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Alec Hollenger, Knight of Human Brilliance, departs from his flat with the intent to finally tear himself away from the pressing concerns of his Chancel and deal with this dull-throbbing in the back of his head that he is sure emanates from San Francisco. Every time he gets the chance to think of it he feels slightly ill, a sensation he is sure has something to do with a threat to his estate. Unfortunately, reality conspires once more against Alec. There is a newsboy outside his flat hawking a paper (dated five seconds ago) that tells the story of the arrival of a large train at Penn Station, the Spirit of Progress. Tess, Duchess of Loss, is on her morning progression of learning the ebb and flow of passions within the City. Her progression brings her to Penn Stations, where she sees the Spirit of Progress at the station. Penn Station with its bold engineering and grand architecture -- steel vaults and glass, cut stone columns over steel – was demolished in the Prosaic world in 1964, but it lives on in the City of Lost Alleys. Quickly gauging the situation with the trains disembarking passengers and utilizing a lesser divination of Realm to ascertain that these travelers are from outside the Chancel, Tess exerts her miraculous nature through a Lesser Creation of Realm to bring forth a Custom service with appropriate lounges and waiting rooms. Then, meeting with a conductor from the Spirit of Progress, Tess and Alec arrange for the visiting Nobility on the train to disembark at Customs. The other members of the familia receive a telegram from a fair- headed girl (none of them are together) informing them of the situation and asking them to dress in appropriate formal garb to welcome the visitors. Sometime later the familia is announced into the Customs waiting room and are introduced to Marianna Duchess of Information, Lucius Darin Regal of Evolution and Malcolm Duke of Confluence. Marianna is a beautiful blonde woman dressed in a Victorian traveling dress of fine material with a large hat decorated in her design. Sprigs of Thyme and the white-blossomed thorny stem of Creeping Cereus entwine around tall, spike-like clusters of blossoms of a royal-purple Lupine. Malcolm is dressed in the garb of a courtier from Renaissance Florence, a courage of flowers indicating his design of a black circle outline (unaligned), with a green field. A black open flower (wisdom) of four cross-shaped petals (tranquility), crossing an open purple flower (nobility) of five separate petals (remorse) Lucius is dressed in an elegant pin-striped double-breasted suit, a corsage of an open flower with rainbow petals arranged in a spiral design (the flower of Evolution), set on a silver stalk of alternate leaves (the stalk of Evolution) Marianna introduces the members of her familia and presents a large bouquet of Abutilon, the Flower of Peace, to the assembled members of familia Akraisel. Lucius presents a bouquet of Catalpa and Dandelion to Tess. In the course of formal greetings and offers of hospitality our Powers learn that these three are Powers of Ineri, the Serpent of Progress, and that the Spirit of Progress is their chancel. Ineri is a Serpent of Aaron who concerns herself with the Estates of Metals, Industrialization, Information, Confluence and Evolution. Alec escorts the visitors to the Imperial Hotel, which has been designated the place to host visiting nobility (at least in this instance). They travel in a crystal powered ornate Trolley. On the way they discuss the Society of Flowers and the nature of Time. The other Powers gather together to plan the evenings feast and the entertainment for the length of the stay of their guests. Merlin, True King of the City of Lost Alleys, utilizes Realm miracles of Creation to bring together a legion of skilled chefs and to synthesize a unique culinary style for the Chancel drawn from many of the places and times the City itself is comprised of. Dinner, done as a garden party at the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, is a festive time marked by much music and merriment. Towards the end of the evening Nezha, Power of Desire, absconds with the Duke of Confluence and the Viscount of Story. At this point she had experienced both alcohol and LSD (thanks to Confluence) for the first time. Her plan was to pierce the gateway leading through the Mausoleum to the believed land of the dead. After sacrificing blood and spirit (3 SMPs) the way open and they enter an immense necropolis, perhaps mirror image to their own Chancel. Nezha, Merlin and their amused guest Malcolm, have passed into a Chancel that is a huge Necropolis, home of the Powers of Mausoleums, Ostentation, Pacts and Testamanets, and their enigmatic Imperator. Simultaneously Alec and Silvia, Duchess of Cities, make their excuses and depart to San Francisco to deal with this worrying premonition of Alec's. Exiting through parts of the Panama Pacific International Exposition of 1915 that exist within the Chancel they arrive in San Francisco, 2004, at the remaining rotunda. Utilizing a lesser divination of Domain, Alec and Silvia traverse through the city of San Francisco, seeing an amazing cross-section of the examples of Brilliance within its borders. At the end of the derive, they arrive at PsychoPharm, whose name speaks for itself. It is clear that familia Ineri wishes to form significant alliances with the newly ennobled familia Akriasel. While many of their estates have commonality, their may be other reasons. It is also clear they intend to stay until some resolution is gained to the issue. |
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