Squee
Member
Hevana
Where do you go when you know that monsters are real? What do you do with a power you don’t understand? Who do you trust when you can’t tell a soul?
For most people, it seems like everything is as it should be as they go about their lives in 2016. But then, most people are completely unaware of the truth of the world they live in—that by morning the monsters have usually gone into hiding. Only a few know of the predators that come out to hunt after dark—the worst of which are the vampires that are growing in number by the night. Likewise, only a few know about the supernatural abilities some of mankind have to defend themselves. Many who find out these long-kept secrets are quickly silenced by any means necessary, the rest know better than to speak of them. If they are lucky, these few Refugees will find each other and improve their chances at surviving, maybe even be strong enough to fight back.
Recently in Portland, Oregon, a handful of Refugees have been offered a place to stay in an apartment building called Hevana. There, they have the benefit of a protection ward that is maintained around the complex, as well as the safety and companionship of being with others like them. There are only two requirements for being a resident in Hevana: the first and most important is secrecy, and the second is helping in the fight against the vampires.
- Prelude
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Daniel’s aging gray-blue eyes stung as the wind continued to blow billows of smoke through the air in thick dark waves. If anyone asked, he would say it was the cause for the water in his eyes, and would even sound quite convincing. But he knew better. Even when the wind died down to allow the smoke to rise into the brightening sky in a twisted plume, Daniel’s tears were still there. The ache in his chest still choked out the air in his lungs, the pain burning as fervently as the flames that still licked at the charred remains of his house across the street. The fire fighters were of course doing their best to put it out, but at this point it was only an effort to protect the rest of the neighborhood. There was nothing left to save.
He had long since lost track of how long he had been standing there, but eventually he was distantly aware of the presence of someone next to him. He didn’t know who it was—he didn’t care who it was. Eventually the person spoke, but it was several seconds before he recognized the voice of his former partner.
“Daniel, I swear if it’s the last thing I do with my badge, I’m going to find out who did this,” Ed promised, his deep voice as grave as the situation.
It was a promise that Daniel knew was genuine—they had served together as partners in the bureau for more than a decade and that loyalty was lifelong. But at the same time, his promise couldn’t have been more empty. Ed didn’t have a clue who did this—no one in the bureau did. Daniel knew. Daniel knew exactly who had done this. He had seen first hand that the vampires in the horror movies were real.
He had tried to tell them—a mistake he would never repeat.
“I’ll clear out my home office and get a mattress for you—”
Daniel didn’t let him finish that offer. “I have friends I can stay with,” he said curtly. It was only a partial truth since it had been his friends who were staying with him before the events of last night. Now they too were homeless, but he wasn’t going to leave them.
Once again silence prevailed. He didn’t know how long it was before Ed spoke again. “Daniel, I can only imagine what you are going through, but I need you to look at me and tell me you’re going to be okay.”
The concern in his friend’s voice was evident, but it no longer held the same meaning that it once did. Once it was comforting—now it was tiresome. Daniel had never felt his age like he did as he exhaled as much grief and anguish as he could before taking a breath to answer.
“It’s just a house, Ed. I’ll be fine.”
He could see Ed turn to face him in his peripheral vision. He wasn’t going to let it go that easy and deliberately spoke over the sound of the ringing cell phone that started in Daniel’s pocket. “Dan... I need you to look at me. I can’t lead this investigation and be worried about a repeat of history.”
Daniel recognized the professional tone Ed had switched to, speaking now as a experienced police detective rather than an old friend. But Daniel was far more interested in his phone call than pacifying his misinformed friend with a bunch of lies.
He reluctantly turned, his weary blue-grey eyes meeting Ed’s. “I’ll be fine,” he repeated with firm assurance, and pulled his phone from his pocket.
“You still seeing Richmond? You’re taking your meds?”
Daniel was already stepping away and raising his phone to answer it. He nodded ‘yes’ to both questions and directed Ed away with a pointed index finger. “Go find out who burned my house down, Ed.”
Only once he was a safe distance away from anyone who could hear him did Daniel answer his call from ‘Sponsor’. “Yeah?”
“Yellow cab at the end of the street,” was all the voice on the other end said before it hung up.
Daniel looked up and quickly spotted the cab. He knew what was expected of him and walked the distance to the car before climbing in the back.
The driver was a younger man in his thirties dressed down and disheveled just enough to fool the casual eye into thinking he was a simple cab driver. Daniel recognized him—he was the contact for the higher ups.
“How do you feel about running an apartment complex?” he asked as he pulled the car away.
Daniel immediately frowned. “What?”
“Technically they’re studio apartments. Your official title will be ‘Assistant Manager’, which will give you all the legal authority you need to run the place. But that would be all just on paper of course...”
Daniel’s frown deepened, his hand coming up to run through his graying short brown hair as he tried to make sense out of what he was hearing. “Run the place? No, no—look, all we need is a house. Two bedrooms, four at the most. What the hell am I supposed to do with an entire apartment complex?”
“Well, I suspect most of it will stay empty for a while, but we have new Refugees in town and I’m sending them your way. It’s time to change our game. Last night is proof of that. We can’t just hole up and hope they won’t find us. It’s time to take the fight to them. Even if all we can be is a thorn in their side, it’s a start.”
Daniel didn’t have an immediate response. Part of him was ready for it—hell, there was nothing more than he wanted than to get his hands around the throat of a certain vampire. But there was a big difference between keeping your head down and going to war. They were right though—hiding and playing it safe was no longer an option.
He pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call Amara.”
This is a detailed, long-term RP set in modern Portland, Oregon. Players will be making human characters with supernatural powers, though I will accept one vampire and one ghoul under specific conditions. Characters will be living together in Hevana and fighting vampires as described in the overview above.
There will be combat, but we will also be doing a fair share of character interaction and development.
I wanted to do an interest check before making the RP thread, but I won't be accepting reservations for spots, races or powers. If you're pretty sure you would want to join, please let me know. If I get enough interest, I'll make the RP thread.
