conversations.from: system
conversations.value: A lot can happen in a thousand years. 
  
  Once upon a time, when the veil between the worlds was thin, it was an everyday occurrence for otherworldly creatures to wander onto our plane of existence. Magic and wonder touched our lives, giving rise to our myths of sparkling Fae paths, nymphs, divine oracles, and celestial dragons. Darker things came through, too, glimpsed in tales of Fae bathing in human blood and monstrous serpents gnawing at the roots of the world. We knew how to deal with spirit-creatures and nightmares back then. The solutions were encoded in symbolism and mythic narratives, embedded into our oldest stories: how to bind demons, how to exorcise phantoms, how to appease the guardians who defend the gates between this reality and the next and guard our world against horrors unimaginable. 
  
  So the veil between the worlds thickened, and otherworldly visitations slowed to a trickle. A Guardian was appointed to defend the gates, to be replaced every thousand years.
  
  A thousand years is a long time, though. Plenty of time for the old truths to fade into legends, and even those, barely remembered. Enough time to forget.
  
  Maybe that's why there were no omens to warn us. No portents, no prophecies.
  
  That night, you came home from work, or classes, or another long day on the merciless streets. You turned off the computer, or you plugged your cellphone into its charger. Tomorrow would be another day. You'd fall into bed, the lights would go out, and you'd wake up tomorrow with your life set on repeat. The usual routine.
  
  Your dreams, however, had other plans. Or, it was something bigger than your dreams: processes first set into motion at the dawn of time, cosmic machinery that has ground on through the ages and remembered what we've forgotten.
  
  You know this much: our world had a guardian, once, to patrol the boundaries that locked the nightmare creatures of the other planes outside. That guardian has been slain. *They* can tell, the primal horrors of our ancestral memory, entities of unending malevolence and consuming appetite. They've gathered where the veil is thinnest, poking, prodding, clawing, looking for a way through. If the veil falls-- well, that's encoded in the old stories. There are myths about wolves devouring the sun and corpse-goddesses reigning over frozen planes of eternal agony. However, there are other myths, too: stories of human heroes harnessing the power of gods and nature, performing heroic deeds and crafting miracles.
  
  The veil between the worlds is tearing. You may be the last, desperate hope for its repair-- or the herald of its destruction and a new age.
  
  NOTE: Each character also stars in a one-on-one game that tells the story of his/her waking life. Links below!
  
  **Alcippe**: https://storium.com/game/the-veil-is-tearing-alcippe
  
  **Araceli**: https://storium.com/game/the-veil-is-tearing-araceli
  
  **Daniel**: https://storium.com/game/the-veil-is-tearing-daniel
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Novice Vampire: These are your early nights as a vampire. Eternity sprawls before you. Lust steams within.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Alluring
  
  Suggested Weakness: Naïve
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Ancient Vampire: Many lifetimes lay fading behind you in the dark. Every night’s another risk that it all ends... at last.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Wise
  
  Suggested Weakness: Heartbroken
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Young Werewolf: You’re just learning what it’s like to be a lycanthrope: terrible power and great torture.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Agile
  
  Suggested Weakness: Angry
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Aged Werewolf: You’ve survived as a werewolf long enough to know the life’s mix of passion and guilt.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Tough
  
  Suggested Weakness: Guilty
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: New Ghost: Death, it turns out, offers no escape from this world when you don’t know how to let go.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Witty
  
  Suggested Weakness: Ephemeral
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Old Ghost: You’ve now been dead longer than you were alive. You’re getting pretty good at it, sadly.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Perceptive
  
  Suggested Weakness: Stubborn
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Green Wizard: Meddling with magic felt rebellious at first but now you see it’s a lot like school, except deadly.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Educated
  
  Suggested Weakness: Crass
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Practicing Wizard: You’ve been a practicing wizard for many years now and you still wonder if the money’s worth the trouble.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Wise
  
  Suggested Weakness: Doubting
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Rookie Monster-Hunter: Strange and dreadful things tread the world. You do business with the bad to hunt down the worst.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Strong
  
  Suggested Weakness: Naïve
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Veteran Monster-Hunter: If there was any way to quit this job, you might take it, but the only way to avoid being hunted... is to hunt.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Stealthy
  
  Suggested Weakness: Obsessed
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Strong: You’re physically strong and probably look it, whether you’re lean or built.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Agile: You’re quick and nimble, perhaps superhumanly so, whether you look it or not.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Perceptive: You’re perceptive, perhaps from years of watching and observing. Nothing gets past you.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Tough: Your hardy body has seen a lot of pain and you’re still here to suck up more.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Wise: You have a brilliance that comes from experience and intuition more than study or memory.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Charming: With that smile, backed up by your silver tongue, it’s hard not to like you.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Witty: Your mouth is sometimes quicker than your mind but you’re a master of making that work for you.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Educated: You know things that ordinary folk don’t know, be it magic or science, and that gives you power.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Alluring: You don’t have to say anything. It’s in that smile, in the way you move. It’s almost hypnotic.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Stealthy: Subtle and sneaky. People don’t often notice you until you want to be noticed.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Crass: You’re blunt, rude, or even gross sometimes. Maybe you don’t care what others think, maybe you don’t know better.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Doubting: Your abilities are sometimes diminished and dampened by your greatest enemy: yourself.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Angry: Your blood sears your veins and when you lose control, you lash out.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Ephemeral: You can only act on the physical world when you concentrate; otherwise you’re just an image and a voice.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Naïve: You think you know how things work. You think people are basically good. You’re wrong.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Guilty: Something you did gnaws at your heart and screams nightmares at you when you sleep. It’s holding you back.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Stubborn: Are you sure you’re right or are you just unwilling to admit when you’re wrong? Either way: stubborn.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Proud: You’ve come too far, done too much, worked too hard to put up with this shit from people like this.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Obsessed: When you get an idea, a mission, or a fear in your mind, you can’t just let it go.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Heartbroken: Someone broke your heart and you’re not willing to heal, not yet, because the pain’s what you have left.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Reveal Your Love: Love leaves you open to pain. The only thing worse than keeping it inside is being rejected. Will you take that chance?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Something Worth Having: Living alone is hardly living. You need allies to watch your back. You need friends to fight for.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Air of Secrets: Even if you think you don’t know anything good, act like you do. Secrets are why they keep you alive.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Deny Your Love: It’s not love, it’s infatuation. It’ll go away. It’ll go away because it’s not love, it’s infatuation.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Be Humane: Don’t let the worst of you take over. Don’t become a monster. Be better than those monsters.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Be the Monster: Don’t let your weakness hold you back. Don’t let humanity slow you down. The monster is powerful.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Achieve Power: You’ll never know safety until you know power, territory, control over others. It’s the way of the world.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Achieve Control: Control is its own reward. You deserve it. They deny you out of fear, out of jealousy. Don’t stand for that.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Heal the Hurt: Your heart bears a wound that might heal if you could only stop meddling with the scars.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Spread the Hurt: They’ll keep hurting people until they know — really know — what it’s like to be hurt themselves.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The Secret of Hank Farrow: What’s the secret behind the photo of Hank Farrow, ancestor of the Farrow hunter family?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Get Victor’s Keys: Victor Castle’s keys aren’t where they belong. Get them for yourself or return them to him. They’re worth a favor.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Brickhand’s Mission: The vampire enforcer, Brickhand, has a secret mission. What is it? Who is he out to hurt?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Does the Diary Lie?: The Damned Diary, in Alistair’s possession, seems to say you did something bad. Does the diary lie?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Brian Becker Is Missing: The mortal, Brian Becker, is missing -- maybe dead -- and Delia Becker’s paying handsomely to know what happened.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Investigating Brigid: Just what spells has Brigid been casting for mortals around town? Is she someone’s scapegoat?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Get Blood: Syrupy, hot, metallic — drink it in.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: See Edgar’s Files: The P.I., Edgar Crease, knows things it would be good to know.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Rampage: Bring down the rampaging werewolf in a way that doesn’t get you killed — by it or its old friends.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Dead In Chains: Who left a vampire chained up beneath the city? Why? What are you going to do about it?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Straight-razor: Shiny and sharp.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Damned Diary: The so-called Damned Diary captures thirteen confessions a year, out of the air, and records them in old script.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Magic Words: Scrying: With these magic words you can name a target and conjure a spying eye in their presence. Hope they don’t notice.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Magic Words: Summoning: These magic words turn any circular portal (like a manhole) into a passage for a ghost or spirit you invoke.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Wizard Blood: A warm vial of wizard blood. A drink of it either gets a vampire high or gives her magic powers. Depends who you ask.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Silver Bullets: Big, blunt bullets, wrought in silver. You know what they’re for.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Wooden Stake: Angular, sharpened, and ready for work.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Machete Etched with Alchemical Symbols: Someone thinks this machete is magical -- that it stops bullets. Maybe they’re right.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Keys to Victor’s Hog: Victor Castle’s favorite bike’s spare keys. Are these where they belong?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A Photo of Young Lovers: A photo of youngsters in love, circa 1940. Written on the back it says “Hank Farrow and Edith.”
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The Blood Red Club: Blood Red is a cheap, moldy old club deep in a part of town rotten with vampires and ghosts.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Petite Mort: This hot new club opened near Rathbone & Highland and caters to the living -- all the living. It won’t last long.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Rathbone and Highland: This dangerous intersection marks the point where werewolf and vampire turf touch -- and have for fifty years.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Highland Ave Trailer Park: Young werewolves grow up here and pretty much everyone knows it.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Edgebrook Garden Cemetery: Ghosts guard the graves of vampires, sleeping off the centuries, in this old Victorian cemetery. Dangerous place.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Atop the New Sussex Tower: The New Sussex Tower is a gothic skyscraper capped with swooping buttresses where vampires dance.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Crawford Street Subway Stop: Dank and rotten, this scary stop is a favorite dead-drop and graffiti spot for modern monster hunters.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Deep Underneath Miller’s Pub: In the old foundations of the city, deeper than parts of the subway, is an old private wizard’s club.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Grove Ave Rowhouses: Like a dead part of the city, haunted by ghosts straining to hold onto the world with both hands. Don’t go alone.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Junkyard: Victor Castle’s domain. Here he holds court for visiting werewolves and passes judgment on crimes in his turf.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Shed the Ghosts: You’re being followed by echoes of the dead. They’ll watch where you go and they’ll remember. Get rid of them.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Throng: The crowd’s getting surly, angry. Show them their place or slip out before things get ugly.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Ramshackle Traps: The Highland Ave trailer park is trapped with tripwires and alarm bells. Get around them if you can.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Angry Ghosts: Poltergeists don’t just crack headstones and throw rocks. They bend flesh and break bones.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Rooftop Escape: Do you dare take the escape route they don’t think you’re brave enough to try?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Blend In: Try to breathe like a normal person, like the living, like you belong in this crowd.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The Evil Eye: Can you dodge the surveillance of a wizard’s ward? Is that even possible?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A Chase Down Dead Streets: This part of town’s a warren of rotten allies and broken blacktop. Watch your step.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Fires: The whole block’s on fire. The populace burns hot, flipping cars. They’d grab pitchforks if they could find them.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Junkyard Dogs: They say Castle’s hounds come from Hell itself. They see things. They’re smart. Don’t piss them off.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Victor Castle: Biker, heartbreaker, werewolf. Victor rules from the Junkyard he owns. He might be the oldest werewolf in the city.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Brigid Douglas: An unpopular but skilled wizard, Brigid is on the outs for selling spells to customers not vetted by the Conclave.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Alistair Wright-Smith: Alistair’s a new name, just a century or so old. This vampire’s old; they say he knew Emperor Nero, back when.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Brickhand: This guy’s an enforcer for Alistair. Devoted, maybe in love with him. Huge dude, takes no shit.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: One High Werewolf: 300 pounds of angry muscle in a speedy panic. No way it doesn’t kill someone.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Edgar Crease, Private Detective: Supposedly Edgar washed out of wizard school and now works cases for monsters to pay the rent.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Delia Becker: This young mortal woman is looking to sic a monster or some magic on her problems. Who will help her?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Starved Vampire: Bone-thin and starved nearly to dust. Crazed from years of isolation chained up in a basement. Who did this?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Jean Farrow: The Farrows were a famous hunting family in town in the 1970s. Jean’s the toughest of a new generation.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Drake: Officially he’s the wizard in charge of the county, feared by all. Secretly? They say he’s a dragon -- an actual dragon.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Spark of the City: You can't explain it. But every now and then, something bigger seems to take hold of you. And then shit gets really weird.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Demonic Power: The duke of Hell is a force to be reckoned with.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Knife (Otherside): A thin blade carved out of what appears to be blackened bone. The blade is carved with the symbol of a strophalos.  
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Light-Bringer: You've honed your skills in the Otherworld, and you're ready to bring them to bear.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Vengeance: They took someone or something from you. Time to return suffering for suffering.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Save a Loved One: These entities are threatening the people you hold most dear. How far will you go to keep them safe?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Duty: You are obeying a higher call. This dire responsibility has been given to you, and you will see it done.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Arcane Knowledge: You seek ever more arcane secrets and ever more obscure mystical understanding. The answers are only half as interesting as the new questions.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Battle Inner Demons: For you, the battle against the forces of darkness is only an echo of the battle raging inside yourself.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Find a Purpose: Listless and uninspired in your everyday life, you have finally found your calling. Is it duty, escapism, or a desire for martyrdom that drives you to such lengths?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Be the Monster: The darkness is rising-- imagine if you could take all that power and make it yours. Don’t let your weakness hold you back. Don’t let humanity slow you down. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Iron Will: Through training or character, your willpower has evolved into an iron, unbending thing.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Weak-willed: You give in easily, and you have trouble standing your ground.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Otherkin: You might inhabit a human body, but your inner spirit takes another shape entirely. You wear your skin like an ill-fitting costume.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: 21st Century Mage: You have a mystical connection with modern technology. Your magic looks like circuits and smells like gasoline.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Sorcerer: A ceremonial magician, a la Crowley and the Key of Solomon. You’ve studied long and hard to achieve this level of disciplined mastery.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Channeler: You are more receptive than most, easily providing a receptacle for such entities as spirit animals, angels... or even gods. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Experienced: You've been down this road before, or one like it. You have some ideas about how to avoid the worst pitfalls.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Intuitive: Logic can only take you so far. You understand the unspoken mythic symbolism of spirit and nightmare.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Uncommon Power: Your discipline has paid off. Though requiring concentrated effort, your magic can effect minor immediate change in the physical world. 
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Faith: 'Believe' isn't the right word, because you know with a conviction beyond knowing that your Higher Power is real. Your faith sustains and empowers you in the darkest moments.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Shaman: Healer, mystic, spiritual warrior, walker-between-worlds. Your knowledge is intuitive and experiential, never from books.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Witch: Your family has passed down these traditions for generations. Magic is in your blood.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Priest/ess: Priest/ess, oracle, servant, or hierophant, you are devoted to one or more of the Stronger Ones. Or, one of Them simply decided you were Theirs.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Otherside: The Road: A long stretch of highway surrounded on either side by dark forest.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Meet n' Greet: This is no ordinary dream. You've awoken on the Otherside, and others seem to have awoken alongside you.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Shadow Creature: Something's moving out there. There's one thing that you know for sure: it isn't human.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Mind Mites: My, what a lovely brain you have. We couldn't help but notice. Don't suppose you'd like to spare some?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Defenses Breached: The mind mites break through your defenses. At least one of you suffers a significant injury.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Dr. Lewis (optional): The good doctor is non-responsive and looks to be on the verge of fainting. He doesn't seem capable of taking care of himself right now.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Fight or Flight (Alcippe): Did you see that thing?! Oh crap. Oh hell. Hey, is it coming this- it's coming this way.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Fight or Flight (Araceli): Did you see that thing?! Oh crap. Oh hell. Hey, is it coming this- it's coming this way.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Fight or Flight (Daniel): Did you see that thing?! Oh crap. Oh hell. Hey, is it coming this- it's coming this way.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: City Shaman: The city is not a mere lifeless construction, but it has a spirit of its own, as a whole an in parts in each neighborhood and building.  Those who can feel the spirit know where it is at peace and where it rages, where it fights with nature and where it merges.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Burned Out: It's tiring trying to fight the good fight every day-in, only to lose every day-out.  What small victories are achieved in way battle are swept away in losing the war.  It's so tempting to just stop caring and go with the flow.  Let someone else make the decisions and let go of the responsibility.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Find a Purpose: Listless and uninspired in your everyday life, you may have finally found your calling. Is it duty, hope, or honor that calls?  Or escapism, servitude, or a desire for martyrdom?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Psychic Medium: Many people have wondered about psychic phenomena for ages. Some believe, while others don't. You, on the other hand, don't have an option. Spirits contact you rather frequently and, no matter how much you want them to leave you alone, they refuse to do so. You may have some minor precognitive abilities because of your tie to what spirits call the Otherside.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Intuitive: Logic can only take you so far. Your unusual view of the world means you understand the unspoken mythic symbolism of spirit and nightmare.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Shaky Sense of Reality: Sometimes it’s very, very apparent that you don’t always have a firm grasp on reality.  
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Battle Inner Demons: For you, the battle against the forces of darkness is only an echo of the battle raging inside yourself.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Channeler: You are more receptive than most, easily providing a receptacle for entities. Although right now the notice stands: **OCCUPIED**. You're also somewhat of an oddity: able to retain self-control and awareness.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Behavorial Analysis: You've done your research on human behavior, especially the nightmarish and criminal. You can somewhat read and predict how they think.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Doubting: Your abilities are sometimes diminished and dampened by your greatest enemy: yourself. You worry about selfishness, hurting others, losing control-- you name it.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Battle Inner Demons: For you, the battle against the forces of darkness is only an echo of the battle raging inside yourself. A very particular one with a very particular name.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Experienced: You've seen parts of the Otherside most others haven't seen. And you've learned how to survive there.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Severe Hemophobia: Fear of blood. You become nauseous at the sight of injuries and cannot handle being around violence.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Once burned out... : Burned out. Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt. 
  
  But you know what?  I got the damned t-shirt, kid. I learned a thing or two.  The t-shirt says, "Experienced".  
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Snapped: Out of Sanity Points.
  
  The sight of eldritch horrors, combined with injuries, blood loss, fighting off surreal insects monsters, and being Elsewhere...
  
  Time to Panic.  Retreat into Madness.  Eject, eject, eject!