[IC] Afterlife [M]

[Lady Celeste]

This RP is rated M, and may therefore contain (unless specifically prohibited by this site’s Mature Content rules)...

• Action/Fantasy Violence
• Depictions of Occult Practices
• Strong Language/Innuendo
• Mature Sexual Content
• Drug/Alcohol Usage
• Partial or Complete Nudity

Spoiler: Main Plot 

Welcome.

You’re all probably wondering where you are, or how you came to be here. Maybe some of you already understand. Or maybe some of you at least suspect what has just happened to you.

Either way, I’m afraid there’s no easy way to explain this.

You are dead.

No, this is not a nightmare, or one of those near-death experiences where you’ll simply wake up and carry on with your lives.

You are all permanently, definitively dead. Your mortal lives have come to an end. I know that may be difficult for some of you to accept, but such is the nature of death itself.

But this is not the end for you. At least, it doesn’t have to be.

You see, normally mortal beings are meant to die naturally once their time has come, and not a moment sooner or later. However, life and death are not always that simple in practice.

Each and every one of you knows this all too well. Some of you were caught in fatal accidents. Some of you were murdered. Whatever the case may be, none of you were supposed to die yet.

Now, before anyone asks, all of you are already too far beyond the point of no return, so returning to your mortal lives is no longer an option. However, in light of your untimely deaths, each of you will be given a choice.

But first, allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Aidoneus. I am the Director of the Afterlife Guild. Our purpose is simple; we are authorized to recruit deceased souls like yourselves who have died before their time, and offer them a means to return to the realm of the living in exchange for putting their lost time to good use. What exactly this entails will change over time as you rise through our ranks, but in short, we are trained to handle a wide variety of operations in the realm of the living, ranging from stopping everyday criminals to protecting against more serious supernatural threats.

That may sound like too much to ask for most of you right now, but you are not as powerless against such threats as you may think. You are already dead and can no longer be killed in the mortal sense, nor are you susceptible to any mortal disease or pain, and any conventional injuries you may sustain will promptly repair themselves. Your current ‘condition’ has certain other advantages as well; you can become visible and invisible to mortal eyes as you see fit, pass through solid objects as if through air, and sense things that living humans cannot, among other abilities that may gradually reveal themselves as your spirits grow in strength over time. In addition, the Guild will provide any and all training and equipment necessary for whatever situations you may be required to face.

That having been said, each of you now has a choice to make. If you would rather just move on, simply walk into the light behind me and cross over to the afterlife, wherever that may lead you. Or if you are not ready to move on yet, you are free to leave and live out your new existence however you wish, within reason.

Or, if any of you are interested in joining us, follow me to the Recruitment Center, and we’ll get started.

Spoiler: RP Rules 

Standard rules include no godmoding, no powerplaying/autohitting, and no content that would violate RPA’s Mature Content Rules. All of this should go without saying on this site, but there you go.

Some degree of literacy is expected. I won't go nagging you over every little mistake, but if nobody can understand a word you're saying, we've got a problem.

Be as active as possible. If you can't post for whatever reason, please let us know as soon as possible.

Spoiler: Types of Spirits 

Spoiler: Ghosts 

Ghosts are the spirits of deceased humans who have not yet crossed over. They can no longer be killed in the mortal sense, and because they are already dead, they are effectively immune to mortal diseases and the like. However, they are vulnerable to attacks by other ghosts and by other spiritual entities, and weaker ghosts are sometimes especially vulnerable to magic, electromagnetic fields, and/or bright lights. Conversely, ghosts can naturally detect spiritual forces in any given area, and can commonly pass through solid objects and make themselves visible or invisible to living humans at will, while stronger ghosts may develop a wide variety of other special abilities as they gain strength (usually depending on the age and strength of will of a particular ghost).

Spoiler: Child-Spirits 

Child-spirits are the ghosts of children who died at a very young age. It is quite common for a child-spirit to not even realize that they are dead, and those who do are often too scared or confused to cross over or otherwise stray far from wherever they may have felt safe in life. Consequently, they are highly vulnerable to corruption and other hazards associated with the spiritual plane, especially shortly after death, and their mental and metaphysical development is likely to be stunted (or worse) without proper care. It is therefore highly recommended for child-spirits to be placed in the care of a psychopomp or other suitable guardian as soon as possible after death. If properly cared for, the child-spirit will gradually “age” to maturity as they gain strength over time.

Spoiler: Ghouls 

Ghouls are a type of corrupted spirit best known for eating human flesh. Although they are most commonly associated with graveyards and eating the flesh of the dead, stories of ghouls killing and eating living victims are more common than one might think. Ghouls can sometimes be confused with vampires, as they are more likely than most vampires to fit the conventional depiction of a stereotypical blood-drinking vampire. The main difference between the two is that, while vampires consume the life force of living victims (with or without the actual consumption of blood), ghouls do not necessarily require living victims, even though some ghouls may prefer the “fresher” taste of living flesh.

Spoiler: Vampires 

Vampires are one of the most famous types of corrupted spirits: so much so that there are now multiple conflicting accounts as to the precise attributes of a vampire, most of which are based on half-truths and eyewitness accounts without sufficient context. Contrary to popular belief, the most common type of vampire is the “psychic” vampire, which does not drink blood but instead drains the energy and life force of their victims, typically via touch or eye contact. Blood-drinking vampires are not unheard of, usually as the result of a vampire possessing a human corpse (preferably newly-deceased) and using it to drain life force in a more potent form through the consumption of blood. Although some vampires do prefer this feeding method, blood-drinking vampires are relatively rare, primarily because large amounts of blood and life force must be regularly consumed to prevent the corpse from decomposing and becoming useless to the vampire.

Spoiler: Incubi/Succubi 

Incubi and Succubi are a type of corrupted spirit best known for their tendency to visit living humans as they sleep and attempt to seduce them, in some cases even going as far as to try to rape them. Historically, it was generally believed that incubi (the males) would target women while succubi (the females) would target men, but this is not always the case. In fact, there have also been reports of a very rare subspecies that can change its sex at will, able to change from an incubus to a succubus and vice versa. Whatever the case may be, although incubi and succubi are both inherently infertile, they will inevitably feed off of the energy and life force of their victims. Frequent visits by an incubus and/or succubus can result in deteriorating physical and/or mental health and eventually death.

Spoiler: Wraiths 

Wraiths are newly-deceased ghosts, particularly the ghosts of humans who died a very violent death or who endured a great deal of pain and/or suffering prior to death. Though not necessarily corrupted spirits in and of themselves, wraiths tend to be mentally unstable and aggressive, and are highly vulnerable to corruption without proper care and guidance. It is possible to rehabilitate an unstable wraith if they can be calmed down as soon after death as possible, but the longer a wraith goes without immediate help, the more likely they are to become permanently corrupted.

Spoiler: Psychopomps 

Psychopomps are a class of spirits whose role is to ease the transition of souls from death to the afterlife, whether by sending omens to the person and/or their loved ones to warn them that their time is coming, or by waiting to collect the soul when their time comes and then deliver them directly to the afterlife. Traditionally, souls whose time has come are required to cross over immediately except in extreme situations, but psychopomps can usually be persuaded to allow someone who has died prematurely to stay behind until their unfinished business on Earth is resolved, or sometimes even longer if the soul in question agrees to watch over the living in exchange for the extra time. Although psychopomps are generally benign spirits who never kill anyone directly, they are often blamed for the deaths they foretell and/or preside over, and efforts by humans to bribe, banish, or even capture psychopomps in an attempt to cheat death are quite common in folklore (e.g. the capture of Thanatos by Sisyphus). It is also not unheard of for psychopomps to abandon their duties and go rogue, the end results of which may vary.

More may be added soon!

Spoiler: Accepted Characters 

Spoiler: Living 

Spoiler: Mortimer Grimm 

NAME
Mortimer Grimm

AGE
245

AFFILIATIONS
None

OCCUPATION
Exorcist/Alchemist

SPECIALTY
Arcane Expertise, Alchemy, Exorcism.

OTHER SKILLS
Sword fighting, Athletics, Staff fighting, Well-educated, Wealthy, Rune.


APPEARANCE

Spoiler: Mortimer 

Mortimer Grimm is a man of means and fine tastes wrapped around the body of a prize-fighter. 6 foot even in height and a sturdy 190 pounds of tight muscle. His green eyes glow with magic and his face is kept in a state of perpetual stubble. His wavy blond hair is kept slicked back and shoulder length. His face is strong and masculine, but not brutish one look will tell anyone he's a man of high education and razor edged ruthlessness.

HISTORY
Born to the ancient and damn near unkillable line of Grimm, Mortimer was the second son of Jameson and Meredith Grimm. His brother Malik was first born and expected to take over the family business from their father, but Malik's failure during a training session paved the way for Mortimer. It was one of the harshest lessons learned by the young wizard, never underestimate the magic of this world. While his family's primary business was alchemy of all sorts, the crowning jewel and likely the sole reason for their wealth though is the Elixir of Life.

Not quite the true immortality of the Philosopher's Stone of Alchemical legend, but it's far easier to make. One of their line Alexander Grimm, did work closely with Nicolas Flamel, but the French scribe kept all his secrets for the stone to himself right until he vanished from history. Alexander worked for years to find the right formula, but of his many tries he never unlocked the secrets of the stone. One of his failures proved to be the next closest thing. And Elixir of Life made from the ectoplasm of the deceased. As always happened with a new discovery, ethics were brought up and after nearly being wiped out the Grimm conceded to only use the spirits of criminals and the like for their experiments. But as the many powers of Europe changed and burned down over the years the family of Wizard's learned how to dance around the once hard line of Ethics and who would be considered criminals. Rigging the system and working themselves into the good graces of countless nobles and other prominent wizards and alchemists throughout history.

While never officially wearing a crown, the Grimm line has been at the backs of leaders from the likes of Britain, France, Italy, and Spain. They steered where they needed and simply reaped the benefits, and now hundreds of years later Mortimer is set to inherit all that wealth, power, and influence. Having perfected the long term holding of spirits so their essences can be leeched of off for years until having grown to weak are simply exorcised to make room for a newer or more powerful spirit. Many would call it cruel, and even level accusations of slavery at him and his family. But the dead are just that...the dead. Their rights left them as their spirits left their bodies and until the courts of man legislate for the afterlife there is no one that will take such accusations seriously especially when the accuser looks like a crazy person and the Grimm's simply look like innocent people that use their wealth and influence for countless charitable organizations. Always "giving back" to the people.

Spoiler: Dead 

Spoiler: Ghosts 

Spoiler: Aidoneus 

NAME
Aidoneus

TYPE OF SPIRIT
Ghost

AGE AT DEATH
51

METAPHYSICAL AGE
51

CAUSE OF DEATH
Aidoneus doesn’t speak much about the exact details, but has occasionally mentioned that seeking wisdom in the wrong places was what cost him his life.

DEPARTMENT
Primary Leadership

RANK
Director

SPECIALTY
No one really knows, as nowadays Aidoneus rarely intervenes directly in the field unless absolutely necessary.

APPEARANCE


HISTORY
Aidoneus is a very ancient spirit compared to most others that have not yet crossed over. Consequently, details about his mortal life are very scarce aside from what he himself may choose to reveal, which mostly consists of whatever information he deems necessary to share under any given set of circumstances. In death, he found himself unable to cross over, his soul too burdened to find peace, and so he took to resolving unfinished business and keeping watch over the ones he’d left behind. As the years passed, his loved ones in life all eventually died and crossed over, yet still he remained, a part of him still sensing that something needed to be done.
Years became decades.
Decades became centuries.
During that time, Aidoneus learned to adapt to the changing times and make full use of his ghostly existence, his spirit wandering throughout the world and encountering many others who were like him: lost souls who had died before their time but had not yet crossed over. Aidoneus helped them as best he could, and managed to help most of them eventually find peace. Some spirits, however, were simply too broken or too corrupted to find peace quite so easily, and to make matters worse, many of those particular spirits would go on to cause harm to the living. Aidoneus did what he could to stop them, but he could not handle them all on his own. Fortunately for him, though, Aidoneus found a growing number of allies from among the very spirits he’d sought to help, some of whom willingly stayed behind for a while in an attempt to make up for the time they never got to enjoy in life. Many of these spirits, in turn, sought out other lost souls, helping the lost to find peace and dealing with the broken and the corrupted as necessary, while also bringing even more wandering spirits into the fold. Thus did this loosely-formed coalition grow and solidify itself into the modern Afterlife Guild.
Throughout all those years, Aidoneus has maintained a strong leadership role within the Guild, still staying behind even as countless members have come and gone. However, as even he himself has acknowledged, human souls are not often meant to linger in the realm of the living for too long, as those who do so generally tend to wither away or become more prone to instability over time. That Aidoneus would still remain in spite of that has led to speculation that he still has some unfinished business left to resolve on the mortal plane, though as of now he typically refrains from direct involvement in the field unless the situation absolutely calls for it.

Spoiler: Child-Spirits 

Spoiler: Makaria “Kari” Williams 

NAME
Makaria “Kari” Williams

TYPE OF SPIRIT
Matured Child-Spirit

METAPHYSICAL AGE
20

AGE AT DEATH
Unborn
(~2 weeks after conception)

CAUSE OF DEATH
Miscarriage

DEPARTMENT
Intel

RANK
Junior Member

SPECIALTY
Stealth

APPEARANCE



HISTORY
Like all child-spirits, the miscarried baby who would later adopt the name “Makaria” (“Kari” for short) underwent a metaphysical development in which her spirit form would gradually “grow up” with adequate care as she gained strength. Such child-spirits require special care during this process, and must traditionally maintain a healthy attachment to their living relatives under the close supervision of duly appointed guardians, until eventually they are deemed mature enough to make “the Choice”. In Kari’s case, however, there were a number of complications. Not only had Kari been the product of a drunken one-night stand that neither party ever fully remembered, but her birth mother turned to drugs and alcohol to numb the grief from the miscarriage and was subsequently committed to rehab.
With no living relatives for Kari to attach to who were both willing and well-adjusted, Kari’s attachment to her living relatives had to be carefully managed and monitored, effectively limiting her overall contact with the realm of the living. Aidoneus ultimately assumed the role of Kari’s guardian, becoming a prominent father figure to her, and Kari joined the Guild out of sheer gratitude upon reaching maturity. Thanks largely to Aidoneus’ tutelage, Kari has excelled in her basic training, and has just recently been approved to begin work out in the field.

Spoiler: Ghouls 

Spoiler: Sir Thaddeus Grimshaw 

NAME
Thaddeus Aurelius Grimshaw

TYPE OF SPIRIT
Ghoul

AGE AT DEATH
36

METAPHYSICAL AGE
36

CAUSE OF DEATH
Killed and robbed by thieves hired by his business rivals

DEPARTMENT
Potential Recruit

RANK
Potential Recruit

SPECIALTY
Deception and Persuasion, Firearms, Combat, History, Botany and Biology, Animal Handling and Lasso

APPEARANCE
Thaddeus possesses the ability to shift between forms, a human-looking form and a more obviously ghoulish form. However, staying in his original form requires energy and a modicum of concentration. Should he expend too much energy or his concentration is broken entirely, he will revert to his ghoulish form until he can recover.

Spoiler: Normal Appearance 

Spoiler: Devolved/Ghoulish Appearance 

However, instead of the pictured rags and chains, he is dressed in the rags of his regular clothes.

HISTORY
Born in Atlanta, Georgia on November 30th, 1825, Thaddeus Grimshaw was immediately part of a well-known and well-respected old money family whose great grandparents had come over from Lancashire, England. One out of seven in the Grimshaw brood, he was a rambunctious and curious child, always exploring the vast forests, hills, and swamps on the Grimshaw Estate.

Growing up, he took an interest in the natural world, and was educated at Shenandoah University at Winchester, Virginia. He earned a degree in botany and biology, while also gaining an interest in history. After graduating, he took an expedition to the American Frontier to further his studies. After 2 years of rough frontier living, he returned home to Atlanta and published a recounting of his travels and discoveries, earning him a good chunk of money. With this money, he purchased a ranch house in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia and raised a family. With the remaining money, he financed another expedition, this time to the Yukon in Alaska. After 6 years wandering the frozen wilderness, he was satisfied and returned home for good. Another book and another large chunk of money later, he purchased an expansive chunk of land in the Midlands of Texas and set to build a home there. Once finished, he became a ranch man.

However, he had scarcely settled into his new home when his business rivals hired a group of thugs to break into his home, rob him, shoot him, and steal the deed to his land. Dead and full of supernatural rage, he returned to haunt the living, descending upon the thieves, his rivals, and their descendants for generations to feed. Once satisfied that their lines were dead, he returned to haunt his old estate and watch over his own line. Over the years, his estate changed hands multiple times. It is now a bank.

Spoiler: Marie "Stitches" Anderson 

NAME
Marie "Stitches" Anderson

TYPE OF SPIRIT
"I'm technically a ghoul, but I like to call myself a Stitched. A sort of uncorrupted ghoul if you will."

AGE AT DEATH
19

METAPHYSICAL AGE
22

CAUSE OF DEATH
Marie was on the battlefield when she was not supposed to be, according to her life. It was there she died. What did her in she continues to change the story of, but what doesn't change is that she died in medical duty, trying to save a fellow soldier.

DEPARTMENT
Medical / Trauma

RANK
Officer

SPECIALTY
Medical, helping people pass on

APPEARANCE

Spoiler: Looks 

HISTORY
"Alright lets keep this short and simple. I grew up just in time for the second World War. Taking on the Nazis. Being female, I was safe from the draft and my family wanted me to stay at home in the states. Apparently that's where my life was supposed to be. The World Wars changed the lives of many souls from what the other members have told me. Anyways the point being I ran away from my family to do my patriotic duty for the country. I had some nursing school under my belt so I voulnteered with the medic corp. Training, drills, excercises, yada yada all the typical boot camp stuff and off I was to the lines with my unit. Now let me tell you.... War is hell. Medical supplies were always short, people died on the table and even when they survived they were in a state of wishing for their death. Sometimes I wondered if the best medicine for some of these people would've been a merciful bullet. I think you know what comes next. I get killed while trying to save another soldier. Thing is I don't even notice my death. I just keep trying to save this boy. I then wander the battle field in a sort of stuppor till the suit guy shows up. Apparently I had kept on trying to save lives, ingoring the base ghoulish instincts or something in doing so. Although when they died on me and I couldn't being them back... Well the flesh was fair game. Anyways that pretty much wraps me up. Been with this guild thing ever since. I get sent out often to try to save souls that are just in the wrong place before they have a chance to die and become our... well it doesn't fit but problem is the easiest word to shove in there. Sometimes I save a person, other times I take their hand and lead them to our doorstep."

Spoiler: Psychopomps 

Spoiler: Elouise "El" Palambo 

NAME
Elouise Palambo, Prefers to be called El

TYPE OF SPIRIT
Psychopomp

AGE AT DEATH
25

METAPHYSICAL AGE
30

CAUSE OF DEATH
Shooting- 1981

DEPARTMENT
None

RANK
None-Assocaited with the Guild

SPECIALTY
Emotional Support and Gathering Intel

APPEARANCE

Spoiler: human form 

Spoiler: Spirit form 

HISTORY
Elouisde had a quiet life growing up in England in 20th cnetury. She was not one to want for much or to travel far. Community and family meant everything to her. Her mother Olivia owned a bookstore and her father had never been around. Growing up El always kept her nose into books and was very interested in the occult. She studied it on her own and gathered knowledge about spirits and diffrrent forms of the afterlife.

At the bookstore El helped her mother when she was old enough to and liked to serve the public. It would make her day to put a smile on someone's face by helping them find the book or information they needed. EL also knew when someone just needed a friendly ear to listen to their problems. El also had a certain intuition about her. She could meet someone and get a flash of their emotions, knowing what might be troubling them. A sense of their favorite color, scent, or meal to help ease them. She would use this informationto calm others down. Over the years the locals started to come to her for advice and "psychic readings". El had a way with people to calm them down and help them sort out their problems. Mostly she would just sit and listen. After her mother's death, El took over the book store and added on a small cafe, called the Cozy Cafe. She wanted to create a haven for the wayward travler. She would offer a quiet space with a good book and hot drink to ease the pain of others.

One night El was closing up and she had forgotten to lock the door. As she was counting her small profit for the day a masked man came in with a gun. He demanded all of her money and pointed a gun at her. El tried to calm the man down to help as she handed over the money...but he wanted nothing to do with her words. He shot her and left her there where she died on the cold tiled floor...

When she came to it was almost like from a dream. She felt like herself but a stranger named Aidoneus explained she had died. He explained her spirit type was a Psychopomp as she had been good with easing people's pain and suffering during her life just by providing emotional support.So if she chose not to pass on she cold work alongside the Guild to help others who have also died. Ever since then she had been helping to ease the poor souls that passed from this life to the next by providing passge to their afterlife or recruiting souls for the Guild...

[Lady Celeste]

It was an unremarkable building: mid-sized, flat roof, standard brick with glass doors, and a sign overhead that read “Texas Midlands Bank”. Customers came and went, tellers went about their business as usual... it was all very quiet. Peaceful, at least for now.

No one even noticed Kari lurking around the building, invisible to mortal eyes, her energy signature reduced to a very bare minimum. She had been just a tiny spectral wisp when she died, and although 20 years of care had strengthened her since then, it was all too easy for her to return to that minimal amount of energy. Doing that without regressing her age altogether had been the true challenge, but she’d spent years training to do exactly that and more, and it had certainly paid off.

Her assignment had been simple enough. Some suspicious figures had been spotted around the bank, and the stable ghoul whose home used to be here had been identified as a possible target. Kari was to deliver a warning to the ghoul, assess the situation, and report back so that the Guild could determine whether or not further action was needed. It was all pretty basic, but Kari stayed hidden throughout, fully aware of how badly these things could turn out if she wasn’t careful.

Now it was just a matter of finding the ghoul and delivering the message, but without intruding on the ghoul’s territory. This was still his property, in a way, and it wouldn’t do any good to start a fight now, especially if the ghoul might be in trouble anyway.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

Sir Thaddeus Grimshaw was unequivocally bored. He had spent centuries guarding this area, this land, watching it change hands and buildings countless times. Once a proud and noble ranch house, it was now quite possibly the most boring bank of this century. Some days he would watch the customers, invisible to the mortal eye. Other days he would leave the bank, but a nagging sense of worry and paranoia about the beige and boring brown bank would draw him back. Perhaps that is why he stayed behind, even after all this time. If he didn’t watch over what remained of him property, who would? Nobody. Certainly nobody worth their salt.

So today, once again, he was sitting in the high-backed leather chair in the manager’s office, invisible and nigh undetectable, save for a draft or a slight depression in the mauve leather. He was watching the manager, a short, round, balding rattish-faced man try to convince an aging woman to take a loan she could never repay. It made him sick, but it was his only entertainment. He drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair, his foot tapping and his cane leaning precariously. Suddenly, he felt a presence. A small blip on his internal radar, barely more than the slight feeling of indigestion he would rarely experience.

Grinning, he stood quickly, grabbing his gentleman’s cane and straightening his coat. He turned to the manager, who would never see nor hear the ghoul, and spoke.

“It seems I’ve got an appointment. If you’ll excuse me, I will tend to such an interruption.” The manager gave no response, as expected. Drifting through the walls was always interesting, as the electricity that ran through the wires tingled delightfully, as if he still had nerves. Drifting to the main room of the bank, he looked around. A troubled look came across his face. He could not find the presence that had stuck out in his mind a moment ago. Perhaps his spirit was fading.

[Heson Shadowbane]

Stitches was on the other side of the street, watching the child spirit as she sipped from a coffee cup she had with her. It was mostly coffee, having some blood mixed into it. She wanted her mind clear while she was keeping an eye on Kari as she went about the mission. Her job today was a sort of baby sitter for Kari, to be there for her if she needed the help. Not to mention with this job being about a ghoul, she would be the best back up in case things went down the trenches.

She enjoyed these jobs, a break from acting as a paramedic or nurse or even a doctor at times as when she joined the world of the living. Keeping an eye on the fresh spirits going out in the field to their first missions was a good thing to her. This was a second lease on life they were 'living' and she wanted to make sure they they would back able to live it to their fullest. She drank down the last of the mixed coffee she had and tucked the cup away into a pocket. "You got this lass."

[SikstaSlathalin]

Banks, an institute nearly as old as civilization itself. Where once they were temples to some god, they became stalls of wood upon a traveler's back, then they took root and became buildings from large stony mansions to wooden rooms in a fort lit by candlelight. Now most little rooms lit by candlelight have died out, but large stone mansions are still around. Filled with steel, glass, plastic, and paper and the Texas Midlands Bank was one such place. Formally a ranch house owned by a prominent adventurer from Georgia who was killed by some business rivals for his land.

A sad turn of events for sure, but the past is for the ghosts they belong to. The future and the preset belong to the living and unborn. But today...rather this entire past week has been about the past those living it and those aiming to rob it. Ectohunters have been casing the bank, but gold, money, and bonds mean very little to their employer. He often said his true aim will make him more money than this bank or twenty of it's sister banks could hope to hold. And while he never told them his name or have ever seen his face, the money in their accounts is all the truth they've needed.

And with these special glasses they can already see the value in his knowledge. Today they were hunting a ghoul by the name of Sir Thaddeus Grimshaw. Watching him leering over the shoulders of greedy bankers looking to scam senior citizens out of their pensions. His rage warmed the air, but unless you knew what to feel for it would go under the notice of most people. And now that he's on the move they had him in their sights. Small specter cubes sitting in their hands, one toss and they would have a ten grand payday waiting for them at the end of all this.

[Lady Celeste]

And just like that, there they were. The glasses they wore matched the descriptions she’d been given, and Kari could already recognize who they were dealing with just by looking at them. Living humans acting like ordinary robbers, but they practically ignored all of the usual robbery targets like the vault or the tellers’ station. They were after something else entirely, and as their glasses turned in Thaddeus’ direction, their true goal became clear.

First things first. Kari would have to alert both Stitches and Thaddeus stat, but with how far apart they were, there was no way to go tell one without leaving the other unaware...

Unless something was done to catch the attention of them both, and Kari had just the idea to do it.

Finding the nearest fire alarm, Kari reached for the lever and pulled it down. The alarms blared all throughout the bank, instantly putting the living civilians on high alert, and could be clearly heard within the bank and a sizable distance away.

Neither Thaddeus nor Stitches could have missed the sound, but there was one small catch on Kari’s end. Interacting with solid objects required a higher energy state than what her “stealth mode” could manage. This was good for a warning; the sudden change in her energy state would give off a pulse that few ghosts could miss. But now the same people who were stalking Thaddeus could pick up on her aura too.

She had only a split-second to hide, and phased through the nearest wall and climbed up toward the ceiling. She would still have to stay reasonably close to the ghost hunters until both Thaddeus and Stitches had spotted them, or until she had enough backup to take them on. But one advantage of not having a body was that the laws of physics didn’t really apply to ghosts anymore, allowing them to get very creative with hiding places when they needed to be.

[Heson Shadowbane]

The former medic faded away quickly as the fire alarm began to ring out. The coffee cup she had been holding just dropped down to the ground as she let herself go fully into the spirit state of being and she began running across the street to the bank. There was no reason why the fire alarm should be going off which could only mean a sign from the kid. It was either trouble with the ghoul or trouble with the people they had been hearing about.

Either way, with the fire alarm Kari was calling out for help and so it was her job to do so. When she finally got to the bank she watched what people were running out and what people were staying inside, even sticking her head through the wall to make sure she was getting the big picture of what was happening.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

All at once, the bank descended into chaos. The fire alarm was pulled, a flare of ghostly energy pulsed and drifted upwards through the ceiling, and another specter appeared on Thaddeus’s radar, moving swiftly toward the bank. Suddenly, a cold feeling drifted through his limbs. He narrowed his eyes and spun to see two men staring at him. Him! They held strange devices in their hands like Rubix cubes and looked... predatory. He huffed. It had only taken a century and a half for anything interesting to happen.

He tossed aside his cane, which dissipated into ghostly fog, a grunted. His shoulders rolled forward and the sound of bones cracking and shifting was heard. He hunched over, his feet elongating to become digitigrade, his fingers growing into claws, his clothes tearing as his new head scraped the ceiling. His jaw popped downwards as row after row of sharp, shark-like teeth moved forward. The ground creaked as his incorporeal form became solid. He let loose a glass-shattering, blood curdling howl and lunged toward the men with frightening speed.

[SikstaSlathalin]

Hesitation froze the men's muscles for a few seconds as the Ghoul showed his true form. It was horrifying, but it was something their employer had planned for. Jumping out of the direct line of the Ghoul's charge the man on the right threw a cube at the Ghoul trapping his left foot in a light prism and stopping his forward momentum.

Once his cube was thrown the man on the right jumped even further out range. He glanced around looking for more ghosts, they were warned about a group called the Afterlife Agency who liked to interfere in their Employer's ventures. He found no one, then signaled for the man on the left to throw his own cube. They never spoke it was series of hand gestures that explained their intentions quickly.

The man on the left threw his cube aiming for Thaddeus's torso. That would be all the lock in they needed.

[Lady Celeste]

These men were good. Really good.

All of the Guild’s suspicions were confirmed once the first of those strange cubes locked onto Sir Grimshaw’s foot, and they proceeded with their next attack without a word. Clearly they had done something like this before, and Sir Grimshaw’s feral state at the moment was not going to be any help. They would have to step in.

Kari watched the men and moved herself carefully into position. The hunters were already scanning the area, searching for anyone who might get in the way, so Kari stayed hidden behind the wall until just the right moment. There was only one way she could think of to stop that thing without getting caught herself, but her timing had to be just right.

Then, just as the second cube was about to be tossed, Kari flew at the man with the second cube and pushed his arm to the side, sending the cube off-course and away from Thaddeus. She then immediately followed up by attempting to kick the second man right into the first, hoping to give herself some more space to work with until Stitches got here.

Just then, however, an unseen force slammed into each of the men and threw each of them against the wall, starting with the one closest to Kari.

It hadn’t taken Aidoneus long to assess the situation upon arrival. The fire alarm was blaring, much of the bank had been evacuated, and now there was a fight going on inside. Sir Grimshaw was currently in his feral form, his foot caught in some sort of trap, and Kari had just stepped in to protect him. Stitches, for her part, had been just about to intervene as well, though Aidoneus had just barely beaten her to it.

“Free Thaddeus.” Aidoneus ordered to both Kari and Stitches. “Leave these men to me.”

Kari promptly went to do so, approaching the now-aggressive ghoul cautiously.

“Alright big guy... easy... easy...” Kari said gently as she slowly reached toward the trap stuck on his foot, fully prepared to step back if he panicked and tried to attack her.

Meanwhile, Aidoneus remained keenly focused on the two assailants, bracing for the next attack. A raw energy already began to radiate from him, causing the lights and other electronics in the immediate area to flicker rapidly.

Spoiler: Earlier, in New Orleans 

There are many layers to the city of New Orleans. To the casual tourist, it is home to some of the most vibrant nightlife in the country, especially during Mardi Gras, as well as a bona fide melting pot of French, African, and American cultures. To those with an interest in the supernatural, it is notorious for its many ghostly haunts, Louisiana’s unique brand of voodoo, and even a vampire community that had gained such notoriety that it was sometimes hard to tell the real vampires from the pretenders. Hurricane Katrina had left its scars on the city, some of which would take longer than others to heal, but its recovery thus far was nothing short of remarkable.

Over the centuries, the Afterlife Guild had set up branches across the globe, attending to the specific needs of each region. As Director, Aidoneus had been to each of these branches many times over the centuries, and yet the New Orleans branch had become a sort of home to him in the past few years. It was here that Sierra Williams had suffered a miscarriage before she even knew she had ever been pregnant, sending her on a downward spiral of drugs and alcohol in her desperate attempts to block out the grief. It had been too early then to let her and Makaria grow too accustomed to each other. Sierra’s mental state at the time was fragile enough as it was, and Kari was too young to understand her mother’s need to grieve, to come to a natural acceptance of what had happened. Aidoneus had to limit their initial contact to carefully managed visits: enough for Sierra to know that her unborn daughter’s spirit was safe now, and for Kari to know who her birth mother was and gradually come to terms with her own death. As Kari grew more mature and Sierra made progress in her recovery, the visits became longer and more frequent, giving Kari as close to a normal upbringing as she could have under the circumstances, and allowing Sierra to let go of her guilt and finish with rehab. Now they both had achieved a sense of closure, but Kari still checked in from time to time, especially now that Sierra was married with one son and another child on the way.

Aidoneus let himself dwell on those memories as he continued down the street, as opposed to the much more painful memories that Kari’s current assignment had brought up. It was such a simple operation in and of itself. A number of suspicious characters had been seen stalking the bank that Sir Thaddeus Grimshaw haunted, so Kari was instructed to warn Thaddeus of the threat and assess the situation as needed. Kari could take care of herself, and Aidoneus had sent Stitches as backup for good measure. If it weren’t for Aidoneus’ own paranoid suspicions about the whole thing, he might have barely given it any thought at all. The enemy wouldn’t know of Kari’s connections to Aidoneus; he’d made certain of that from the moment he’d adopted her, and Kari knew well enough to keep it secret as well. And to exclude a perfectly capable operative from simple assignments like these would only draw the enemy’s attention all the more.

But if Aidoneus’ worries were even remotely correct…

A warm trickle suddenly ran down Aidoneus’ hands, and a red stain was now forming down the front of his light blue shirt. Confound it; he was bleeding again.

Finding an alley to hide in, Aidoneus closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, forcing the memories aside. Elouise’s café wasn’t far from here. All he had to do was keep his paranoia at bay until he reached it, and then he could let it all out and find a secluded restroom if need be.

With each deep breath, the blood dried up and then slowly faded to nothing. Now clean of blood, Aidoneus stood up straight, dusted himself off, and continued toward the café.

---

Elouise was taking fresh croissants from the oven as she idly did cafe work. The chatter from the mortals around her helped to fill the void inside of her. She had missed this when she was alive. Owning a simple cafe that was a community outreach to those in pain. Now as the decades had stretched on people were not as thankful living their rushed and busy lives. They always demanded things instantly. If only they knew how quickly it could all end. A quick flash of cold tile floor and blood pooling around her filled her mind, but it quickly passed.

Despite all of that El still enjoyed serving the public in between her true duties, which was to help souls pass where they needed to go. A perk of the gig was to also recruit new members for the Afterlife Guild. El was indebted to Aidoneus as he was the one who had helped her come to terms with her death and discover her true calling. It was strange because she was also the one who had brought Kari to him so many years ago. She was one of the few that knew his connection to Kari but had kept it a secret to protect both of them. El also had a soft spot for Kari, but hid it well.


The cafe was also a great way to cipher information that benefited the guild. Mortals liked their cozy little places that they could retreat to. As the walls came down that was when people would let the gossip flow.

Just as she was about to listen closely to a pair of customers, El was slammed with anxiety and a sense of paranoia. His emotions had preceded him before he entered the cafe. El always had the abilities to pick up on others emotions and get random flashes from others even when she was alive. It’s what helped her to be so good at her job.

The small bell above the door chimed as he entered. El gave him a slight nod and smiled brightly. “Ah Aidoneus what brings you here to my lovely little cafe.” She jokingly greeted him, knowing full well what was going on.

Nothing ever got by El, not even in her early days as a psychopomp. The moment she’d greeted him at the door, Aidoneus was certain that she had picked up on what he was feeling.

“Good evening, El.” Aidoneus said, letting himself loosen up slightly as he approached the counter. To the casual onlooker, he might have looked like a frequent customer whom the owner instantly recognized, which in some ways was true, even if actually ordering something for himself would have been rather pointless. It would do no good to ruin things for El by letting himself dwell too much on the past, especially not here. But if El already knew how he felt, then he could no longer avoid the subject altogether.

“Kari and Stitches are on assignment in Texas. By all accounts, both of them are well up to the task.”

And yet, even as the words left his mouth, a slight chill settled in the air around him, and the lights flickered for a split-second before righting themselves again.

A photograph of the suspicious figures at the Texas Midlands Bank briefly flashed in El’s mind. Then a different man stood before El, wearing ornate robes and holding a jeweled key. The man looked El in the eyes and chuckled deeply, and then vanished as the flashes abruptly ended.

By the time the visions ended, Aidoneus was still standing there as usual, but now he returned El’s gaze. Nothing ever got by El, so there was no sense in ignoring whatever she had seen just now.

“By the time the thought occurred to me, they’d already left. And it’s only a suspicion; I can’t confirm it.” Aidoneus said. “And even if I could, I can’t do anything about it now; it would only compromise them both. All I can do now is hope I’m wrong.”

El saw the flashes in her head. Easily able to pick up what Aidoneus knew and logging that information in to her brain. That was one of the perks of her abilities, wordless communication. She let out a heavy sigh as she filled a customer's cup with more coffee before returning to Aidoneus.

"Well it looks like they are well prepared…", she paused"..I would still like to offer back up if it all possible." She lowered her voice so only he could hear. " I know I'm not always on the defensive, but I'm still pretty good with that scythe."

All psychopomos were given a scythe almost as right of passage into the role. It's probably what played into the stereotypical version of death. El did have to wonder if others in her role had similar powers. She had never bothered to ask. She was just one of numerous lady deaths about in the afterlife. Aidoneus had given her hers. She was still young for a psychopomp. Only working for a few decades rather than centuries. Still she wondered how long she would really last before she became corrupted like other spirits she had known.

El also didn't want to lie to herself. She was protective and had a maternal instinct when it came to Kari. "I also want to see how Kari is doing…" Aidoneus was one she would never lie to.

El looked him in the eyes with her own bright sapphire eyes reflecting back to him. "In my vision I saw something else...another oriental man. I won't push I know how guarded you are of your past...but if you ever need anyone to unload things onto I'm here." El lifted her hand and was going to give him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder but held back. She was nervous of what other glimpses into his past she might get and she didn't want to take anymore information unwillingly.

A pall came over Aidoneus as he listened to what El was proposing now. It was easy to see why El had been made into a psychopomp; the stewardship of wayward spirits required the kind of protectiveness she was showing now. But admirable as it was, her request was too much to ask of her, for a number of reasons.

“I thank you for your offer… and given your role, I have no authority to stop you…” Aidoneus said softly. “But for your sake, I must strongly advise against it.”

El paused when she heard his response. She could understand how her own feelings for Kari could confuse him in her certain interest in this case. While that was part of the reason , she also wanted to support her fellow spirits during difficult times. Yes she was mostly support, but she could also be helpful on the offensive as well.

“I guess it is a good thing you are not my superior then.” She gave him a toothy grin. “Please let me help. Sometimes I am tired of sitting on the sidelines.” Her eyes held his gaze to show how serious she was.

Aidoneus let out a quiet sigh: the kind of quiet that no corporeal being could ever truly achieve, and that no living ear could hear unaided. El clearly would not be swayed, and to try to force her to stay against her will would be a grave disrespect and a terrible precedent to set. But perhaps they might come to a compromise.

“Then, with your permission, I would like to go with you.” Aidoneus replied. “I can’t be sure who we’re dealing with, but if they are in any way connected to the man you saw earlier, Kari and Stitches may be in more danger than they know.”

He could feel the wounds start to reopen again, and immediately withdrew his hands from the counter, but it was too late. A smudged bloodstain was now where his hands had been, and more flashes followed on El’s end:

The robed man with the jeweled key.
A bloodstained altar.
Roaring flames.

Seeing the stain, Aidoneus promptly covered it with his arms and recomposed himself, feeling the blood dry up and vanish once more. This was not the place for that. What if El’s customers had seen that just now?

“I’ll explain more on the way, but not here.” Aidoneus said simply. “I wouldn’t want to scare away your customers.”

Her sapphire eyes sparkled with joy as he respected her wishes to go and aid Kari and Stitches. It would be nice to see her again. She wondered if Kari even remembered her.Long ago when she had brought her spirit to Aidoneous to nurture and grow, they agreed to keep it secret. Aidon was her rightful guardian, but Kari still wanted to help make her existence as easy as possible since she never had a proper start.

“Of course. I would appreciate the help. Just like the old days when you used to train me when I first started. “ El removed her apron and hung it up. She nodded to her helper, Lizzie, a young mother who ran the cafe with her. “Lizzie I’ll be back in a few hours. Have to run some errands.” Lizzie gave a simple nod.

Meanwhile a regular customer who was also seated at the counter, busy with his laptop, had finally looked up. He was an editor and this was his usual space to work hig long hours. His vision had begun to blur from staring at the screen for too long. He quickly looked over the counter and saw a smear of blood. Panic over took him and his head began to throb, just as he rubbed his eyes the blood stain vanished. He took this as a sign he was working himself too hard. “Uh..Lizzie can I get refill on the coffee? “ He stammered, slowly closing his laptop and hoping some caffeine would ease his headache and a hot drink would comfort in. He would definitely be taking a vacation after this.

El had just begun to turn back around to Aidon when more visions jolted into her mind like an attack. These ones were more powerful than the last and she did not like the negative energy that filled her aura.


“Give a girl a warning next time.” She nodded to him as she stepped out from behind the counter and took him out to the back alley. “We can discuss freely here. I have set up a barrier for protection, no one gets in without my say so.”


Then knowing they would be teleporting to the new area soon, El let down her mortal disguise and shifted into her spirit form. Her skin was a translucent lavender with grey undertones. Her eyes were blackened around the edges, but her bright blue eyes were the same. Her hair was pure white and hung loosely around her shoulders. She wore a simple white dress with a matching cloak. A purple rose was pinned to the left side of her cloak. She clutched her iconic scythe in her right hand. “So ready when you are. But don’t forget you will need to explain some things to me. I am going into new territory. Don’t want to piss off the psychopomp or any local spirits there.”

“I understand.” Aidoneus replied. “You needn’t worry about angering your fellow psychopomps as long as you treat them with respect; all I would advise is that you heed whatever warnings they give you, provided they haven’t betrayed their duties.”

With that, the easy part was done. However, explaining who their enemy might be was far more difficult, for a number of reasons.

“As for who we may be dealing with… I must first apologize for whatever you may feel. The memories aren’t as painful as they used to be, but…”

The bleeding returned, but this time Aidoneus made no attempt to stop it or hide it. El had ensured that there would be no witnesses, and the bleeding would serve to emphasize his point anyway. As he called back all of the memories, a steady trickle of blood dripped from his wrists and formed dark red streaks on his shirt.

“When I was alive, I was approached by a secret society that claimed to have transcended life and death.” Aidoneus explained first. “I never gave it much thought… but in the last moments of my life, I discovered the source of the immortality they had claimed to achieve.”

The bleeding became heavier, pouring in profuse streams down his hands onto the floor and reddening most of his shirt, his skin turning an almost greyish pale color.

Being offered wine by the robed man at a social gathering.
Occult symbols painted on bare stone walls.
A strange liquid being poured.

“An elixir of life, they called it. But brewing it required extracting the raw spiritual energies of captured souls, draining them to almost nothing and then casting them aside when there was nothing left to harvest.” Aidoneus continued, more bitterly now. “I died trying to stop them, but my spirit escaped before they could harvest my energy as well.”

A white-robed Aidoneus lying on an altar, his wrists and throat slashed open.
Objects being smashed in a burning room.
The robed man and his cohorts lying dead on the ground.
People bound and gagged in small cages.
Hurrying to free the prisoners.
A building burning to the ground.

“I haven’t found any clear trace of them since that night, and I can’t be sure if the people in Texas are in any way connected to that old group… but if they are…” Aidoneus trailed off, trying desperately not to think of Kari in that kind of situation.

But it would do no good to stand here and complain all day. If El truly did intend to go and confront these people, then now was the time to take action. Aidoneus gradually turned his thoughts away from those fears, slowly but surely evaporating the blood again and returning to a more presentable state.

“I imagine a psychopomp would make a valuable target.” Aidoneus added frankly. “You will need to stay on your guard.”

El watched as the blood began to pour from Aidoneus . The memories hit her hard again and her mind’s eye saw everything that he let her to. Her head was swimming and her heart was burdened with these truths. She ached for the poor souls that did not get away. But she grew to respect Aidoneus even more, knowing he tried to make a difference. The Guild he started also was a safe haven for wayward souls. She also had a role to play in this, as it was her duty to help lost souls get to where they needed to. This was an evil that had to be taken down.

She also couldn’t help but worry about Kari. Even though his warning had been for El, she did not care what happened to her. She just wanted to protect the others.

“I will do my best to not be a target, but I cannot sit this one out. My safety does not matter. What matters is stopping this evil and protecting our community.”

“Let’s be off then.” She then banged her scythe against the paved ground and reality warped around them, bringing them through the spiritual realm to travel quickly to their destination. Within a few minutes they had arrived.

“Well, lead the way.” She told Aidoneus, her guard on high alert and her normal bubbly personality hidden away. El was serious and on the attack.