We head to New York to confront the council and try to weed out the traitor. I use the Phoenix Gate to teleport us so we can bypass the wards and teleport right into the council chambers. We arrive in gouts of celestial flame scaring the crap out of everybody. I just come right out with it and start accusing one of them of working with Uda Lahal and against us and we aren't happy about it. I scan the auras of those present as we do this and so far everybody seems to keep their cool. I then analyze the connections between everybody in the room and Uda Lahal. One of the changelings at least knows of the breeder and one of the Uratha knows him all too well. I turn to that Uratha and tell him I know it was him. He flat out refuses knowing anything and actually appears to be confused. I then confront the changeling to see his reaction and he also claims ignorance. The tension is starting to get real thick and finally the changeling jumps up on the table and points at the Uratha shouting "It's him!" The Uratha still has this bewildered look on his face and then the changeling begins to change form and a rhyme escapes from his mouth, it's Puck.
Puck opens one of his portals through the Hedge and makes a break for it. I use my newly created attainment and show up right next to him with the manacles Lord Oberon gave us. I managed to get them on him just as Hector showed up to give him a hug. Puck was not happy about this and conjured one of his suns right in the middle of the council chambers. He figured we would all try to save the vampires and let him go but that wasn't happening. Hector started dragging Puck back to the portal while Taranis sliced through the sun with Ragnarök dispersing it. As the sun unraveled something fell out of it and it was another Puck. We had seen this trick before and it wasn't going to help him. I told Hector to drag his Puck over to the other and we will just manacle them both together. As those in the room tried to get a grapple on Puck he went and turned the floor into silver spikes which enraged the Uratha in the room. One of them went into a rage and garoued out adding to the confusion of the already feared vampires. One of the council mages stepped forward with her own rhyme and removed the silver spikes. The free Puck tried to make a run for it but Danno got to him first. Things were looking good until Puck forced Danno to start hallucinating and he thought Hector was Puck and started attacking him. Luckily Danno knew we needed to take Puck alive so he wasn't using his claws on Hector. Puck was free again and now he convinced the garoued werewolf to attack us. Thinking that only one of the Pucks actually had powers I forced the two Pucks to switch positions but that didn't seem to do much. The rhyming was getting too much so I forced Puck to shut up with made me feel a lot better. I was still sick of this shit and I ordered the garoued wolf to calm down and convinced Danno he was attacking the wrong guy. After that Puck didn't have many choices left and we manacled the both of them and soon there was only one Puck left. Puck kept trying to strike deals but we weren't having any of that and we immediately went back into the Hedge and I used the Gate to bring us to the gates of the Palace.
The Palace Guards took Puck away and we were finally free of that bastard. We were brought into the throne room and again had to go through the telling of our deeds, which was now longer. Lord Oberon removed the contracts on our heads and considered his favor completed. He then asked if we would like some refreshments and time to think about our boons. Danno already had his ready and wanted to be the one who executed Puck. Lord Oberon said there wouldn't be an execution, instead Puck would be stripped of his powers and left back in the mortal world. Danno was disappointed so instead he asked to be made more agile. Hector asked for the knowledge to complete the gift he had been researching. Red asked for the ability to move short distances through space, much like my recent attaintment. Taranis asked for a very strange thing, he wanted to know if the Fae Arcadia and the supernal Arcadia were linked. Taranis wanted to see the watchtower. Normally this would be a crazy ass request, but these weren't normal times. Lord Oberon did indeed know where the watchtower was and would bring Taranis to it. I asked for the ability to change into a wolf so that I may feel the joys of running through the woods with Kat.
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We wait around for a bit and eventually a weathered looking troll appears and says he is to be our guide to the supernal Arcadia. He speaks in complete sentences which seems odd for a troll from what we have seen. He leads us to the base of the throne and waves his hand over it and a door opens. We start heading down a dark stairwell. With a little light we begin to see all kinds of strange animals in cages to either side. The troll informs us this is where Lord Oberon keeps the various creatures he likes to use in some of his games. Hard to tell how much time has passed but we eventually reach the end of the stairs and the troll opens another door. We can see through this door what looks like Arcadia but just slightly different. As we step into this Arcadia it becomes easy to sense that this is not the Fae Arcadia anymore but the supernal one. We ask how long it will take to make it to the tower and the troll, who goes by Acarus, says it could take a few hours or weeks. You don't find the tower, the tower finds you. I walk around for a bit with my sight attuned to time and fate getting a feel for the place. It is extremely difficult to describe in words the resonance of this place. I figure in true Atlantean fashion I will try to merely will the tower into existence. After a bit a large tower encased in thorns appears nearby. I am stunned and just can't help but to stare at it. To be in the physical presence of one of the Watchtowers is overwhelming. Eventually I get a the nerve to approach the tower, I am still leery of actually touching it but curious as to how it will react to my presence. As we approach we hear a booming voice say "Stop". Then right out of the wall of the tower a disembodied set of armor appears with glowing eyes. At first we assumed it was some kind of guardian but it told us it was a watcher. It has been here for millenia waiting for something but it didn't know what. It says we were early, as though it was expecting the horsemen to show up at some point. After more discussion with the watcher it became apparent that it was expected that the Horsemen would visit the towers during their time. This got me a little excited. The thought of being able to return to the Watchtower of the Iron Gauntlet was mind numbing. Every mage has this drive to return to the tower from which they awakened. We asked the watcher what would happen if we tried to enter the tower and sign our names. He said it would depend on our intentions. Red decided curiosity was a good intention and placed his hand on the tower and disappeared. Taranis soon followed and eventually I worked up the nerve to go in myself. The inside of the tower was just amazing. The energy in this place was intense. All along the inside were murals and depictions of histories, whether they were our own or from other times we couldn't be sure. Red though about writing his name and a quill of sorts appeared in his hand and he did it. He didn't immediately explode or anything so Taranis and I did the same. Since our intention was important I kept my mind fully fixed on the concept that knowledge of all the Arcanum was necessary to combat Donovan. Taranis and I just soaked in the resonance of this place but we eventually decided we should leave. The longer we stay here the harder it will be to leave. So we returned to the troll Acarus and he stares at us a little oddly, says he has never seen someone get the tower to appear so quickly and never seen someone go into it. We head back into the stairwell and regular Arcadia and return to the throne room. Just before we reach the edge Acarus gives us all a strange look, screams and just poofs away. We all look around for some kind of enemy but find none. We then begin to notice that the three of us who signed our names on the tower have a strange aura about us. We now have what the Changelings call a Fae Mane. They are similar in concept to the mage nimbus but a little more exact. Taranis is encased in lightning, kinda looking like Odin. Red is a shadowy wolf with green eyes. Mine is demonic in nature, horns and all that, with rusty iron flames. I kinda like it. We make our way up the stairwell and back into the throne room. There are a lot of gasps and hushed whispers as we enter. Apparently the Fae can see our manes. Even the guardians can't help but steal a look. We thank Lord Oberon for his hospitality but we must excuse ourself and return to our world, we have business to attend to. Lord Oberon is not present but we still say this out loud because I have a feeling he will hear us no matter where he is. As soon as we leave the throne room I use the Phoenix Gate to bring us home.
Oopy was glad to see us, he was scared because we have been gone so long and Kat was apparently in the mood for ice cream and he didn't know what to do. We figured we were only gone for a few hours even with the weird Arcadian time but apparently we have been gone for 3 days.
Cygin
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Well it has been a couple crazy days. To think about the fact that I have not only physically been to the Watchtower of the Lunargent Thorn but that I have signed my name upon it is mind blowing. My ego wants me to dangle this fact in the front of every other mage, but that is not truly why I did it. Attuning my soul to another tower is going to help us in this fight. We have already begun to see how the 5 towers are intertwined with the Horsemen. There was a point where all the towers existed in this world before the Oracles had to hide them to keep them out of the reach of the Exarchs. In a strange way this feels normal, its as though my soul was prepared to attune to another watchtower. And oddly enough I'm not really thinking about the watchtower right now, I'm more excited about going for a run through the woods with Kat as a wolf. And I must admit there are other things I am curious about exploring as a wolf. Mastigos Goggles, engaged.
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