#corinth.plot

You alone are life, and death to distressed mortals, Persephone. You are forever the nourisher, and the death bringer.

With the end of the festival came silence. There was no response from Artemis or Apollo; nothing to signify the twin gods had even noticed that Thargelia had been celebrated in the first place. To many, this was a relief. No news was always good news, and with the issues surrounding the veil previously, many took this as a sigh of relief.

Within the Vidalis estate, however, things were far from quiet. Anastasia Vidalis had remained unmoving for months. Kept alive by an unknown magic, many blamed the veil. She’d used her magic to keep it intact as long as she could, but it hadn’t worked. Now, however, Hektor Soteira stood within the room, a vial of blood within his hand. The next choice he’d make would create a chain of events that even the orchestrator of this could not stop. As soon as Hektor’s blood entered Anastasia’s bloodstream, she woke up. 

Her eyes flashed a shade of grey – and she lifted her hand, staring at it for a few moments. Pushing herself off the table, the woman found a mirror, studying her features before they drifted to Hektor’s. “Did you doubt me?” Gifting herself the power of shapeshifting, her features changing to her true form. Persephone laughed, pulling Hektor in for a kiss. 

“Of course not. Now that I have a body, I can finally get rid of the Olympians, and those who think they could tear down the one thing that’s protecting them.” Persephone’s plan had been simple. How long had she been whispering in Anastasia Vidalis’ ear? It was she who’d told the coven leader the names of the rifts. It was she who had made sure each and every eye would turn to them. They weren’t the true enemies; she was. The silly war on the veil wouldn’t effect her, but the rifts who inhabited Corinth Bay would die first. After all, Persephone was death and decay. Her name had been around before Hades’. She wasn’t just a daughter who was betrayed by Zeus; she was the Queen of the Underworld. Her touch was death, and she would remind everyone why she was to be feared. 

Perhaps Hades would die first, but that was a plan for another day. For now, she’d play the role of Anastasia Vidalis, back from near death. She’d start with the coven, and move into the city with an iron grip. 

It was Thanatos who noticed her disappearance first. As the god of peaceful death, his job was continuous, and he had been fated to shepherd Anastasia’s soul to peace. Now, she was dormant within her own conscious, Persephone having taken over. Thanatos could not touch the Queen of the Underworld, but he could affect witches – after all, Hecate’s loyalty to Persephone was well known throughout the Underworld. Witches who lost their souls and regained their magic would no longer gain their element; they’d gain his. Spirit Witches would make their rise. 

Valkyrie and Nidhögg were preoccupied as well. A ritual that would allow the original wyvern shifter to locate his descendants. His kind had been wiped out, and his blood line had gone dormant. The magic within his descendants would be few and far between. There were only certain families that survived, and when their shapeshifter magic was reignited, they would be the first wyvern shifters in centuries. 

The fear of death has seized the bay city, an effect of Persephone’s overwhelming presence. Nothing feels right, and nothing feels safe. Her powers are not limited by the veil; she is a goddess among mortals, and she was going to ensure they bowed to their queen.

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Ok i drauminom ek leit sem gegnom ein groman glugg þá helo feigo mennsko sveit, hver sjon ol sin eiginn ugg.

Fenrir’s curse upon the werewolves was a simple side effect. One that the original did not imagine could happen, but it did. A tether to all witches, as ordered by Hel, the Norse goddess. Ordered to help them at their desire, if a witch was to utter the spell passed down through generations. 

Phoenix sought to change this. There would be no tether, and the werewolves would no longer have anyone to answer from but themselves. After summoning his brother’s spirit, trapped in Niflheim, Phoenix learned the ritual and prepared to do it himself. But his actions would also have consequences, ones that would derive down to different species. Witches were being taken from, but werewolves were being changed. The species had been created through this ritual, and now, it was far too widespread for it to be reverted back. 

With the completion of the ritual, Phoenix burst into flames – and the magic was shot through the lineage of Fenrir, and those who had participated. While the coven had been blessed, the genasi were protected. Thanatos had blessed them once with curses, no light magic would touch them. Cubi were always those who took from others. Souls, magic – now, thoughts and memories could be stolen with a simple touch. Werewolves, now freed from the spell that would summon them, had autonomy – and the ability to ignore the spell from a witch with no adverse effects, as well as see the souls of the creatures they came into contact with. Elemental magic from a genasi could not harm them, either. 

Anastasia Vidalis has taken this as an act of deceit; as an act of rage and hatred, misplaced desires that now effected more than just whom the original phoenix thought they would. She has devised her own plans, ideas for the future that she would see come to pass.

OOC Information under the cut:

With the speech from Anastasia Vidalis leaving everyone at the party confused and concerned, it didn’t take long before people began to disperse. There was mistrust throughout the supernatural community, and simple confusion as to what drinks the hostess had consumed to make her put on a show like that.

No one was more agitated than Apep, who, nearly complete with the blood of each species, decided it was time to put the final stretch of his plan into motion. Soon, he would summon Hades, the god that gave him the ideas from the Underworld of the Greek Pantheon. They would have their moment, and it would be soon. The Veil would be torn down once and for all, and there would be no one left to stop them.  

Only time would tell if they would succeed.

OOC information:

The event is officially over!

We hope you enjoyed this wildt ride. 

"Dark veil’d Leto, much invoked queen, twin-bearing Goddess, of a noble mien; hear me, O Goddess, with propitious mind, and end these holy rites, with aspect kind.”

Anastasia lost the love of her life. Katerina, the departed Alpha of the Argos Pack was cruelly murdered by Hektor in the caves below the now-ruined Delphi Hotel. In her grief, she turned to her magic, how could she protect the ones she loved most? How could she save her precious Coven from suffering as she now suffered? The only children she would ever know. The former Oracle called upon the powers of Divination once more and beseeched Hecate for the answer to her query, for once, the Goddess replied: Apaturia. 

It would not be enough to call on the Goddess herself, the Coven would need to use the power of the festival to their advantage, and to call on Leto, patron Goddess of Motherhood, the Titan whose prayers went answered.

On the second night of Apaturia, Anastasia assembled the Delphi Coven within the Temple of Apollo and led them through the ritual that was intended to make offering to the Titan in an effort to gain Leto’s favour; unaware, that under cover of darkness, they were followed. 

Dionysus also wished to have a hand in the witches’ ritual, for the first time since he had summoned his kobaloi to Corinth, he gave them another directive: trick the witches, spill innocent blood. The pair of kobaloi wove their illusions over the witches as they cast their spell, too consumed by her magic, Anastasia did not notice the presence of the stealthy intruders until it was too late.

While she had intended for her coven to make humble offerings indicative of the harvest season, instead the blood of an innocent, Phoibe, spilled onto their alter and with Leto and Hecate’s gaze drawn upon them, instead of their favour, the Delphi instead earned their ire. 

Too late or too indifferent to interfere, the reapers of Corinth arrived just in time to shepherd the lost soul from this world and to the next. They parted with the coin that would allow the innocent to pass over the river Styx and be taken to Elysium. 

The day had officially passed from the twelfth to the thirteenth, and the Goddesses together reached across the veil and used their power to weave a curse across the auspicious day. Tuesday the thirteenth had long been the unluckiest day in the Grecian calendar, and that misfortune would only fester and spread. Each member of the coven was cursed with Mati, an evil eye. But that was not enough, any phoenix who had imparted their luck on another soul would have that luck reversed, and the person who had received the phoenix’s blessing over the last year would also receive the evil eye.

Typically annoyed by his brother’s interference, Ares, too, decided to enter the fray. For so long as the Mati was in effect, his sphinxes would have the answer on how to reverse it, but, this boon did not come without a catch. The sphinxes riddle still needed to be answered, but the answers had turned nonsensical, meaning, there was no true answer, and while the sphinxes of Corinth were at their own discretion on whom they should help, they alone hold the secret on how to lift the Mati.

”Mingle shades of joy and woe, Hope, and fear, and peace, and strife, In the thread of human life.”

The vast pressure of souls that were unable to cross over put undo pressure on the already tearing veil, Atropos, at last, stepped in. Unhindered by the will of Gods or Titans, she personally shepherded the souls that had built up across the city, though it was not without some cost. 

Irritated by the imbalance of souls that were entering the Underworld, Thanatos once more bewitched his genasi and summoned them to the Temple of Apollo. It was here that he taught them the secret to undoing the Mati. However powerful a curse, it was a curse just the same. Where blood had been spilled, blood fell once more, and at dawn on Sunday, the evil eye was lifted. 

While the coven managed to restore their connection to Hecate and appease the Goddess, they lost any chance of receiving a blessing from Leto. The Mati was not lifted by Hecate, but the reapers were once more able to guide souls of the dead across the veil and to the ferryman, Charon, without the personal aid of Atropos. 

Knowing full well the chaos that could ensue if the humans were allowed to keep all their knowledge of the past week, the Furies ordered their followers to alter the memories of those who had witnessed supernatural events. Instead of a series of freak accidents, they were led to believe that a gas leak caused a small explosion on Agia Paraskevi Street. 

Persephone, Daughter of Zeus, blessed Only begotten, gracious Goddess, receive this good offering, Much honoured, you, overpowered by Pluto, you are beloved and lifegiving, You hold the doors of Hades under the depths of the earth;

You’ve heard whispers. You’ve heard promises. The Cult of Persephone is thriving, and the only ones who stand against them willingly is the Argos Pack. What does it mean to be dedicated to a goddess? They’re here, and they’re ready to continue out their goddess’ plans. 

OOC Note: 

“My life, immortal though it be, Is naught!” she cries, “for want of thee, Persephone––Persephone!”

He was Epimetheus, the afterthought. 

Humanity tried to blame Pandora, but it was her husband, the brother of Prometheus, that knew what this evil would unleash upon the world. That Hope would follow closely behind and attempt to aid the struggling humanity when Pandora opened the jar twice. 

She was Demeter, goddess of the harvest, daughter of Titans.

When Persephone was taken, Demeter’s grief caused the earth to become barren, and winter came to be. With her daughter’s cult at its strongest, Demeter could not sit by and wait for both of the cult’s plans to finish. As it may be, she could only disrupt one. If the veil were to fall, her daughter would give up her need for vengeance. 

It was Demeter who gave power to Atalanta within the city, and in turn, she blessed the two remaining originals – Nemea and Phoenix – to fight back against the curses that had rendered them trapped. Nemea, in her lioness form, was given the direction to the caves beneath the hotel. Breaking down stone was simple enough, as she burst through in her anger and glory. 

It was Hektor who was waiting for the original, a knife to Katerina Alanis’ throat. The woman could not be changed, but that had never been the plan for the Alpha, and the knife never the real issue. It had been enough to stall Nemea, even as Hektor’s hand burst through Katerina’s chest with her heart within his palm. The bloodied organ was dropped, Hektor laughing as he escaped from the room. Nemea would give chase, though her hunt would end at the cliffside portion of the city, with the vampire no where to be found. Phoenix was left to deal with the prison itself and those that remained, his healing abilities able to fix the delusions from those who had ingested the tainted vampire blood, and the wounds the others had suffered. Once they exited the hotel, their magic was returned to them. 

The cult members who had taken the blood of the victims were gone, their faces replaced in those that had been taken with that of Hektor’s. When they recalled who was their jailer, it was Hektor– though they remembered the faces of the vampires that had taken them to the hotel. Markus, Ares, and Antony had their anonymity back. Persephone, however, had her single sacrifice. That was all she wanted, after all. Maven Lockwood lay motionless on an alter, the ruins of the temple within the caves serving as consecrated ground, who would awaken hours later with a set of fangs, heartbeat and magic gone. 

Epimetheus had received the taken blood of every different species thanks to the cult. His brother had created the veil to protect his beloved humans, and to protect the supernatural beings they had become. Epimetheus whispered to Pandora on earth that he had what he needed to repair it, and he would tell her what would happen in the near future – and what they had to do to fix it. 

Hades had his own plans. After all, Apep was on earth. With the destruction of the veil, the souls trapped within vampires would come to his underworld, where they belonged. Hades had done his part. He’d supplied a curse that he had taken from Scylla’s very essence, leaving a scar on all those affected by it. He told Apep what Epimetheus was planning, Pandora’s part in it, and what they needed to do. If Apep could bring the blood of every species within the city to Hades – they’d have a weapon of their own.

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Shed down a kindly ray from above upon my life, and strength of war, that I may be able to drive away bitter cowardice from my head and crush down the deceitful impulses of my soul.  – Homeric Hymn to Ares

Ares, son of Hera and Zeus, has always had anger in his heart. It was no secret that he was the least favorite, the most bloodthirsty of all the gods. Even Hera could not curb his desire for war, or his aggression that seemed to rule his life. Dionysus, the son of princess Semele and Zeus, had garnered Hera’s own hatred due to Zeus – but at what cost? It wasn’t Dionysus’ problem, to say the least. The god of pleasure and madness wasn’t built to ensnare himself with the will of the gods. Ares, despite his tactics, found himself enraged by the happenings on earth. Was it worth all this effort that they were putting out? For Artemis and Circe to become so wrapped up in their creations; for Atropos to intervene – why must there always be a side? 

Ares created his own side of the war. Dionysus, following his brother’s lead if only to bother him, also decided this was not worth his time. Being the god of madness, Dionysus wanted to add to the fray – a side that had a choice. He’d never had one, and the punishments carried out by Hera all those centuries ago seemed trivial compared to this. The veil was weakening, it was unstable. If they were going to act, now was the time. The other gods couldn’t control the creatures that they had made so long ago, and if releasing them into Corinth Bay was a disruption? Well, they were going to do it.

With Dionysus at his most powerful during the Carnivale of Corinthia, he released his Kobaloi into the fray. Creatures of madness and trickery, of glamour and magic, they were everything Corinth Bay seemingly wouldn’t need. They had no side, and they had no allegiance, even to Dionysus himself. He wanted the madness and the pleasure, and the freedom, that came without asking his followers to abide by the rules the other gods and goddesses of Olympus had put into place. Ares, deliberately ignoring Hera’s warnings, released his Sphinx into the city. Another creature meant to answer the burning questions that most would have, but not without a price or a wager. Borrowed from an ancient civilization from before them, and a goddess of war, the Sphinx was made anew in recent years, and unleashed back into the world in 1858 after the tear. Now, both the Kobaloi and Sphinx are being summoned to Corinth Bay, to instill madness into the hearts of those who deserve it. 

But it didn’t end there. No, it never would. Hidden under the vengeful and petty acts of Dionysus and Ares was someone else. Or perhaps many others. With a combined power, they sought to harm. Tricks would do nothing but hinder them, it was true pain and madness that they were after. With a whisper of curses and combined power, the strangers gathered at the former temple of Aphrodite, now long forgotten after the parade had filed through it, and called upon the hidden power of the veil, the power that was within their veins. A fog settled in over the bay city, though the Carnivale didn’t consider itself finished. The effects of this fog, however, was dependent upon the species it affected. And this was simply the beginning.

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