By the raven,

All eyes turn to the door as a somewhat gaunt looking man stumbles in, adjusting his glasses and nodding grimly as he makes his way to the computers. Surveying the damage, he reaches into his oversized coat and brandishes a clear crystal. He begins working the crystal over the computer and hard drives, humming to himself as he works his magic, expounding - to no one in particular - about the benefits of such natural healing magics. The fragmented hard drives stitch themselves back together. The party collectively sighs, unable to accept that such a ludicrous philosophy could possibly allow him to work magic, but unable to deny that he was the best they had and he always got the job done. But God help him if he dared to mention memory water one more time...

i don’t even have words for this, it’s too beautiful

(The Underworld is like a mirror reflection of Earth, so the "sky" here would look like the streets of London - basically a bunch of ghosts are getting out into the real world so you have to stop them/find out why).

And then you see two forms descend in a bright flash of light - a sickening light. Their bodies are made of white light, wings brimming with energy. But their eyes are a deep and bloody red, exposed veins leak a viscous fluid which sizzles as it touches the stone floor. They look at you and they begin to whine, a bloodied mouth opening to a tar trenched tongue, mewling and cawing as their claw-like hands reach toward you. They paw at your chest and you scream, you fight, but you are bolted to the table and your mouth is bound in an instant. The man tinkering in the shop does not notice. Their claws rip into your chest, leaving flesh untouched. They reach and they reach and suddenly you feel a thud and a tug. And a tug. And a tug. Each pull takes the warmth from you, inch by inch until you see a golden ball of liquid flame resting in their fingers. They once again ascend, though you do not see it. Your world is filled with fire, a hunger in you so profound you devour yourself a hundred times and are not sated. In a flash, you open your eyes as if waking from a dream. You feel cold to your bones, to your core, and around you lies destruction and death. The tinkering man is at your feet, blood drenches your body and makes you feel wronged. A primal scream rips it's way out from your lips just as a woman's hand touches your shoulder - the goddess. She smiles and your heart eases it's cry. She opens her mouth to speak - and you wake up in your bed. You feel like there was something she told you but you can't remember.

One night, while you're out, you feel your change coming without you willing it to. Before you can stop yourself, you feel as though you've shifted into Garuu in the middle of London's streets. But much to your surprise, no one seems to notice - in fact the entire world is covered in a veil of pale moonlight and nothing seems to move, or it's all moving imperceptibly slowly. Your wolf soul beckons you to look at the moon and when you do you see that it is bleeding a black tar-like substance. You can feel it's corruption emanating everywhere and can smell the distinct stench of living death. But you also feel sorrow as the spirit of the moon reaches out to you to help it. Before you can do anything, you see two white and red figures descend onto a nearby roof and observe you with blood red eyes. You feel an alien pressure coming from them, something that speaks to you on a primal level. Instinctively you feel fear, but you also feel anger. With a screech and a flash of light they disappear, leaving you human form once more without the veil of moonlight. Everything seems normal again.

Before Awakening you led a normal human life (this backstory part is up to you) until one day you awoke in a golden city, it's buildings built of hardened light and coursing flames - paradoxically hot and cold. In this city you see a thousand sparks, some human shaped and others foreign to your mind, incomprehensible but real. You wander these streets for what seems like days until you come upon an ivory tower, your hair raises on end as you walk closer, anticipation rising as a dull throbbing in your chest gets louder and louder. As you stand at its steps it nearly hurts, but you feel right, like you were always meant to be here. Behind you, you hear the echoing steps of a dozen shadows and you know they seek to stop you. Pressing forward, you walk up to a great door with a lock made of ornate gold and inlaid silver. It opens for you as heat begins to radiate from your skin. Time passes in the tower, at points you climb and others you fall, there is no sense to your passage but you are always moving upward. At it's peak there is a slab of stone, immobile on a pedestal, and a knife. Without thinking, you take the knife in hand and carve open the skin of your palm, bleeding onto the pedestal, and you feel an energy course through you unlike anything before. Turning around, you now face these shadows that have stalked you: beings of light, angels almost, with blood red eyes and exposed veins. They scream at your, reaching out even as they fly toward you, grabbing, tearing. This power within you wells up, it strikes back at them at your will, gouts of white and gold fire sear their forms even as invisible bands envelope you and protect you from their touch. In an instant they're gone, but you feel as though you've fought for centuries. You wake up. Sweat drenching the bed you're lying in - a bed that's not your own. Around you you see four hooded figures and you feel a kinship with them, the fire in your soul ebs and flows in answer to theirs and you are in accord. Days, months and years pass as you spend time with these people. You come to learn that they control forces beyond your own control, but not beyond your reach. They tell you of arcana and of the orders they themselves head. You walk amongst a thousand others in a city of pure elation - power courses your veins daily and you find yourself capable of feats you could only imagine. And you understand the society you are a part of, take your place in it and live in a world of darkness now waiting to be filled with light. A torch you can gladly bear. And then you wake up again. A few months have passed since you first went to the tower and you are in a hospital bed. You still feel the power within you but the world seems dimmer, devoid of that rampaging energy from your dream. As you heal and go back to your life you also realize there never were others. You can no longer find them or the orders they spoke of and showed you. There are others out there that have magic, but none that can do what you can do. Was it a dream? A memory? A prophecy or a destiny?

The current story puts us in the shoes of a hodge podge band of supernaturals (something rarely done, though most races have their own societies) and their quest to figure out just what is going on with London. 

Baby steps

Today. Today... At the edge of our hope, at the end of our time, we have chosen not only to believe in ourselves, but in each other. Today there is not a man nor woman in here that shall stand alone. Not today. Today we face the monsters that are at our door and bring the fight to them. Today, we are cancelling the apocalypse!