To all those reading the modern Mage storyline, this happens over chapters 17 & 18 and may take up contribution of 19 as well. I'll have sex More about that once the aspiration for 19 comes to me. I wanted to let everyone see a dissimilar view than Andrew's as well as cover version something that wouldn't have fit in the relief of the account based on the look that Modern Mage is being author as though Saint Andrew the Apostle is explaining his yesteryear to the lector. I used bother third person narrative and some first person in the chapter here to secernate what he was thinking at number 1 as well as allowing me to explicate some of the spine story for those who read this and haven't read the rest of the modern font Mage and universe news report. Hope everyone enjoys a different takings on thinks in the world of Magick and Monsters that I am attempting to bring you all into.

Gabriel Roarke had been a Hunter for over a decade, ever since he recovered after his home was attacked by a Vampire. To be more precise after that beast had killed his parents and then turned his sisters forcing Roarke to kill them if he wanted to hold up. He had spent six months in a hospital recovering from physical injuries he'd received from surviving that night and cleaning up the mess so that he didn't go to jail for murder. He didn't tell the police or the doctors, nurses and psychiatrist that the infirmary about the vampire because he didn't want to be placed in a mental institution either.

At the end of his time recovering from the combat injury Roarke was taken in by a young couple instead of being placed in a government home plate. While thankful for that he was diffident why they took him in until dinner of the first night in his new home. It turned out that they had known about the occult and realized that what happened to his kinsperson was a Vampire attack. They began to excuse that their folk had been a long tune of Hunter, dedicated to protecting world from the things most don't even believe in. They started training him, not just in how to crusade but hot to cogitate as well. Over the row of four days they had trained hum, taken him out on hunts and treated him as though he was their own child. They made sure that he also got a proper school Education Department allowing him to specify for college. Just after his eighteenth natal day while shopping for provision before he left for college the Vampire that had attacked his family tracked him down again. That night the lamia attacked again killing both of his defender. He killed the vampire that night himself. After that night he decided not to go away to schooltime but to take up search and recruiting new hunters to train.

For six class Roarke had been hunting and killing every occult being he could tag down. It didn't subject what form they were. He focused mostly in sphere where had found people disappearing or being murdered. He excelled at ferreting out those creatures that hid in knit spate. Over time her spring up sources of information on the web and made contacts with former hunters and informant. After that he started to get to a greater extent and more data on beings he couldn't have found himself. Information that told him not only where to observe these monsters, but what kind her was dealing with. He couldn't believe his portion in finding this seed of information. That root had created a job for him earlier today.

He got data about a prey in Las Vegas who was said to be a risk not just to the people in the city around him, but to others around the Earth. Roarke spent well-nigh of his time hunting in Ireland, Scotland and England but would travel abroad when there was a menace that would command the time and effort. He had hunted in the United States a few meter but had never traveled to Las Vega before. The informant contacted him anonymously as usual with the quarry selective information. The butt was a magic user, powerful at that. The documentation sent tied him to a bowed stringed instrument of slaying around the city and in nearby province claiming that he was using stock illusion to increase his mogul. The target address was provided with the other selective information, along with the significance that he was nearly completed the ritual substance he needed to be stopped quickly. Roarke booked passageway to Las Vegas and shipped the gear he would need by air freight the future day. Within the hebdomad he was in Las Lope Felix de Vega Carpio and picked up his gear. He would normally have taken metre to scout the objective and make surely that he could get in and out without any problem, but from the append information he just didn't have the time before this guy started killing Sir Thomas More people.

Roarke got to the location on the dark of February first to see his prey make it back at the house with a petite red haired charwoman that there was no info on in the files. The driver of the car that brought them there unloaded luggage and took it in for them. He could see from his military position various people inside the house when the door was opened. It looked like they had come back from some variety of slip and having a welcome dwelling party from his perspective. Roarke watched the business firm as the night went on. Around one or two in the morning most of those Roarke had seen left the house. He continued to watch the house until morning. right hand before sunrise Roarke got out of his motortruck and started to actuate toward the sign expecting the occupants to be sleeping after the late even.

He got halfway across the place to the door moving from cover to cover when he paused for a instant. He had about XXX feet of space to cross with naught to duck behind when he continued to draw near. He wasn't aware at that instant that the next few minutes were going to exchange sensing of world forever. He pulled the steel he inherited from his guardian before standing up. The sword was refuted to be a priceless artifact that can bar almost any kind of Magic used against the someone wielding it. He stood up and started across the open ground when the front man threshold opened and out stepped the man he was after.

Standing before Roarke was the monster that he was sent after, a person worse than any he hunted before. This man had killed more innocent mass that any early supernatural creature he had tracked down and had the haughtiness to step out and delight a sunny morning as though there wasn't a care in the world. Roarke's determination was one of his greatest and deadliest assets and upon seeing he target he charges intending to end this quickly. Within the first couplet of measure the man looked unconcerned, but it quickly changed to disarray as he dodged the golf shot of the blade and rolled away. Roarke firmly believed that this man was truly a monster simple by the fact that he was human and made the choice to destroy lives for his own gain. lamia needed rakehell to live and were soulless, werewolf were gaga uncontrolled beasts, other supernatural creatures hadn't even started out as human being and while they needed to be destroyed you couldn't book them to homo moral. When a man decides that he would rather kill for force, money or any other reason they made themselves worse monsters than those born to it.

The monstrosity he faced scanned the field, probable looking for assistance in fighting Roarke off in order to bring through his own low life history. He spoke up,"What do you want here ?"

Roarke's reply was direct and even, no sense of madness or anger in his timber. Roarke kept his emotions in check when he hunted. He didn't kill out of anger or revenge ; his need were as pure as he could reach them. He hunted to protect humanity for the behemoth as his guardians had taught him."Your principal,"was the reply.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it won't be that easy. Walk away, leave me and my acquaintance alone and I'll do the Saami for you. I don't want you utter and you don't want to die,"was the solvent from his fair game. Did this fiend really believe that it would be that simple to live ? Did he not see the decision on Roarke's face ? This man was a coward praying on the weak to gain power and sentiment he could simply sing his way out of his own demise.

"I've been threatened by and then killed advantageously than you, why would I walk away now ?"Roarke replied evenly. While he couldn't be for sure that he wouldn't be killed himself he decided that this man would not last to kill anyone else either. Roarke was determined that either he would survive this conflict or neither of them would. With that mindset he knew he was the most dangerous kind of enemy anyone had ever faced.

"Make your option and let's get this over with,"the monster relied with a want of solitaire. Roarke was more than than bequeath to oblige him if he wanted to die. He started to shut with the target again, staying on the balls of his pes ; trying to be ready for anything this man before him could do. The foe moved far faster than he was expecting and sidestepped past Roarke, opening distance that he didn't want to give him. He still knew that he wasn't faster than no of the other matter he hunted and therefor the freak would die. Roarke closed again quickly, swinging to tell apart this man's eubstance at the waist. His quarry dodged, dropping into a stoop and sweeping at Roarke's feet. Reacting instinctively he started to jump over his opposition's leg but was caught briefly by the onrush. He landed on his back instead of flipping out and away, turning the landing into a curl back away from his opposition. Roarke realized that no matter what else this target was, he was also a trained fighter.

"Why are you here ?"the man asked.

"I'm here to kill you, I figured that was obvious by now,"Roarke replied, letting his note grow dark and menacing.

"That part was obvious Jack ass. What I want to have sex is the rationality you chose to try and kill me ? I've never done anything to harm you or yours that I know of, so why am I your butt ?"Roarke was shocked by this reply. Did this colossus really have the bitterness to telephone him a jack ass ; and why was it that so many of his aim had tried to play innocent when faced with their own mortality ? Own up to what you do in life and assume your due was his ism ; if you can't you shouldn't be doing whatever it is in the first place. Roarke knew many would see him as little Sir Thomas More than a murderer even though he did what was needed to protect others.

Roarke closed again a little more cautiously and started his swing trying to bisect this man from shoulder to opposite hip. His enemy reacted quickly, stepping inside his orbit with a jab to the pharynx. Immediately after that his resister followed up with a stifle to the groin. Roarke's only thought was that this man didn't just know how to campaign he fuck how to win a engagement. Roarke couldn't call it dirty fighting as his guardians had stressed from the root that all was fair in love and war. His Step-Mother for lack of a unspoiled condition used to say"You can fight by the rules or you can fight to win. I would rather you fight to win."rightfulness after the attacks to stun him the foeman shoved him and backed up to gain some blank instead of following up which worried Roarke as he had no true up cognition of what kind of powers this man could bring to bear.

When Roarke got back to his feet his enemy was now armed with two long thin metal parallel bars. They were each about thirty column inch long and looked about an inch or so dense. When they closed again, Roarke had his target on the defensive. If for nothing else, Roarke had to chip in his adversary credit rating for being a fighter. They went back and Forth River for several minutes, both of them tiring but fortune was with Roarke as his target seemed to be fading faster. The man turned the mesa forcing Roarke to defend himself even more as he sought a way through his training and skill with the broadsword. As they continued this deadly dancing Roarke heard a sound toward his left but kept focused on his opposer. The man looked away toward the door as his body turned toward the place between Roarke and that phone ; that was the possible action he was waiting for. Roarke whipped the sword in from the position slicing a stock across the man's abdomen leaving a track of blood flowing behind its passing.

"Saint Andrew the Apostle ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !"a woman's vocalisation screamed. The target stepped back turning sideways to come at his position opened up from Roarke's attack on him. He switched the grip on the sword and drove it up towards the targets side driving it in just below the bottom rib. Roarke's spirit was lifted as he knew he was successful in his quest to kill the monster. Roarke's high spirits was short lived however as this monster stepped forward pushing the sword deeper into his harmonium. The man had a look that Roarke recognized from his own mirror. It was a flavor that said that while I may be dying but I'm taking you with me. Faster than he could react to the fire Roarke's articulatio radiocarpea were crushed by one of the metal prevention as the other contacted the side of his head. He was fine with dying as long as he knew that his target area had been eliminated before he could cause any more harm. Those were his dying thought as he lost consciousness.
********************

Those were some of the cerebration flowing through my head as I drove away from that Sami house recently that evening. Among the others were the facts that I wasn't dead as I should get been ; I had been knocked out at the mercy of a man I thought to be a demon. Not only had I not been killed for attacking him, Andrew and his wife Sindee had treated my injury and spoke to me. I didn't want to listen at first but I was a imprisoned audience initially. They had treated me better than I would throw treated an enemy. They were trying to win over me that not all supernatural beings were evil monsters, that some of them were even out to help protect the human race. They had reasonable line for their point of view. When I asked them why they didn't just reveal the truth to the human slipstream with the evidence they gather they told me that Humanity wasn't ready to consent the the true. I had no real number arguing for that but before I could continue had me take exception my own statement by asking how I found out about the supernatural man. I told him the intact truth of what happened to my family and I when I was only fourteen. By the sentence I finished telling them the story they simply cut the Mexican valium tying me to the chair and fed me while we continued to talk.

I turned out that I may have been helping to bring about the destruction of people that I made it my missionary station to protect. Andrew told me that he was Mage, not just some human who gained access to world power ; that Mages abilities were natural and not the issue of dying and destruction for office. I don't know what to guess of everything he has said because it is so different to what I have spent the in conclusion twelve geezerhood believing. When I left his household he told me to think things through, take the air some and I might get what I need as I go. When I get back to the hotel I intend to do just that. One of the things I have to reckon over is whether I want to get out this city in peace with him and his allies to protect it or to ally myself with him against this strange enemy he told me about. I pulled up to my hotel valet, dropped off the car and started walking, wandering and thinking. I had no idea where I was going as this was my starting time trip to the city of Las Lope de Vega, but I knew I could find oneself my track back or call a cab from a bar to get back to the hotel when I needed.

The more I wandered the more disjointed I became as the true statement I was shown was at war with the world I had known. It's not prosperous to confront the truth and your own misconceptions about it but it needed to be done. I kept walking, not paying aid to the streets, and just letting my pes direct the path I walked. My focus was on finding what I needed to in decree to work through the mental confusion I was feeling. Somehow after being out walking for an hour or so I found myself in front of the doorway to a club. Looking at the sign I saw it was called the cosmos. I figured I could use a drink and stepped toward the threshold before I even noticed the line going down the block. The doorman looked down at me as I stepped up and placed a deal on my shoulder to stop me from entering. That's when I noticed the contrast and realized I wasn't likely to get that drink after all.

As I turned to walk away I bumped into another gentleman stepping up to the door beside me. He was taller than me and dressed well. He was wearing what looked like custom tailored clothing. Black linen slackness, a cobalt blue silk shirt with the top two push undone, a linen paper jacket matching the drawers and a overnice pair or custom leather boots. He had brown hair and the palest Grey optic I had ever seen. What was most striking about the center is they looked like they had seen more account than anyone else I had ever know and he looked like he was only a duad years my elder. Between him and the doorman, I was more intimidated by this stranger. I realized that while I had been evaluating him he had been doing the Saami to me and I had to honour that. He held out his hand to me,"I'm Arthur Masters, and you are ?"

I reflexively took his helping hand and shook it,"Gabriel Roarke sir ; a pleasure to meet you."I'm not sure why I said sir except the feeling in his eyes and the way he carried himself seemed to require obedience. I've met a match mass that had similar comportment but nonentity that grabbed my attending like he did.

Arthur turned to the doorman,"Marshall, I'm going to take Gabriel here in as my invitee tonight, please add him to the list in the future."Then he turned to me."You look like you need to get a swallow and maybe talk about something. I own the placed and find it's conductive to thinking things through and finding what you need. number 1 drinks on me."

Arthur opened the door and waived me in ahead of him. It was such a gracious offer I couldn't bring myself to turn down ; besides my walking and just going where I felt I needed to be led me to the door. I decided to maintain an open mind and go in. When I entered I was struck with just how large this property really was. The bar area wasn't much great than any of the pubs back home base, but the bar area was just the beginning. There was a nightclub behind the briny bar through a soundproofed plexiglass wall the appeared to unfold an entire pulley-block. If the owner and the scope of its sizing weren't enough to instill me, the certificate organization would have. I've seen military machine instalment with less security and trade protection than this situation. I followed Chester A. Arthur to a big table in the heart of the briny bar domain that had a reserved sign on it. He motioned for me to sit as he took the chairwoman facing the door with his back to the bar.

As I sat down I read the sign posted above the bar and couldn't assistance the laugh that came out. It read :

The use of arm is strenuously discouraged, violators will be Penalized. For those of you who don't have two encephalon cells to spring a thought the above means"YOU PULL IT, YOU EAT IT ”, This Policy is strictly enforced

Arthur looked at me and where my heart focused. He turned a smiling on me that made me like the man even more. I could state from his eyes he had seen too much of what was out there and now from his smile that he didn't let what he saw break him down. I hope that one day I'll be able to say the same thing. While we were sitting there a diminutive young cleaning woman walked over to the tabular array with two glasses and a crystal decanter full of an amber colored liquid. She set the two glassed between King Arthur and myself before pouring the drinking. She then placed the bottleful on the table before stepping away. As I was watching her I could see her evaluating me a lot the same as President Arthur and I did to each early and I got the feeling that this woman would not only shoot down for Chester Alan Arthur but die for him as well. Whoever this man is, he not only divine deference he commanded loyalty as well. The woman was just over five foot and could have been more than 125 lb or so but she carried herself with the grace of a dancer or fighter aircraft and I had my shot as to which.

"Gabriel, if you care to join me, this is a very old and rare cognac that it would be my pleasure to contribution with Irish whiskey gentleman's gentleman such as yourself."

"Thank you Arthur, it would be my pleasure."I took the drink and didn't correct him about calling me Roarke as I preferred as I was here at his hospitality. I took a sip from my drink and felt the liquor burning slowly down my throat and warm me from the inside.

"So Gabriel, if you don't mind my asking, what wandering thought brought you to my door this evening ?"Arthur inquired politely.

I chuckled briefly before responding,"I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you. At the very to the lowest degree you may think I'm drunk or crazy."

President Arthur turned his head to face me and stared directly into my optic as he replied,"You may be surprised. I learned a very long time ago as a bartender that I needed to keep on an open thinker about the truth of the world. Besides, many people that show up here seem to let something they need to peach out even if it sounds a bit strange. Just because I sit out at the table more often than working the pose doesn't mean value I'm no longer a bartender. talk up about what's on your head, if it sounds a slight looney I'll attribute it to the drink and promise you a cab when we're done."

The way he spoke and the tranquillize acceptation in his middle made it easier to sound at least some of my thoughts. I figured I could compensate the liberal strokes without giving him the item that would put me in a mental establishment."Have you ever known that you were doing the right affair because you knew how the world worked only to give the Truth spell and flavor you over the head ?"I asked him.

"Since trueness is a relative term as we subscribe to our own perspectives ; that has happened to me on no to a lesser extent the a dozen occasions. I learned a new fact each time. noesis is about fact and sapience about true statement. The truth can change as often as we do as people. It's the facts that we need to learn that cause the truth to be re-evaluated. Take for model, as a kid I never believed in any of the monsters in the motion picture until I saw my first base one. I knew the truth was they didn't exist before I was exposed to the fact that they were very,"Chester Alan Arthur stated in an even and relaxed tone.

I wish I could say that I picked up on what he said flop away but honestly I just didn't,"That is an interesting linear perspective on accuracy and facts….."I fell silent for a minute as my brain was catching up on what he just said."Did you just say that you know that the monsters from the movies exist ?"

"Of line I did. However, I think you already knew that as well. More importantly, I believe that you are having an issue resolving the fact that while these being in fact exist, in the true they are not all monsters. Would that be a discipline assessment ?"

I hadn't been surprised by anyone in a tenacious time, but this day was shaping up to be one of new and put off experiences. I opened my rima oris to answer a few times and closed it again before finally being able to put a coherent thought into words,"You could easily put it that way. How did you bonk what I was thinking about ?"

Arthur smiled at me before he answered,"offset is that you wound up at my door and only those who need to find this place if they haven't been invited. Second is that you carry yourself as a warrior in a time and shoes where there aren't many left in the humans and since you're completely human I would wear you were a Hunter. The only way a Orion would arrive at my room access is if they were having some variety of crisis or faith or some other such issuing they need to go out. Third, and what made figuring out the first two easier is a mutual Friend gave me a heads up about a Pres Young man who he sent wandering with the idea planted on letting the walking usher him to what he needed."

I looked him directly in his disconcerting gaze and asked,"Saint Andrew the Apostle ? He knew I would wind up up here ?"

Arthur chuckled and replied,"No, he didn't know. He did trust your wandering would institute you here because this seat may provide you some on the perspective you need to form through you dilemma."He took a quickly aspect around the room."Since you have arrived here and sat with me you have been looking the space over. Tell me without looking again what you noticed."

I answered quickly and from memory as not to bias the solvent by over thinking thing,"I saw busy bar and nightclub with grave security measure standard in home to protect the place and sponsor from any possible situation including an encroachment by a uncongenial state. I saw people sitting around having conversations and potable without the grim mood you see in a lot of prevention and lodge. I saw the great unwashed dancing and smiling, moving on and off the dance floor. I saw that beautiful Thomas Young peeress who brought the cognac over judge me as though I may be a threat and saw that she was more loyal to you than I'd ever to be able to properly put into words."

"Very observant for the quickly glances you took. I will also make to secernate Sam about the compliment you paid her in your assessment."He smiled and continued,"Now, take another feel around. postulate your time and wait closely. skim just the bar room if you want to have a look through the glass to the club and tell me again what you see."

I did as he instructed, taking my time to do this right. I paid attention to every detail I could fleck letting my focus linger on the dance trading floor beyond the divider. I looked over the customers and the stave, looking for anything that I had missed in my CAT scan of the room when I entered. By the sentence I was finished looking around I'm surely my jaw was hanging spread out in shock at what I was seeing around me. I almost didn't believe my own eyes."There are all kinds of supernatural existence in here along with person ; Supernatural beingness that actively war with each other. I can see at least a couple of vampire shooting pool with a duad of lycanthrope over there. I can see some beings in here that I can't positively identify as to what they are. I don't understand how there can be so many supernatural beings in this one city, let alone this one construction without them trying to tear each other and the place apart as well. How is it that no one violated the policy above the bar ?"

Again a smile counterpane across Arthur's cheek,"I'll explain as unspoilt I can and maybe it will avail you resolve your own identity crisis. First and foremost, when I opened this post initially, it was just the bar circumstances that we're sitting in. That happened long before I knew what existed beyond the orbit of my globe. I later came to get laid a lot more about the truth and the facts of what goes on in this humanity. Among the different supernatural races there are traditionally station to meet between competitor clan or federation of tribes or whatever social grouping that species gather themselves in to. These plaza have many names selected by the race in question, but it is always impersonal territory and the rules are not to be broken. The more democratic term for these places is an Elysium. I would feign this to be a reference to the Elysian Fields from Greek mythology as they were a place of paradise exchangeable to heaven in early organized religion. Either way, I believed that while the dissimilar races had placed where they could forgather to work out takings between their own form, there was no place to take on with another race where they could peacefully discourse thing without it generating into another battue. With the abilities I had and have grown into overtime I turned my little corner bar into an Elysium for all who enter. My stave and I are more than capable of enforcing the neutrality if we have to, but most who come here just enjoy the luck to relax and be who they are, not what they are expected to be. call for the pool game you pointed out. They are playing duo, but it isn't Vampires versus wolfman, they're split evenly. That table in the corner over my shoulder with the two men playing chess and having a discussion ; one is a Mage and the early a Technocrat. Outside of this spot they are deadly foe because they have unlike beliefs. In here they discuss their belief in Bob Hope of opening the other soul's eyes to the true statement as they see it. And Samantha whose dedication to me you commented on ; I owe her my life several times over and not once has she allowed me to thank her or repay her with any sort of favour beyond the friendship we portion. She is senior than me by an order of decades even though she appears younger. She is a Warrior of exquisite accomplishment, a loyal and devout friend, a confidant and ally as well as a form hearted cleaning lady once you get to have intercourse her. Sam just also happens to be a lamia. The maiden think you need to think about is that just because some writer put something in a al-Qur'an because they didn't understand and were afraid of a little verity doesn't mean they were right. Now, don't get me ill-timed and take for granted they are all good law abiding people no matter what they are. Like world, the supernatural have some that are born adept and will always be so and some that are staring evil and like it there. The rest of the universe of occult being falls somewhere in the gray area and should be treated as they treat others."King Arthur's grin turned from openly favorable to one of roguishness. He reached up into the air next to me and made a sound like field glass or metal snapping then pass out like he was handing me something before continuing,"Now that I have completely broken your hold on reality I need to give my bartender a break while you think though all that has been revealed to you today. If you have enquiry or need to speak let me have sex. If you need a drive back to your hotel, George will give you a ride unless I'm free to do so."He stood to go to the bar and as he turned to walk away,"You're welcome here whenever you want."He poured me another glass of the cognac before taking the carafe to the bar with him.

So there I sat, a hunting watch in the centre of a nightclub full phase of the moon of the animate being I had hated and hunted for twelve years. I thought about seeing just how effective the staff could be a enforcing the weapons insurance, except that was not what I wanted to do. None of these the great unwashed had done anything to me and they didn't seem to be doing anything overtly evil as I looked around the room. I saw a couple of lamia feeding, but the masses they were feeding from offered their necks and wrists to the vampires in question. So there I continued to sit and attempt to reconcile my last twelve years with the final twenty four hour. Not an leisurely labor and one that had my ego taking a beating at the way I was used by my informant. As a lot as I wanted to blame it all on the mystery story person, I had to take the rap for not researching the object myself and allowing myself to be used as a artillery. I can't enjoin you how tenacious I was sitting there in that chair, struggling with the correctly answer to my brain-teaser, but the sun had risen before I finally walked out of the Existence and headed for my hotel.

As I walked down the street, I looked back at the gens of the post and found it fitting. It was a place for all those in macrocosm to go and relax without needing to fight senseless state of war, worry about being killed simply because of who or what you were. It was also a reminder of the gold to strive for ; a peaceable existence. I still had to go back to see Andrew and discuss what the former alternative he was offering. That however could hold back until the following day as I'd already been up around forty hours or so now and needed to pillow .