she did light and heat. January could feel reality warp around the image of the dragon. Clearly, time and space were not quite the same there. The dragon's existence had dimpled it, scarred it, perhaps eternally.

January mused that scarred was not the best way to think of it. It did not seem like spacetime was harmed by the dragon's presence. Rather it was the opposite. Reality was strengthened by Y Ddraig Aur. She was a bulwark, a fortress that stood against the Abyss. January even wondered if her presence might make it more difficult to call creatures from that benighted realm. Or perhaps even make it impossible? Only time would tell.

As at the bridge, the island was crawling with soldiers. Helicopters came and went from the northern reaches of the island, where the ground was not all chewed up. From these streamed more troops. Not that there was much for them to really do. They either patrolled the empty wasteland, or stood around in small groups.

January did not see the point. The fight was long since over. Maybe they were just there to be seen and inspire confidence? If she had learned anything since becoming a superhero, it was that the image you projected to others played a huge role in how they behaved. Act with confidence and they would rally behind you. Falter, and their morale would likewise crumble as well.

[Renee]

Having a look at the latest Google map, I see a star's located near D.C. Is that from Silverlight's involvement?

I notice the distinction between Major and Minor skills. That's true, you know, the part when she says one's skills can go lax if they don't get used. This is represented in Oblivion (maybe Skyrim too?) when we go to jail. We always lose a few points in skills that haven't gotten as much use. It was also true in Fantasy Trip, the first RPG pencil/paper game I played in high school. If someone's skills or magic didn't get used over a span of time, it was possible to even forget stuff, completely erase that skill or magic out of the stat sheet.

Anyway, if we look at it this way, Flying is a skill (maybe magic) which Raven has mastered, January is still learning, and Avery's a complete Level 1 Novice at! 🦸‍♂️

This scene when they're flying through skyscrapers and such makes me think of the CW.

There's Belle Island. I'd be afraid to set foot there, knowing all that happened. Get the shakes, thinking "gosh, what if...."

[WellTemperedClavier]

Okay, I fell behind a bit. Time to catch up.

Well said about the pedestals. I'm not sure anyone truly deserves the burden of being titled "hero".

So much of a villain's power is simply in their reputation. The Hierophant was a dark magician, and that title alone conjures up the image of an evil master. Yet, as always, the truth is more bare. He was a person, and by the looks of it, not an especially deep or interesting one. This is reflected in his rather bare office. Here we have the meager remnants of what was, in truth, a rather meager person. His quest for power left precious little time for anything else.

Even if he'd succeeded, it's difficult to imagine such an empty person ever truly being satisfied.

Also, I could really use having one of this Wake Up potions from time to time.

Flying over Detroit's a good bit of introspection for January right now. She's not the same person she was a little while ago, and that means she can't see the world around her the same way. It's not just that the world's changed--she's changed, as well. Now the sights remind her of her own exploits as Stormcrow. She's a bigger part of the city than she probably ever expected to be, even when she first donned the cowl.

[Acadian]

Much of this episode was beautifully devoted to the joy of flight as Blood Raven and Strormcrow wing their way to Belle Isle.

To the site of the battle for Belle Isle. One thing happily missing from the devastation on this battlefield was corpses, as the abyssal beasts had evaporated upon destruction.

Nice touch, having the almost real shadow of Y Ddraig Aur. Reminded me of the aftermath of the Akatosh/Martin dragon after they kicked Mehrunes Dagon’s butt in Oblivion. Now, no surprise that Jan strongly senses the dragon’s afterpresence in the astral but do mere mortals also see the shadow of the dragon looming over Belle Isle? I was not quite sure on that.

[SubRosa]

Renee: You can click on each star in the Google Map, and it will tell you all about what it is.

There is going to be a lot more references to raising skills, powers, and talents in the near future, as Jan and company consider how they are going to spend all the experience points they gained from saving the world.

The race through the skyscrapers also gave me very strong CW show vibes, especially Supergirl. She often went racing through downtown LA (or whatever they call it in DC).

What if something got left behind at Belle Isle? Or what if something survived? Put a pin in that thought, Book 11 is coming up soon, and it is all about unfinished business from the battle.


WellTemperedClavier: The podcast You're Wrong About did an outstanding series on Princess Diana about a year or so ago. I would consider her a genuinely good person. But she still pushed her stepmother down the stairs. That is where that remark of Barbara's about her pushing Rain Legs down the stairs is from. None of us are perfect.

In some ways I compare the Hierophant to Fox Mulder, or Darth Vader, or Emperor Palpatine. They were all so consumed by their need to find their own truth, or acquire more and more power, that they never actually stopped a moment to just live in the world. Their obsessions left them utterly alienated from the rest of galaxy.

That is one of the reasons I spend as much time as I do on January's personal life, and why Blood Raven recently told her to take time off from the crusade to just be with her friends. January does not just fight against things. She is a part of the world. She lives in it.

You are right, in that January has absolutely changed so much, that her home is not the same place it used to be. Because she can no longer see it how she once did, given how much she has changed.


Acadian: The playful flight over to Belle Isle was a nice little interlude for me to write, and for the characters themselves to just relax and enjoy being alive. Especially for January, as even though she lacks Blood Raven's flight skills at the moment, she is a part of the Sky in a way her mentor never will be. It is her Element, in more ways than one.

I had considered how utterly gross it would be if the Abyssals had not derezzed back into nothingness when killed. It would be like those old Civil War battlefields that stank for months afterward. Especially given that this is taking place in July, and we frequently get 90 degree weather here in Michigan at that time of the year now.

I was not consciously or deliberately calling back to the Martin Dragon statue in Oblivion. It just felt right when I wrote it. Though I would not doubt that Oblivion unconsciously planted the seed in my brain. Originally it was going to be just a stone statue of Y Ddraig Aur. But then when I was doing my later drafts I realized the connection to Oblivion, and worked on changing the specifics. I am glad I did, as it worked out a lot more interesting this way, as a magical alteration of spacetime itself.

Mundane people can indeed see the ghost of Y Ddraig Aur just as easily as magical folks. That is going to be made more clear in today's post, and the ones following. I imagine that in the months following the battle people will even begin pushing for Detroit sports teams to be renamed "The Dragons" or similar names (and other people saying they ought to try winning a few games first, looking at you Detroit Lions). Detroit might also become the Dragon City, rather than the Motor City. Even Jan and company are going to make their own homage to the dragon in the next Book.








Governor Whitaker (RL Gretchen Whitmer)

MRAPS

The Cone of Silence

The Michigan Accent


Book 10.30 - Alliance

In any case, they found the governor among this sea of tan and green uniforms easily enough. She was the one with a handful of state troopers around her. There were also a slew of news crews with their cameras trained upon her, but standing at a distance. This knot of people all gathered around the base of the golden dragon.

The governor wore a blue blazer with a golden button in the shape of Michigan's twin peninsulas tacked over her heart. A yellow necklace hung down between the open lapels of the suit jacket, and January could see that she wore a striped blue and gray blouse underneath both. Her long black hair was parted on her left side, and spilled down across her shoulders. She looked to be about her mother's age, with fair skin just beginning to show crow's feet around her eyes, and laugh lines around her mouth.

"Hooah!" A ragged cheer rose up as Blood Raven and January approached. The members of the Army were especially vociferous; they held their rifles high and began to chant the battle cry over and over again. They revved the engines of their tanks and MRAPS to add to the noise, creating a low rumble that spread from the island.

They set down in front of the governor and her coterie. Blood Raven paused a moment to face the soldiers. She snapped into a rigid pose and executed a precise salute. Then she let out a hearty "Huzza!" from deep within her breast. January was reminded of the Union uniform in its display case within the Raven's Nest. She was an army veteran as well as a superhero, even if from a far, far earlier conflict.

January did not know what to do. Out of the blue she remembered the raised black fist that Isaac had painted on the side of the Fred Hampton. So she raised a clenched fist of her own in the same manner to the cheering soldiers.

The governor beamed with unconcealed joy and relief, and strode forward to shake their hands. January extended her own hand without thinking, and was careful to gently grasp the other woman's hand in greeting. One of the great things about being a woman was that she did not need to get into ego battles over who had the strongest handshake.

Blood Raven was slower to accept the governor's proffered hand. But in the end, she did take it. Though clearly, she was the least enthusiastic of all three women. Then the elder heroine raised a hand to the sky. January felt mana spring from her fingertips, and descend around them in a tight dome. With that all sound from outside vanished entirely. The cheers and vehicle engines, even the sound of the wind and waves, all ceased to exist.

"Did you just make the cone of silence?" the governor mused as she looked quizzically about herself. "Now I feel like Agent 99."

January noted that her voice as somewhat high and nasal. The Michigan accent was clearly represented. She knew from experience that many of her fellow Michiganders insisted that they had no accent. The Midwest accent was 'normal', and everyone else talked weird. But those hard 'A's were unmistakable. Especially since January recognized them from her own speech.

"This shall insure our conversation remains confidential," Blood Raven explained. "No ear beyond shall hear, and no recording device may penetrate its screen."

"I can see the utility in that," Governor Whitaker replied. She took a moment to collect herself, then spoke again.

"Let me start by extending to you both my thanks for what you did here last night," she began, "both personally, and in my capacity of governor. That goes for all of your friends as well. You all did incredible things. People will be writing history books about this."

January noted Blood Raven's scowl at the latter. Since the beginning Blood Raven had taken pains to shield her family's involvement in this, in order to protect them from the glare of publicity. Now that she knew what it was like to receive the full attention of the media in her personal life, January had to struggle to keep from doing the same.

She had always balked at that. She knew what it was like to live a lie, and conceal the truth from the people around her. But now things looked differently. Especially given the danger her bloodline presented to the world. Julian might now be dead. But both she and her father shared his blood. That meant that either of them might call to the Rauðskinna someday, and begin this all over again. Or someone else might use either of them to do so, as the Hierophant had used Julian.

Blood Raven had been right about that at least. The fact that her blood was the key to bringing Nátthrafn back into the world must never make its way into the new history books.

"You are welcome Madam Governor, umm, Governor Whitaker." January fumbled for the words to reply when Blood Raven said nothing. The elder heroine had never concealed her dislike for authority figures, especially the police. Clearly, she saw no need change that now. Now January wished that she had looked up how to properly address a governor. It was a repeat of her same flub from her first meeting the Attorney General. One would think she would have learned better by now...

"Everyone is welcome," January continued. She realized that she was verging on babbling nervously. "We will always be here for the people."

"You can just call me Gretchen," the governor insisted.

"Well, I guess you have some questions about all of this," January had not expected to take the lead in this conversation. But it appeared that Blood Raven was quite content to allow her to do so. January added an exclamation to the end of her sentence by gesturing up to the eidolon of Y Ddraig Aur that rose up above them, and shone proudly in both the astral and mundane landscapes.

"Well, yes," Gretchen said. "I need to give a press conference soon, to let the people know what happened, and reassure them that it is not going to happen again. That is, if we are certain it is not going to happen again. Please tell me it isn't."

"It isn't," January asserted. "The Summoner is dead. His master the Hierophant is dead. There are none left to call to the Abyss and create another portal, and their notes have been confiscated."

"Where are they?" Gretchen asked. "The police will need them for their investigation."

"Absolutely not," Blood Raven now finally did speak once more. "Whatever information that may prove useful in preventing further incursions shall be noted. The rest shall be destroyed."

"That's a little imperious, don't you think?" The governor's patience was clearly wearing thin.

"It is a necessity," Blood Raven shot back. "Make no mistake, this is not a crime scene, it is a contagion. This virus must be halted for once and all, so that it may never spread again."

"This knowledge is dangerous," January added in a conciliatory tone. "You can see what happened here last night. The secrets of how to do this can't sit in a filing cabinet or on a server, just waiting for someone to come across it decades, or even centuries from now. Then this all might happen again."

"Think of this information as a form of stochastic terrorism," Blood Raven said. "Like propaganda that incites others to random acts of violence, this knowledge will likewise prompt others - whose identities we can never know beforehand - into following the path of the Hierophant. He was a foolish old man who chased dreams of immortality and power. He had no idea that this would be the fruits of his labors. Yet now that the extent of this threat has been laid bare, others will gleefully seek it out, for the express purpose of ending all life within this world."

"That's a little..." the governor let her words trail off, then she paused for a moment before speaking again."Ok, yeah, you are right. There are plenty of people who would be happy to die, just so long as they could take everyone else with them."

[Renee]

Hooah! For a moment I thought Lighthammer's here!

Raven salutes the troops, that's so wicked-awesome. I'm glad they're being recognized for their service.

I wish Lighthammer was here. I bet he'd fist-bump instead of shake. 🤜🤛

Oh no.... Michigan.. y'all got an accent, missy!

WHOA Cone of Silence. Wicked. Now they're talking in private. Any lip-readers will be all over this, assuming they can see inside the cone.

Is Jan speaking to the Governor in her perky voice? Aww... she's nervous. I like Gretchen. She seems down-home.

Whoa "We need them for investigation!!!" Yikes. She hasn't got a clue yet, about how their underworld works. You don't want that sort of information getting leaked out or whatever. No, no, no.

I bet Gretchen still really wants that evidence. If not, some other shadowy government agencies will be clamoring for it. Better break out the incinerator, quick!

------------------------------------------------
Comments section
Wow, really? Didn't realize those map stars are interactive. That's so neat. Mmkay yup. Silverlight's home. Lovely place. Georgetown is incredibly quaint, 'Rosa. Rich people live there but the place is so stylish (rather than conservative). It's fun!

I have watched Supergrrl a couple times and also some other shows on the CW, so yes, I can definitely say you captured the CW vibe. Like, it's a different perspective, reading about flying and other hero stuff instead of watching it.

YES, I don't trust Belle Isle at all. I hope the FBI's getting involved with some of their super-techs. I wonder what their labwork is able to pick up in regards to anything concerning all of that.

Whoa, Princess Diana podcast! I must find that.

[Acadian]

Haha! The moment I heard ‘cone of silence’, I too thought of the ‘Get Smart’ TV show.

Neat back and forth with Gov Gretchen. I see Blood Raven continuing to push the Stormcrow into more responsibility and leadership as she lets the younger heroine do most of the talking. What little Blood Raven does say here is pure BS-free awesomesauce though. Stormcrow’s role in this part of the exchange was to make Blood Raven’s truth more palatable as she displays her diplomacy speechcraft skill.

[Renee]

Haha! The moment I heard ‘cone of silence’, I too thought of the ‘Get Smart’ TV show.

Yah me too. I used to love that show. 99 was sort of like a role model when we were kids!

[SubRosa]

I used to love Get Smart when I was a children. I had such a huge crush on Agent 99.

Here is one link to the You're Wrong About podcast. It is their first episode on Princess Diana They did a whole series of I think 5 episodes on her. You can get to the others from there. And they have pictures on that site that they refer to in the show.

[Renee]

Awesome, bookmark'd.

[WellTemperedClavier]

Our heroines have indeed gotten to high places. January's gone far indeed.

Hmm, I have a feeling a lot of politicians (and others) would like a "cone of silence". I'm impressed with how agile Governor Whitmer is with this occult information. She's clearly a quick learner (which, from my understanding, is true IRL).

I like how Blood Raven is less enthusiastic about this whole thing. She's been around long enough to see a lot of seemingly good politicians turn bad. Though she might appreciate Governor Whitmer's support, she's not exactly enthusiastic since she knows that sort of thing can bring baggage.

The nature of this eldritch knowledge also makes it a threat. Like the classic HPL stuff, simply knowing it can be dangerous to your health and sanity--and everyone else's. Though I can't help wondering if Governor Whitmer is also thinking of ways for her state and nation to get a better handle on it. Because she's smart, and she's probably seen or heard of a few good supers going bad, and you just never know.

[SubRosa]

Renee: That is indeed Ligthammer's war cry, and that of the US Army and Air Force.

Raven was one of those troops, at one time. So her antipathy for the police does not generally extend to the military. Not entirely at least.

A lot of people in Michigan insist that we don't have an accent. We talk normal. We definitely have an accent...

You are right, in that a lot of government agencies would like that information, like the CIA. The incinerator is a good idea.


Acadian: I used to love Get Smart back when I was a children. It was hilarious. So whenever it comes to any sort of silence spell to prevent eavesdropping, I automatically think of the Cone of Silence.

You are correct in that Blood Raven is definitely prodding January to take a more prominent leadership role here. It is something she is going to have to get used to.


WellTemperedClavier: It is a long way from that science fiction convention and January's first battle with Lighthammer. Even though it is only been a few months in story time. January's whole life has changed.

I have done my best to pattern Governor Whitaker after RL Gov Whitmer, without ever having met the woman. She seems like a decent sort. And she likes Shark Week.

Blood Raven has a real dislike for not just authority figures, but the very idea of authority in general. She comes from a much different time, and is used to dealing with issues either personally or through communal effort. But not through a State apparatus. She is an Anarchist in a lot of ways, and sees the power of any State as being inherently corrupting. Especially given how prone States are to committing acts of violence upon their own people. Which is not to say that she believes in chaos. She believes in rules, just not rulers.






Book 10.31 - Alliance

"So what can you tell me, that I can turn around and give to the public? People out there are scared. No one knows what to think of any of this."

"Did the Attorney General talk to you about this?" January asked. "I explained it to her the last time we met. I just assumed she was going to tell you too."

"Yes, Dana did tell me about the Hierophant and the Summoner," Gretchen explained. "But that was just that these people were calling up Abyssals. Not that they were planning on destroying the world."

"They weren't planning that," January shook her head. "We were afraid of it, but even we were not sure. When the Hierophant made his final summoning tonight, he brought forth a being of far greater power than those before. That creature in turn opened a gateway to the Abyss. That can only be done from this side, not from the Abyss itself. We spent the rest of the battle trying to close the gateway."

January kept the name of that being to herself. As Blood Raven had said, they had to keep the true details on the down low. There was no need to tell people the name of the creature that could destroy the world, nor that the Rauðskinna illustrated how to do so. That would send others looking for Nátthrafn. It was better to keep things simple.

"You said on television that you killed the Hierophant when he performed the ritual," Gretchen asked. "Is that true?"

"Do not answer that!" Blood Raven made a violent motion to wave January off from speaking. "If the Attorney General wishes to question us, I will oblige her to do so when we have legal counsel of our own present."

"I'm not trying to bust you, either of you. I just want to know what's going on," Gretchen sighed and gestured up at the glowing form of the dragon above them. "Like how that got in one of my state parks."

"It's okay," January waved Blood Raven off. The other woman glared, but said nothing when January went on.

"The Hierophant captured me," she explained. "He drugged me. When I woke up, I was in the Belle Isle Casino. He had others there, a pack or coterie of sorts. But one of them was on our side. Her name is Gola. She was the one in Eloise recently. I helped her out then, showed her that she didn't need to eat people's hearts. She distracted the Hierophant so that I was able to alter his ritual. I was meant to be the human sacrifice. I reversed it, so that he was instead."

"So you played the UNO reverse card on him?" Gretchen nodded.

"I tried to talk him out of it," January explained. "I begged him not to in fact. But he would not listen. He was so blinded by his lust for power that he did not care who he killed to get it. So in the end, he killed himself."

"I trust you shall emphasize this fact in your reporting of the incident," Blood Raven insisted. "The Hierophant killed himself in the process of performing his ritual."

"Like I said, I'm not here to bust the people who saved the world," Gretchen insisted. "I'm sure Dana - the Attorney General - will agree. We aren't dicks. You may find this hard to believe, but we actually do want to make people's lives better, not worse."

Blood Raven said nothing. She simply crossed her arms and stared back with crimson eyes aglow. That the governor did not wilt beneath their glare showed that she possessed backbone aplenty.

"Could you have simply sabotaged the ritual, so it would not work?" Gretchen asked next. "People are going to wonder, so I need to be able to answer."

"No," January shook her head. "I thought about that. If the ritual had failed to work, the Hierophant would have seen what went wrong, fixed it, and simply done it again. He probably would have deduced that I had sabotaged it as well, and simply drugged me once more."

"Then Stormcrow would be dead, and the Hierophant might still be loose today." Blood Raven added. January knew that was not true. Nátthrafn did not share power. He would have killed the wizard the moment he had arrived on Earth. But the world did not need to know that either.

"So, this is all magic then?" Through all of this, the governor had been all business. Only now did her reserve break, and a look of incredulity crept across her features. "I mean, like rabbits out of hats?"

"No, real magic," January insisted. "The power to create change in accordance with will. It's where our powers come from. Blood Raven and I aren't meta-humans. So too with many of the others who were there last night. Magic has always existed, long before Tunguska happened and created meta-humans. It will exist long after us."

"And that, is that really a dragon, like people say?" Gretchen once more gestured up to the ghost of the dragon that loomed above them.

"Yes," Blood Raven said in a more friendly tone. "That is Y Ddraig Aur. Or so the people of Wales addressed her long ago. She is one of the ancient guardians of the multiverse. Ever have they done battle against the Abyss. Their blood is the shield that protects our worlds. I strode the paths of time to make a pact with her. Thusly I called her here, in spirit, if not in flesh. For that was not the full might of a dragon that walked the earth last night. It was merely an avatar, a lesser projection through time and space. I suspect human minds cannot grasp the full extent of their power, no more than an ant might do so concerning us."

"So these dragons, they're friendly?" Gretchen asked. January could see that she really, really wanted the answer to be 'yes'.

"The ancient guardians have no concern for us," Blood Raven shook her head. "They stand against the Abyss, so that we might continue to exist. But otherwise they do not meddle in our affairs."

"So, True Neutral, at least so far as we are concerned," Gretchen nodded. "I guess that's better than some of the other possibilities."

"They will not save us from climate change, nor from our wars and insurrections." Blood Raven replied. "Those are in our hands. But take heart in the knowledge that even now, the ghost of her remains to stand guard against further incursions into our realm."

"So it's going to be here a while?" Gretchen said, looking up at the ghost of the dragon.

Blood Raven shrugged. "I truly know not. This memory of her might vanish tomorrow. Or it might outlast all life on this planet. Only time may recount the tale."

[Renee]

Yah, y'all definitely have an accent, but I'd say it's more of a non-accent. It's not as obvious as a suthr'n accent or if you go to Bahstahn, and so on.

Get Smart! ruled. Loved that show. I have a dim memory of putting on one of my mom's wigs, pretending to be 99. Get Smart! and Gilligan's Island were like the greatest shows EVER when we were kids.

It's a good thing Blood Raven is here, speaking with Gretchen along with January. Thing is, January might not know what's okay to reveal to Gretch, and what should be kept secret. I don't get the feeling Gretch is very familiar with the occult, after all.

Ha ha "Uno card". Yep, she uno'd Higher Pants's behind until he was out, that's for sure.

True Neutral? Gretchen's a gamer???

Really am enjoying the interplay between these three. Jan's got the pulse of modern youth, Raven's got decades and centuries behind her, and Gretchen comes across as actually sort of "with it". Open-minded, at least.

[Acadian]

Stormcrow is getting pretty good at navigating the myriad traps of talking to the press or government officials. Of course it helps that Gov Gretchen seems to realize that she owes the continuing existence of her state to the pair of mages before her. Blood Raven and Stormcrow continue to grow as a fabulous pair, whose contradicting and complementary characteristics render the duo much more effective than either would be alone.

As ever, I continue to love how you write Blood Raven’s wonderfully old world dialogue.

[WellTemperedClavier]

Blood Raven's suspicion makes sense. She's been around long enough to see even some of the better-intentioned plans go wrong. Sometimes you can only really rely on yourself.

I don't envy January trying to explain this to the authorities. Receptive though they are, it's hard to describe this kind of thing in a way that makes sense. She's doing a pretty good job, all things considered.

Heh, Blood Raven sounds like an attorney. "You do not need to answer that."

Blood Raven showing her suspicion here. She certainly has reason...

So my memory's a little fuzzy, but is magic widely acknowledged? Or have people just been assuming it's a meta power all this time? I seem to recall the latter, but I'm not 100% sure.

True neutral? Governor Whitmer knows her stuff.

And good point at the end. Magic can do a lot, but it still struggles with systemic changes. Too many moving parts in those for any spell to handle (short of magic mind control, which raises its own problems).

[SubRosa]

Renee: Thankfully Gov Gretch is a generally benevolent person, who acts in good faith and takes her duty to the people seriously. That all comes from the RL current governor whom she is based upon. If January had been dealing with the governor of a state like Texas or Florida, they would be looking for ways to put her, Blood Raven, and the other Allies in prison.

Gretch must have gone to college at some point. So I figure she at least has a passing knowledge of D&D. Besides, given what blatant nerds her local super team are, I would not be surprised if she did a little research to refresh her memory about alignments, saving throws, and the like. If for nothing else so she knows what they are talking about.


Acadian: I have heavily based January's ability with the press upon that of Princess Diana. She was not an extrovert by nature. She would rather spend the evening at home eating beans and crackers and watching the telly than go to fancy events. But the latter was part of her 'job' as a member of the royal family. So she put all of her energy into being as charming and charismatic as possible. Even though she found it stressful and emotionally exhausting.


WellTemperedClavier: Oh boy, just wait until the next book! Explaining the Battle of Belle Isle is simple compared to how ridiculous what is coming next will sound! One thing about magic that is practically guaranteed, is that it tends to be really flashy, and really weird.

Unlike January, Blood Raven is a lot more suspicious and cautious around government officials. She lived through the Nixon years after all. All the years in fact. She has an inherent distrust of state power, and its corruptive nature.

Most people view magic in the same way as we do IRL. It is either David Copperfield or making animal balloons at children's birthday parties. When supers declare that they are magicians, they are usually just put down as being meta-humans, who think they are magicians. Of course the only people who can really tell the difference are the actual magicians, like Blood Raven and January.

That however, will be changing now. The Battle of Belle Isle is going to kindle a lot of interest in real magic. Enough that I do have plans for January to spin off a limited podcast series from Heroes and Villians to tell the history of magic. Something like a ten or twelve part series that will tell it all, with guests like Silverlight in her civilian ID as a cultural anthropologist, and maybe Calypso in her super ID.









The Heel-Face Turn

A Brief History of Slavery and the Origins of American Policing

The History of Policing in the United States, Part 1

Thief-Takers

Behind the Police

Ope!



Book 10.32 - Alliance

"And that sea monster out there?" The governor turned and gestured to the spiny back of a marine giant that briefly crested the waves of the Detroit River beyond. Only for it to sink out of view a moment later. "That is on our side too, right?"

"That is Mishipeshu," Blood Raven explained. "The great lynx, or underwater panther. You might think of it as a nature spirit. It came because my one time protégé Silverlight called it here for aid. Though I suspect that soon enough it would have arrived of its own accord. It is a part of the Great Lakes, a champion of our world if you will. It would defend the lakes against any alien threat."

"But it's friendly, right?" again, the look on the governor's face showed that she clearly wanted the answer to be "Yes".

"In days of old, people made sacrifices to it, lest it drag them down to drown into the depths." Blood Raven shrugged. "Now... Well I suggest doing nothing to anger it."

"Lovely," the governor sighed. Then she looked from one woman to the other, and her voice picked up once more.

"So, tell me about your team. The Great Lakes Alliance is what some people are calling you, or the Allies for short. Is this permanent? What can I do to help?"

"I... umm..." once more January fumbled, while Blood Raven chose to remain silent. "We haven't really discussed it with each other. But it is not like we are all living in a mansion just waiting for the red alert to go off. We all have lives and responsibilities. Lighthammer is in Cleveland. Blackhawk is in Toronto. Gola is Up North. The Junkman is, well, I don't think he's looking forward to doing this sort of thing again. He said he nearly had a heart attack last night. I can relate. But at least here in Metro Detroit Ôkami, Gadget, Blood Raven, and I will always be ready to help with anything that comes up."

"The Junkman, he's the one in the giant mech right: the Fred Hampton?" Gretchen asked.

"Yep," January nodded. "He's helped us behind the scenes before as well, with mechanical stuff."

"Aren't he and his pet robot - Archie is it? - the ones who robbed Global Titanium and Source One Metals?" the governor pressed.

"Well..." January was not sure how to respond to that. She found herself trying to loosen the neck of her suit, as suddenly it felt uncomfortably tight.

"I am not going to try to arrest the man who helped save the world last night," Gretchen assured. "I get it, the Heel-Face turn is one of the oldest tropes in the book. Sometimes you just need to give people a chance to make good on past mistakes, or rise above their circumstances."

"In fact, I've noticed that a lot of your friends started out as your enemies: Lighthammer, the Junkman, this raven-woman Gola, Hungry Ghost. As governor I am in a position to grant clemency to all of them, at least here in Michigan. Give me a list of names, and I will make it so."

"Let me talk to them, and I will do that." January declared.

"On a similar subject, Dana - the Attorney General - and I have been talking," the governor went on. "We would like to offer you both full, legal empowerment here in the State of Michigan."

"I find that to be insulting," Blood Raven's tone was low, but her eyes glowed with the fire of a volcano.

"I-" the governor sighed in exasperation before finding her voice once more. "Are you being deliberately combative? I have been trying to act in good faith through all of this. Yet you have been nothing but obstructive."

"Yes, you are correct, I have been," Blood Raven admitted. Once again, January's mentor surprised her with her candor. "I possess very strong feelings on this matter. Those feelings are borne of centuries of experience with the slave patrols and mercenaries who now call themselves the police. They exist for the sole purpose of doing violence upon the People, at the bidding of the State. I stand for the People. I will have no association with such creatures."

The governor shook her head and sighed. January could feel for her. She knew what it was like dealing with Blood Raven. Her mentor never compromised in her beliefs. Sometimes it seemed like they butted heads more often than a pair of rams. But through it all they shared a mutual respect, if not love. The governor had yet to earn such respect from the other woman. January feared she never would, given that Gretchen was starting from a position of authority.

"And you Stormcrow, do you share her feelings?" the governor now looked to January.

"It's... complicated," January said honestly. "I'm Queer. My best friend Gadget is Queer, and he's Black. We don't look at the police and feel safe. We probably never will. I mean, we celebrate Stonewall because that is when people like us said 'F' it and fought back against police brutality, and won."

"So that's a no as well," Gretchen did not hide the disappointment from her features. "I had hoped we could forge some sort of accord here. I wanted to reach out to you, to all of you."

"It's not a 'no'," January shook her head. "It's just not a yes either. I don't know. It's something I have to think about, and discuss with the others. Does this offer include them as well?"

"At this point, Dana and I only considered the two of you," Gretchen said plainly. "But that does not take Gadget or Ôkami off the table. They are both just a little too unknown so far. As I understand it Blackhawk is Canadian, so I don't have the authority in her case. Lighthammer is in Ohio, so that's also a gray area. Gola and the Junkman, we just don't know enough about at all. I mean, I won't hesitate to wipe their slates clean here in Michigan. But beyond than that, it requires more scrutiny."

"Then I suggest we table the idea for now," January said. "Not abandon it, just hold off. I have no problems working with you and the Attorney General. We do not. We have so far after all. That is why we are here right now."

January looked pointedly to Blood Raven. The other woman said nothing, but did nod in return.

"We are always going to be here for the people, you can always count on us." January heard both her personal assistant and Blood Raven's own wrist-mounted computer ding with an alert of an incoming message. Cray's voice was in her ear a moment later explaining what that was for.

"Cray - he's our tech guy - he just sent me a general timeline of events and information that you can release to the press. If you can lend me your phone for a minute?"

January held out her hand, and was relieved that the governor did not hesitate to hand her smartphone over. She could not help but notice that was a top of the line Hamsung, with a folding glass screen. It probably cost a hundred times what her own cheapest of the cheap phones was worth.

January pulled a micro USB cable from Sága and plugged it into the governor's phone. It took just a moment to copy over the information, and she handed the phone back a moment later.

"I should probably give you my phone number too," Gretchen said. "Needless to say, you can call me anytime."

January suspected that Cray already had it. But it might sound creepy to relate that. So she went through the motions of sharing numbers back and forth with the governor. She did take a moment to savor that. She was sharing phone numbers with the governor of her state! Now that was something she had not seen coming just a few months ago!

"Ok, I think that covers it all," the governor nodded. "Thank you again for coming to talk to me. My door is always open, to both of you, and your friends." Gretchen looked pointedly at Blood Raven. "Since the news is already here, do you two feel like joining me and repeating most of that on camera?"

"We would be glad to," January forced a smile to her lips. Blood Raven may have fumed, but she did not dissent. She dispelled her dome of silence, and the three women walked to where the reporters crowded. In no time at all an impromptu press conference was convened. The governor did most of the talking, calling in January to offer up details.

This time January took Blood Raven's advice about not saying that she had killed someone on television. She also pointed out that the final summoning ritual had a trap built into it. She had alluded to this with Gilda Gadfly after all. She further explained that the Hierophant had discovered this and fixed it. She then went on to explain that she had sabotaged the ritual, in order to change it back. In the end, his own ritual killed him.

Blood Raven said nothing at all. She merely stood in the background and looked ominous, as was her wont when in public.

When it was all over January felt exhausted. Not physically - Kaelin's restore fatigue potion had taken care of that - but emotionally. There was something about being on TV that just stressed her out to no end. She could not see how some people craved it so much. It was awful. She would sooner fight an earth elemental than do another interview.

"Stormcrow!" a familiar voice rang out from the crowd at the end of the conference. "This is Gilda Gadfly! Would you care to make any more comments? Everyone is talking about that kiss you and Vortex shared at the end of the battle? Are the two of you back together? The people are dying to know!"

Ope! January had to fight the urge to plant the palm of her hand into her forehead. Some things never changed. Of course that was the takeaway. Not the end of the world. Not the dragon. No, it was her second lesbian kiss on national TV. Now January could see the value of Blood Raven's decidedly standoffish approach to the press.

[Renee]

Yeah, Gretchen's got a good feel for the way things are done, that is true. She's also rather hip.

I was just thinking that too, about more conservative government figures, who definitely wouldn't put up with the way the supers frequently dance around laws. If The Stormcrow took place in any of the states where abortion's now illegal (or headed that way) this story would prob'ly be over by now. Or it'd be stifled, at least.

The Ope article is interesting. I've never heard anyone say "ope" before. I used to work with a gal who said "uff-da", though. She had Scandinavian background.

There's a monster in the Great Lakes! Wow, Gretchen knows all about "The Junkman" as well. I suppose she would. His tech would've gotten exposed by the press after the past episodes he was featured in.

Hamsung!

She did take a moment to savor that. She was sharing phone numbers with the governor of her state

That's awesome. For Branwen this means nothing, but for Jan it means a lot.

I like that Gretch is considering extending law priviliges to the two metas. Sure, Raven's going to turn that down, but at least the offer is there.

Uh oh, Gilda's here. Just what SC doesn't need, another interview. PLeA$3 get some sleep. Because pretty soon the next crisis shall strike.

[Acadian]

Gov Gretch has no position to bargain from really. She needs the superheroes (primarily to combat supervillains) but the superheroes have little need for her or her state. The best I think the Gov can hope for is an understanding that, hopefully, Blood Raven and Co will continue to answer the call to combat evil forces beyond the ability of the state. In the end, like Batman or Superman, the only real control of a superhero is their own noble nature. That in itself raises some interesting questions that our nonfiction world does not have to deal with.

I feel for Jan. She certainly rises to the occasion, but I’d be stressed out having to deal with the press as well. Whereas Blood Raven has no use for the Gov or her government, Jan hopes to be able to benefit from some cooperation, sharing intel, etc I figure.