Fantasy The Albert Branch (Lore Page)

[The Mad Queen]

History
​

Pre-1500s: Due to many historical records before the 1500s being lost or outright destroyed, we have summarised a brief history of activity in England based on what we know.

-Prior to the Roman's invasion of Britannia the Celts and many supernatural creatures lived together. The construction of Hadrian's wall can be attributed to keeping the Roman Empire safe from some of these creatures. The bones of giants, Fey and other creatures can be found in Scotland. Some of these we have been unable to identify, leading us to believe that the Romans pushed a few supernatural races native to Britannia to extincition.

-Some invading Viking Clans possess a unique gift, these shape-changers are believed to have been Werewolves. Despite their power, they were pushed back by Alfred the Great who we can only theorise either knew of their weaknesses or was some kind of supernatural creature himself. Prior to the Viking raids there is no record of any living in what is now the United Kingdom.

War of 1066: Harald Hardrada, a known Werewolf and a member of a long and powerful Werewolf bloodline is killed during the battle of Stanford Bridge. His death not only marks the end of his bloodline but also the end of the Viking age.

1586-1588: Queen Elizabeth I is contacted by a collective group of Vampires, Werewolves and other supernatural beings including Sleepwalkers and a small group of Fey. They have mostly remained hidden, never wanting to reveal themselves to anyone let alone the monarchy due to a fear of the church. Given her father adopting a new religion they almost reached out but were held back during her sister's bloody reign.
Knowing of the conflict between England and Spain they sought to take advantage, using their power to help Britain while at the same time gaining favour with the crown.
This collective sought to create their own micro-society as the groups of various beings had been divided or on the run for centuries.

Elizabeth chose to keep this a secret for a fear of the response from the church among other powerful forces active in the country and from outside sources.

1588: The Spanish Armada is defeated as the supernatural beings manipulate the weather. Elizabeth honours her end of the deal, setting aside an area underneath London to be used as a shelter.

1590-1700: The collective starts building a city beneath London, offering services in smaller scale during the Golden Age. When Elizabeth died in 1603, there was fear among the Undercity that the following monarch would break the agreement or force them into another war. However, James I decided to not get involved in Undercity politics

It played a small part in stopping the Gunpowder plot, which earned James I's respect and in return he left the city alone, allowing it to continue in growth while he kept it a secret mostly to himself out of paranoia. When he died, and Charles I took over there was more turmoil in the lead up to the English Civil War. As the war was turning in favour of Oliver Cromwell, Charles' forces reached out to the Undercity but they refused. The war was a political matter, and as per their agreement with the previous monarch the Undercity decided to stay out of politics.

When Charles I threatened to expose them as blackmail, the Undercity pledged to assist him behind the scenes. The city was never exposed, but Cromwell learned about it upon taking office.

Fearing a rebellion, his attitude towards the undercity was vastly similar to that of Ireland: Genocidal.
By the time of the English Civil War, the Undercity had a population of 10,000. By the time Cromwell was finished, there were less than two thousand residents left and the city itself had to be rebuilt. They sighed a pact of non-aggression with Cromwell, and did not get involved in any wars up until the Victorian era.
Cromwell sustained heavy losses during the Undercity war as well, but nothing compared to the collective. His knowledge of the city above combined with the full support of both Churches led to his crusade being a success.

The following century was harsh for even decades after his death, the impact was still felt. Despite both monarchs and statesmen aware of the secret trying to get the collective on their side, each attempt was met with refusal and eventually things went dark within the Undercity, cutting itself off from the rest of the world entirely.

During the Undercity Crusade Cromwell had all the libraries in the Undercity burned and the elders killed, cleansing the long history of the presence of supernatural beings in Britannia in the process. Many of the city's residents scattered to the countryside or even fled abroad to escape from the war.

1800-1900: After a century of silence, Prince Albert visited the Undercity, opening up talks and for the first time in history allowing humans and the collective to live together. Apparently, they grew quite fond to Albert and believed he, alongside his wife Queen Victoria could lead the British Empire into a Golden Age that would benefit both parties.

The Industrial Revolution, at least during this era can be slightly attributed to the collective.
The London Underground (which begins construction in 1863) is part of the move to have the collective and some select humans live together, eventually allowing supernatural beings to live on the surface disguised as humans. Queen Victoria, having promised her late husband that she would see things through acts as a figurehead between politicians on both sides.

As London Underground expands, parts of the decaying Undercity is pushed aside in favour of secret communities living on the surface. Some remain in the Undercity, however and various maps are drawn showing where the Underground can and can't expand into.
During this time an organisation known as the Albert Foundation is established which acts to keep the collective secret and work with them to defend the Empire. Many soldiers from the collective end up involved in conflicts throughout the Empire, defending it and many consider themselves citizens.

With news of talks opening up again at the Albert Foundation leaving a mark, some who had fled during Cromwell's invasion and their descendants start to make their way back to the UK.

1900-1938: For the first time in centuries, more of these beings arrive in England, having heard messages and the Albert Foundation helps to get them settled. The Foundation is absorbed into MI5 in 1913, but very much keeps the same role. Members of the collective are deployed in secret operations during WWI.

-JRR Tolkien is recruited by the Foundation, now officially named The Albert Branch to act as a translator of ancient texts.

-Marie Curie is recruited while living in France and becomes the first woman to lead her own department, focusing on research.

World War II and the modern age.

1939-1950: World War II changed everything for what would grow into the Albert Branch as we know it today. Beforehand it only seemed to abide by what was close to the modern Protection and Location protocols but the war changed that. Although the other two Axis powers did their fair share of experiments and weaponizing of the supernatural and unearthly, it was Nazi Germany that was deemed the biggest threat to the branch and indeed, to the planet. What was a war for the future of Europe turned into a war for the future of humanity and every other species sharing the planet.

Through twisted experiments and human sacrifices, the Nazis conjured supernatural weapons of mass destruction and managed to open portals to other plains of reality.

Alan Turing, a codebreaker, inventor and notable member of the branch ended up cracking a code the Third Reich was using to conjure unearthly monsters and after a few desperate missions that brought together Allied forces these experiments were stopped.
However, the Allies clashed over what to do with the leftover findings.

During the Blitz, citizens were allowed into the Undercity to take shelter from the bombs and for the first time in history ordinary people were exposed to the collective on a large scale. Of course, they were sworn to secrecy by British Intelligence in return for said shelter.

The collective played a part in helping rebuild the UK after the war and many Vampires argued in favour of the National Health Service given what it could provide them.

1951-1979: Following the end of WWII, the Albert branch saw a period of rapid expansion. The one thing Clement Attlee and Winston Churchill could both agree on was the importance of the branch, even if both saw it useful for different reasons.
With the Axis defeated and the Soviet Union growing in power, Churchill focused on Preparation in the hopes of developing more weapons and using the supernatural and unearthly to take down Stalin while Clement Attlee focused on using the branch and the collective connected to it to rebuild a battered and broken United Kingdom. His goal was Location, building homes and further introducing supernatural beings into British society.

Regardless, the funding for the branch was a high priority throughout the Cold War.

-In 1968, the period of violence known as "The Troubles" starts in Northern Ireland.

1979-1990: The Thatcher years are not looked upon well by the branch. Austerity measures put an end to the rapid expansion and the branch quite frankly lost it's bite, being run by civil servants who wielded pens and bureaucracy rather than crossbows and magic amulets. Those that managed to keep their jobs ended up under-prepared and often under-funded for assignments as the branch was cut to the bone.

1990 onwards: The 90s saw a period of the branch trying to return to it's roots but was held back by civil servants. It was employed during conflicts in the Middle East, which allowed some of the higher ups to bribe the government into allowing more funding. They got some of the funding they wanted, but this was halted in 2010 when austerity measures returned.

The branch did see a small expansion though in 1998, when the Good Friday Agreement as signed in Northern Ireland which put a end to "The Troubles" it was after the agreement was signed that the British Government's eyes were opened to something rather worrisome. Thirty years of religious violence had provided an unintentional distraction for supernatural and unearthly threats to not only go unchecked within the small country, but actually thrive in some areas.

Due to bureaucracy and political disagreements it took until 2009 but a department of the Alfred branch was set up within the country's capital and since then it has carried out it's duties.

 

[The Mad Queen]

Official Threat Classification​

The Albert Branch has an official ranking for every hostile encounter with a Supernatural or unearthly being or event, scaled from 0-14.

Class 0 Event: No threat present but requires observation (see objective L)
Class 1 Event: Substantial harm to human life. Death toll between 2 and ten of personnel or civilians. Damage of property including a small building.
Class 2 Event: Substantial harm to human life. Death toll between ten and twenty, damage of property ranging from a large building to a city street. A full cover up will be required.

Class 3 Event: Village level. Can range from twenty to two hundred and includes the high damage of property. A full cover up will be required and perhaps even a media blackout as a Class 3 has the potential to wipe out a village.
Class 4 Event: City level. Has the potential to wipe out a city. At this point a full cover up is next to impossible unless there is a full media blackout and every survivor is sworn to secrecy.

Class 5 Event: London level. Has the potential to wipe out a large or capital city. A cover up will be considered impossible beyond this point, with the duty of Albert branch personnel to prevent the event from escalating any further, securing the lives of as many civilians as possible and ensuring that important figures are protected.

Class 6 Event: Country level. Has the potential to wipe out a country and it's inhabitants.
Class 7 Event: Britannia level. Has the potential to wipe out the entire United Kingdom and by extension, the entire British Isles (Ireland and the Isle of Man)
Class 8 Event: Eurasia level. Has the potential to wipe out Europe and/or Asia.

Class 9 Event: Permian level. A mass extinction event like the great dying that brings about the end of the human race, or at the very least sends us back to the stone age. If an event has the potential to become a Class 9 the duty of Albert branch personnel is to prevent if from escalating to this point or beyond, whatever the cost. The country you serve, it's people, the crown and the politicians are secondary elements.
This new duty goes for all following Class events, as there is a high chance that the United Kingdom will be no more in the aftermath.

Class 10 Event: Planetary level. Although a Permian level may still allow for life to flourish after the ashes have settled, a Planetary level event leaves the Earth completely destroyed. The planet may crack in two or be reduced to an uninhabitable planet like Mars.
Class 11 Event: Sol level. A threat like this has the potential to destroy not only Earth, but the entire solar system in which our tiny planet resides.

Class 12 Event: Andromeda level. An Andromeda level threat has the potential to destroy the Milky Way galaxy and/or by extension the neighbouring Andromeda galaxy. It is dubbed an Andromeda level threat as the inevitable fate of the Milky Way galaxy is to collide with and be destroyed by Andromeda.

Class 13 Event: Universal level. Has the potential to destroy the entire universe. This event is inevitable, known as the Great Crunch but our job is to make sure that said event won't occur for the estimated 2.8 billion years we've been given.

Class 14 Event: Reality level. An event like this will bring out the destruction of the entire Multiverse, a hypothetical scenario.

 

[The Mad Queen]

Beginner's Guide To The Supernatural
A Seminar by Oliver Bòideach: Class 5 agent

​

Well for starters, I got to wish you luck. No, I don't know any actual Fate Magic it's just a saying. For your own sake I hope there is a little bit of Fate magic up your sleeve for the world you're stepping into is a bit scary, to be honest.
I'll do a bit of a breakdown for you so pay attention, please. The last thing I want outside of a Class 10 event is for a few of you rookies to get hurt so settle down, pull up a chair and listen to this old man as he lays down what's what.

Save questions for the end, please. Obviously there's more out there than what I'm about to tell you, a hell of a lot more but given it's your first week I feel it's best not to traumatise you with everything I've picked up on.
That, and I'm sure half of it's classified to you lot anyway.

Spoiler: Undead

I'll start with one you lot have probably heard of already: Vampires. Right off the bat, I'll get some of the myths out of the way. No, you cannot stop one with good old fashioned garlic bread. I wish to Heaven that were the case, but what can you do?
Ah, and although some religious items will hold one back, the average crucifix won't do all that much. Making the sign of the cross with yer fingers is only going to end with you losing 'em.

There's two types of our undead mates.

Older Generation Vampire aka Type A Vampire
Classification: Undead
Threat Level: Very high

Let's hope for your sake you don't come across one of these lot. They're big, scary and powerful. I battled one myself in Siberia back in the day. Took about five of our best to put it in the ground. That mission is classified so I have to spare the details.
These are your more typical monstrous Vampire, sort of kind that abduct virgins and eat babies while they lurk in the shadows. They're taller than a man, ranging between 2.13 and 3.65 meters. That's between seven and twelve feet for those of you who don't like the metric system.
How can something that tall hide so easily? Simple enough, they can turn into smoke, go invisible and control animals as well as the corpses of those they've killed.
Blood magic is not something I want to trifle with again and this lot seem to be pretty good at it.

Good news is, there hasn't been one sighed in the entire British Isles in a few hundred years. Last time one was spotted was during the Irish Famine. Due to that Cromwell destroying the records we can't be sure of when the first sighting of one of these buggers was, but my guess is that it was a long time ago.
Also, this lot don't show up on camera or in mirrors so you can blame that legend on them.

Sunlight burns them, but won't kill them unless you lock them in a chamber and exposed them to intense sunlight. Fire seems to work, but you'd be hard pressed to find something that wasn't weak to fire.
Only way to kill one for sure is a stake to the heart, followed by decapitation, dismemberment and then finally to burn everything and scatter the ashes. Just to be sure.

New Generation Vampire aka Type N Vampire
Classification: Undead
Threat level: Moderate to high
(Character status: playable)

This is probably the type you millennials know more about, your Lost Boys and your White Wolf RPGs. No, I have not played Bloodlines.
This lot I actually tend to get on with a good few of them are upstanding members of society. A couple of them work for us as well. Unlike their great grandfathers this lot can feed on the blood of animals, at least for the first one hundred to two hundred years of their lifespan. After that, it's human blood for the next five hundred years or until they reach the grand old age of seven or eight hundred and have to drink from other Vampires.

They're more human, which I guess makes them easier to get along with. Problem is if they refuse to drink they slowly go mad and feral, eventually attacking anything with a pulse if they go long enough without blood.
Some of course get turned into Vampires and go nuts regardless.

All in all, there's just under ten thousand of this lot on our register. There's probably a thousand more we're yet to clock on the list.
They're stronger, faster and more durable than us humans but not by much if you compare them to the other Vampires. The older they get, the more powerful they become and if you look at their origins, Type N goes back to Eastern Europe and starts with the man himself: Dracula.

They can quite easily blend into society as the fangs are retractable and the whole black eye thing is really only a sign of dominance. They are characterised by their pale skin though, but given the country we're in that's not really an issue with blending in.
Sunlight hurts them but in a more subtle way. You see, they get nasty sunburn. Yes, even in winter.

Fire, again another weakness as well. A stake to the heart ends up putting this lot in a coma-like state and the only way to wake 'em up is to yank it out and give the poor bugger a drop of blood.

Moving on, there's a few more undead types you'll probably encounter.

Sentient Zombie aka Type I Zombie
Classification: Undead
Threat level: Low to Moderate
(Character status: playable)

This is a very broad term if I'm honest as it applies to any human brought back to life with their mind and self-control still intact. Through advanced necromancy or Voodoo, the dead person comes back with a varied range of success. In some cases they can just return to their old lives, with us having to spin some mad story about why say grandma isn't dead and then monitoring them until they die a second time.

I wish things were that simple but sometimes people come back with a slight craving for flesh or most of their skin rotted away and so can't really return to their lives proper. Sometimes the resurrection is botched and the poor bugger starts to decay rapidly in mind and/or body. Sometimes it's the other way around and they end up immortal.
Depending on how the resurrection was carried out, they can come back with abilities. Durability, strength, speed or even physic powers in some cases.

Non-Sentient Zombie aka Type Z Zombie
Classification: Undead
Threat level: Low to Moderate, high in a Class 3 scenario and very high in a Class 6.

Can't say I'm a fan. These are your mindless soldiers, marching or sometimes charging forwards with the intent on following their master or just devouring everything in their path. One or two of them isn't really a problem but Necromancers are bastards and sometimes anyone a Type Z kills just joins the ranks of the dead.
Shot to the head or heart will put them down and like almost everything, fire does the trick as well.
What makes them so different from the Type I zombies is that they came back without a single shred of their soul, leaving them as mindless husks.

We've got a good chunk of this lot working for us, but mostly in records. When you willingly signed that contract to join us, you also signed away your corpse so if you die out in the field and we can't bring you back with the soul enact chances are you'll go straight to records.

Mummies
Classification: Undead
Threat level: High

Some of these creatures are perhaps older than Britannia itself but the practice of wrapping a body up in toilet paper to preserve it wasn't just done by the Egyptians. Old cultures across the world did it from the Americas to Australia and even on this little island of ours we have what's called bog bodies where a mixture between the mud from a bog and old magic preserved them.

If all of them stayed buried, then I wouldn't be talkin' about them. The same old magic used to preserve them is some pretty powerful stuff. Thankfully, the ones on this island aren't as powerful as their Mayan or Egyptian counterparts.
Wielding curses, disease and necromancy among other things.

Some can be reasoned with, at least so I guess there's that but just in case you can't get through to 'em, the process to actually destroy a Mummy involves destroying their tomb or whatever qualifies as one. Fire seems to slow them down, but regular weapons might as well be chocolate fireguards unless they're blessed.

Spoiler: Skinchanger

Lycanthrope
Classification: Skinchanger
Threat level: Moderate to High
(Character status: playable)

This lot can be tricky, but I do know that their origins on this little island of ours go back to the Viking conquests. Only those with Scandinavian blood can master the curse, able to change at will and remain in control when they're towering above us humans and howling at the moon.
There's poor buggers who get scratched or bitten by these big dogs and as a result of not having Viking blood in their veins end up cursed to change every full moon, going feral.
Those on our register we lock up every full moon to make sure they don't hurt themselves or anyone else. Poor sods.

What can you expect if you should fight one? Superhuman strength, durability, speed and although regular old weapons will slow them the only fatal compound is silver. They also heal pretty quick but fire slows this down.

Now, there are other types of Lycanthropes. Werebears, Weretigers, Werespiders to name a few but the most popular in the UK is the Werewolf, due to all those Viking settlers.
Weretigers and Werespiders trace their bloodline back to Asia, but don't seem to have the same curse as the Werewolf. The Werebear traces it's bloodline back to Russia and appears to be curse-free as well.

Skinwalker
Classification: Skinchanger
Threat level: Moderate, high in large numbers
(Character status: playable)

This lot date back to before the Romans showed up, Druidic witches with the ability to change into animals. Now I'll be the first to tell you that they do a lot more than attend Furry conventions.
Don't tell HR I made that joke, I'm on thin ice enough as it is.
They're part of what we call the "old magic", pre-Roman. That sort of guff which means they can be pretty powerful if they know what they're doing. They revert back to human form if killed and take on the ability of whatever animal they shift into.

Nobody can "become" a Skinwalker, they are born with it and enhance their abilities. There's a small population in Northern Ireland given the Romans took one look at Hibernia and decided it wasn't work conquering while the other Druids got wiped out.

Shapeshifters
Classification: Skinchanger
Threat Level: Low to Moderate
(Character status: playable)

The second cousins of the Skinwalkers, shapeshifters are a mix between old and new magic. Kids get born with a rare element in their blood that gives them the ability to transform into other humanoids. They cannot however take on abilities or memories, I mean some can but that's not all that common.
Overall, not really a problem unless they can't control their ability and don't cause trouble. What if one of these shifters turned into the Prime Minister or that pratt Piers Morgan? It could cause a lot of trouble.

Merefolk
Classification: Skinchanger
Threat level: Moderate
(Character status: playable)

This lot, especially the Sirens played a big role during the whole Spanish Armada thing. Thousands of ships and a force capable of invading England doesn't just crash for no reason. Sure, you can put it down to bad weather or reading a map the wrong way round but this lot have been a part of The Collective for a good while.

That doesn't mean they're all friendly. Put it down to a hunger for human flesh or just being angry at us lot for what we do to the ocean but the Sirens and a good couple of the Mermaids are known to attack sailors among other things. The coast of our island is covered in them, lurking beneath the surface.

Of course, a good few of them can take human form among other things like talking to fish, manipulating water or singing wayward sailors to their graves with a hypnotising voice.
I for one, am not setting foot in the water and not just because of the Merefolk. The ocean is uncharted territory and we tell the public that ninety five percent of the ocean is unexplored when in reality it's closer to sixty and we're just trying to avoid mass panic or a big war between the surface world and the goddamn sea.

Spoiler: The Fey

I wish I could tell you that all of the Fey were like Tinkerbell or Santa Clause. Is Santa actually real? That's classified, son. The Fey come from a nearby dimension known as the Feywilds but a good couple of 'em settled in Britannia long before the Romans showed up. They have a hierarchy of sorts, with the most powerful being dubbed Archfey or even True Fey in some cases.

Thankfully, they don't seem to be interested in conquering our planet as I doubt we'd stand a chance against the army of the Feywilds but that doesn't stop some of them from being tricky shits and messing with our species.

Changelings
Classification: Fey
Threat level: Low to Moderate
(Character status: playable)

Children abducted by Fey get replaced by beings called Changelings. The younger the child, the easier it is for the Changeling to blend in. Sometimes these Changelings, as they grow up are completely oblivious to their true origins.

Kids might get abducted due to deals made, a powerful Fey looking for a slave or maybe even a friend. For the sake of those children taken, I hope it's the latter.
Changelings have a limited connection to the Feywild dimension, able to wield a small amount of power. If it goes unchecked it can cause problems as the Changelings can manipulate nature or luck to small degrees.
Outside of an autopsy and some powerful Fey magic there isn't really a way to tell if someone is a Changeling unless witnessing their powers.

Dryad
Classification: Fey
Threat level: Moderate, but a vengeful Dryad is considered a high threat.
(Character status: playable)

Back in the day people used to chain themselves to trees to stop loggers from cutting them down. Knowing what I know about Dryads, maybe they had a point. These Fey are guardians of the forest, of the green so let's just say they were a bit hands on back in the day. Each Dryad is tied to a specific tree or in some cases, a forest so if they were to lose it they'd go mad, lashing out at us humans.

If you leave the green alone, they're friendly enough but should a Dryad lash out fire and iron are their biggest weaknesses.
They can appear human, but can be easy enough to spot as they won't eat human food, instead relying on soaking up sunlight and water to sustain themselves.
Control over nature in some aspects, growing roots or getting forest critters to do their bidding is on their list of powers.

Fetchspawn
Classification: Fey
Threat level: High

Changelings can't reproduce with humans, the Fey blood just prevents such things. Perhaps that's for the best as in the very rare exceptions when a Changeling does reproduce, the result is a twisted little one capable of wrecking havoc. They consume faerie magic like a parasite but never seem to be full, walking about like a living sinkhole.
Normal weapons don't seem to do much, and given they consume Faerie magic like a drug it seems only blessed weapons harm them, with iron still being capable of holding them back.

Thankfully, these little shits aren't immortal. They age like us up until their 21st birthday before they are called into the Feywilds, never to be seen again. Or at least I bloody hope so.

Had to pop to the men's room for a minute, shall we get started on ghosts? America, Russia and China might have different classifications but we just put all of our spectres together, on a scale of one to twelve we call the Phantom scale.

Rank One: Harmless. Invisible and can't even interact with the world around us. In fact, unless you're cursed with the ability to talk to the dead you'll probably never come across one at all.
Rank Two: Harmless. Invisible and can only have small interactions with the world. The most they can do is move a small object like a cup and even then it's not like they can throw it across the room or anything.

Rank Three: Harmless. Barely visible and can have some more interactions with the world. These are the kind of ghosts that might be able to turn a light switch off and on or play a few notes on a piano. In my own experience these are the ghosts of children who really just want to play.

Rank Five: Low threat. Barely visible and can have stronger interactions with the world. These are your low-level poltergeists who can rearrange furniture, throw objects and even leave a bruise or two. They can also possess some animals.

Rank Six: Low to moderate threat. These phantoms are capable of causing physical harm, even being able to reach out and touch the living. The biggest issue with Rank Five and Six phantoms is that they are often underestimated and what some poor bugger believes is a five or six turns out to be an eight or above that is merely sending a warning or biding it's time.

Rank Seven: Moderate threat. Capable of causing harm to living through touch and telekinesis. They can bend the environment to their will so long as their anchor is nearby, causing fires or animals within the area to freak out and attack the living if the Rank seven would rather be left alone. Causing hallucinations to manifest is another thing Rank Sevens are known for, as well as the possession of human beings.

Rank Eight: Moderate threat to High. Highly territorial, these phantoms are more than capable of interacting with the living, inflicting grievous wounds through mere touch. Many older ghosts go into this category, such as the notorious Kuchisake-onna, also known as the Slit Mouthed Woman. Simple rocksalt and holy water will do little more than annoy a Rank Eight so the best course of action is to use runes to hold them back unless you have the magic to destroy or banish them.

Rank Nine: High Threat.

Rank Ten: Very High threat.

Rank Eleven: Class Six-Eight Event. I wish I could say this was hypothetical, but there are a few phantoms the branch has looked into that could potentially bring about the destruction of the entire country as we know it, laying waste to the entire United Kingdom.

Rank Twelve: Class Nine Event. A phantom with the potential to wipe out all of human life on Earth. I hope this one is hypothetical.

 

[The Mad Queen]

Other Organisations ​

Government Agencies

Task Force Franklin

(Four TFF agents during incident 1908-BB7)

The origins of the TFF date back to the War of Independence, where Benjamin Franklin proposed a secret organisation to combat supernatural and unearthly threats. When the new world was being conquered by European colonists the frontier was covered in dangers the likes of which they had never seen before, beings the Native Americans had either lived with or had found ways of suppressing or just avoiding outright.

The War of Independence changed things as many supernatural beings had a vested interest in how things would turn out and in the end the Americans had to weaponize some Native shamans and use other tactics to beat back British Undead, Shapechangers and even Fey. If this new nation was to be protected, then an organisation that understood and combated these threats would be needed.
Founded in his name, the Franklin Order eventually evolved into Task Force Franklin during the 20th century. Much like the Albert Branch, vast changes and expansion occurred during and after World War II due to the events in Nazi Germany.

Although their goals are similar to ours, their methods are a bit more barbaric. Supernatural beings are treated more as expandable fodder rather than potential personnel or members of society.
The protection and further expansion of the country very much comes before anything else.

The Albert Branch and Task Force Franklin have worked together in the past, most notably during the Cold War. The most notable case of the two agencies working together was during [REDACTED: See report on Incident 1908-BB7 for details].

Branch for Unearthly Protection: Ministry of State Security

The Ministry of State Security (MSS) is the intelligence and security agency of the People's Republic of China, responsible for counter-intelligence, foreign intelligence and political security. Before 1949 when the Communist party rose to power, a small part of branch existed within the Central Department of Social Affairs (CDSA) but the majority of supernatural and unearthly protection/monitoring was done by the previous government or government sponsored vigilante groups.
During the civil war, both sides used supernatural creatures they recruited or coerced into fighting on their side but ultimately the Communists were victorious, in no small part due to the creatures on their side. As far as we are aware, the (now defunct) Soviet agency and this branch of the MSS worked and communicated with each other up until the Sino-Soviet split of 1956/1957.

Due to the secrecy of this organisation and it's seeming unwillingness to work with us, little is known about their overall origins and history but we have gathered some information about their methods.
Their supernatural creatures are regarded as less expandable than Task Force Franklin's as each one requires training to match that of Chinese soldiers, so to send a being with six months of hard training on an outright suicide mission when other options are available is deemed wasteful.

DPUS

This may be a more recent organisation, but it's origins can be traced back centuries. Supernatural creatures fighting on the side of Russia goes back to the Napoleonic wars, and possibly even further with uncovered records of the Mongolian invasion of Kievan Rus' (modern day Russia, Belarus and Ukraine) having both sides using supernatural and unearthly means to fight.
Supernatural beings having an influence over how Russia was run goes back to this time as well, with the most notable (and most infamous) possibly being Grigori Rasputin.

The original organisation, named Kрасный волк (Red Wolf in English) dates back to the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War in which Lenin and Trotsky enlisted the help of supernatural creatures to fight the White army. After Lenin's death and Trotsky's exile, this organisation underwent drastic change under the leadership of Josef Stalin and although (slightly) softened in it's brutality, Red Wolf still maintained a state first policy very much similar to the KGB. Vamperic assassins, Fey spies and Shapechangers among other things were utilised very effectively throughout the entire cold war.

From what we can gather, Russia has their own version of "the collective", a micro society living in secret of supernatural beings that work with the government but have their own agenda. They are known to have supported the Russian Revolution but also some of the revolutions that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Following the USSR's downfall, various parts of the Red Wolf organisation was absorbed into the SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation) and FSB (Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation), the successor agencies of the KGB and a new organisation was established: The Department for Protection of the Supernatural and Unearthly (or DPUS for short).

Much like the Branch of Unearthly Protection, we do not know that much due to sheer secrecy but like all departments (including our own) supernatural creatures are used as effective agents in the field to fight various shadow wars on multiple fronts and to keep the peace within their own nation. Their methods are like that of the Russian military forces as is their training, making for effective and somewhat brutal agents.

Brotherhood of Life

A government-sponsored group rather than an actual agency, the 人生の兄弟愛 (Jinsei no kyōdai ai), or Brotherhood of Life dates it's origins back centuries to the late 8th/early 9th century. Japan was a country facing numerous supernatural threats and the founder, a Vampire who detested what he deemed as a curse sought about training a Brotherhood that would outlast even himself to fight this threat.

It was a secret organisation known only to the Emperor himself and a few within his court, but was placed on the front lines during the Mongolian invasions. Storms generated by similar magic seen during the Spanish Armada invasion were able to decimate the Mongolian fleet and the Brotherhood fought fire with fire, for the Mongolians used supernatural creatures as part of their army so too did the Japanese.

The Brotherhood was to defend Japan and her people first and foremost from supernatural and unearthly threats, not to get involved in politics or strive for personal gain. Initially those sworn in were not allowed to marry or have children but this changed eventually under the understanding that any children would too have to be sworn into the Brotherhood and trained by their parents.

During the Meiji Restoration and over the course of Japan's Imperialist period the Brotherhood saw a decline for it was deemed that they were not needed and the Empire instead focused on utilising the supernatural instead of combating them. The Brotherhood continued to operate, now even secret from the Emperor and wasn't reinstated until 1953.

The Brotherhood saw a slight emergence in membership during the 50s but were used very sparingly. While the PSIA (Public Security Intelligence Agency) monitors supernatural citizens living within Japan, ensuring they are not a threat and go on to play a role in Japanese society the Brotherhood in instead used as a purely peacekeeping force, to put down unearthly and supernatural threats to Japan.

While the PSIA is considered as relaxed as the Albert Branch in it's monitoring and treatment, the Brotherhood is more "traditional" but does employ some creatures who have sworn themselves into it's ranks. The process of joining is difficult, with some members backing out along the way. One such trial involves spending an entire night in a room filled with the moaning heads of Type Z zombies, as told by a former recruit.

Victoria Branch: Australian Security Intelligence Organisation

Our sister branch was officially established in 1949 alongside the rest of the ASIO but the role of this branch was fulfilled by the Australian Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) and the Commonwealth Security Service prior to the ASIO's creation.
Before either were established, the Australian government or the Commonwealth sponsored various groups to deal with potential threats as quietly as possible, or dealt with them directly.
The Empire sent people to die here for a reason as the country has a long history of supernatural creatures and unearthly events taking place. Similar to the Native Americans, the Aboriginal Australians found a way to live with or at the very least avoid these threats in the long term but many of their methods of containment and combat were lost as the country was being conquered by Europeans.

Some of these survived, however and are used to keep modern Australia safe. Being a sister branch, their methods and organisation are very similar to the Albert Branch and the two agencies often work together. They are considered our closest allies in this secret world.

Other Organisations

Domestic Terrorist/Paramilitary
Due to the Good Friday Agreement and various ceasefires the 30 year period of violence in Northern Ireland dubbed "The Troubles" were officially brought to an end, however some organisations that were active during this time have continued violence in the forms of shootings and bombings, as well as getting involved in the trade of narcotics and weaponry. The duty of the Albert Branch is to monitor them and prevent the groups from attaining supernatural/unearthly materials including weapons.
The IRA (Irish Republican Army), UDA (Ulster Defence Association) and the UVF (Ulster Defence Force) all declared ceasefires but splinters of all three groups have continued activity.

Criminal
With security forces focused on the religious violence, criminal activity was allowed to grow within the small country. While narcotics and the sale of illegal weapons were mostly carried out and controlled by the paramilitaries, other criminal groups have been in charge of trafficking. While it is the duty of the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) and other branches of MI5 to combat these criminals it is the job of the Albert branch to investigate and combat those who deal with the supernatural or unearthly.
-Eastern European and Russian gangs are known to operate in Northern Ireland.
-Criminals from Ireland/The Republic of Ireland use this country as a backstop to run trade in the rest of the United Kingdom.

The Roundhead Order

The Roundhead Order are a secret organisation following in the steps of Oliver Cromwell, with some figureheads being made up of descendants of the man who brought the Undercity to it's knees. Their main aim is to destroy and expose the supernatural word to the public, fearing that they are a threat to the British public and to the world.
-While more active in England, personnel operating in Northern Ireland should be aware of the danger they pose.

 

[The Mad Queen]

Beginner's Guide to Magic
A Seminar by Diana Wilson: Auditor

Settle down, children and pay attention for the next few minutes. Your life will depend on it. If you've made it this far, then you should already know by now that magic exists. Unless of course you were sitting at the back, picking your nose and wishing you were somewhere else.
There can be no room for distractions, so moving on.

I shall get this out of the way immediately, magic always has a price.

Old vs New
What do we mean by Old Magic? It's an umbrella term, after all. The Yanks use "Old Magic" to refer to Native American Shamans, Mayan Priests and the Aztecs but in regards to our little island it's the Celts. Britannia was an island covered in magical energy long before the Romans showed up, after all and some of that magic still exists.
It just takes a bit more elbow grease to use, and even more to master it.

The old magic is a raw, intense power channelling energy from the Earth, stars, moon and other elements in place that tie your soul to this realm, or to others. Some, tied back to old bloodlines can learn how to use this power but the rest of us are held back, relying on old scrolls and passed down tales of spells used to heal and control the elements.

The Aztecs and some of the the other old magic cultures resorted to human sacrifice for a reason. This magic, like all others comes with a price. Oh, don't give me that look. Our duty is to protect this island and it's citizens at any cost, and should you need to cut out the heart of a virgin and offer it to some Sun Goddess to prevent the planet from freezing to death then that's what you'll bloody well do.

Runes, ingredients like the bones of animals and yes, the occasional sacrifice are required for those not part of an old bloodline to use old magic. Here at the Albert Branch, we fight fire with fire so a creature powered by Old Magic requires that we fight it the Celtic way.

New Magic refers to post colonisation, and in our case that's everything from the Romans onwards. It's a lot less powerful, mind but comes with less of a price. Written in texts the Church tried to have burned, and passed down from parents to children the New Magic requires years of study to master. The price paid is to one's own body, as one can only cast so many spells before exhaustion sets in, or if you decide to be an idiot the magic can burn through the body itself.

Some ingredients are used, but not as often as the Old Magic.

The Bletchley Code and the Modern Age

The twentieth century brought about the best of both worlds for magic use, even if what led up to it was beyond monstrous. I'm sure if you know our history, then you know we were formed in the fires of World War II. The Nazis used a mixture of both old and new magic to attempt to conquer the world, and so we had to adapt if we were going to survive the war.

Enter Alan Turing, known to the public as the father of computing. To our world, he was the greatest Wizard of the 20th century. The Church-Turing thesis states that anything computable can be done by a Universal Turing machine, or a computer for short. This puts limits on what computers can do within the lifetime of our universe and means some problems are unsolvable by calculation. In computer science, it's as fundamental as water.

During his time as a codebreaker and inventor, Turing disproved his own work. None of us are actually sure as to the how, for he locked himself in his office for two days and emerged having cracked something that would reshape our very understanding of the universe. There is a lot of complicated mathematics involved so I'll break it down. As much as I can, anyway.

I want you to imagine the platonic realm of mathematics, the infinite plane of numbers. It exists, in all realms including our own. You do a calculation of our universe and it echoes in that platonic realm. Now, assume there is another universe, a whole lot of them, in fact that extend below and above our own. Don't try to picutre this too hard of your eyeballs might melt out of your face.

No, I wasn't joking. I've seen it happen before.

Within these universes are what we deem the unearthly, things whether that be creatures, items or even the raw power of the Multiverse. With the right calculations you can harness this power, staring off with making every other form of cryptography look like child's play and moving onto altering aspects of our universe.
It starts with subtle ways, creating water to put out a blaze or creating fire from seemingly nothing but can move on to raising the dead, which I do not recommend by any means and even summoning beings.
I do not recommend that either as the best case scenario is that you lose your face.

If you feel asleep in the past few minutes, like you sitting at the back then just know this: Modern spellcasting and this code are a form of abstruse computation, which means you can warp reality by running the right program on everything from an old fashioned Turing codebreaker to your smartphone. We used this to combat the Nazis and their occult warfare sections.

They mostly relied on the New Magic, but also the Old as human sacrifices weren't an issue for them. I won't share the details, as it's classified but in the final days of the war in Europe they came close to summoning something awful into this world that would have changed the course of human history, if not ending it altogether.

Magic comes with a price, but utilising the Bletchley code converted that price into hard mathematics and technology instead of the blood of virgins or costing a part of your soul and body. It's far more cost effective to have a Windows Laptop burn out rather than a trained agent, and we'd like to keep it that way.

Training and Departmental use
We don't let just anyone use magic, regardless of the type. Over the course of the next few days and weeks you will be undergoing the most basic training, enough for a low-level exorcism and hopefully enough cautioning for you not to summon Unearthly horrors intent on eating your face.
Those who choose to move on will have to undergo further training so you'll need at the very least a GCSE in Mathematics and ICT.

Old and New Magic are only to be used in specific circumstances and if the horrors you'll face out there won't frighten you away from using them, just think of the paperwork you'll need to fill out after use. Blood hungry Vampires and Unearthly squid monsters may be one thing, but do you really want to get on the wrong side of HR?
Every agent will have to undergo DNA testing for eligibility of Old magic use.

What do you mean you're afraid of needles? You're definitely in the wrong job, then.

I'll tell you this now to spare you the wrath of HR: even Bletchley Code usage cannot be used unless the circumstances are dire.

 

[The Mad Queen]

Department Overview: Belfast ​

Location

North City Business Centre · North City Business Centre, 2 Duncairn Gardens, Belfast BT15 2GG, United Kingdom

★★★★☆ · Business center

www.google.com

To the public our HQ is a call centre used for occasional training, based out of the North City Business Centre in Belfast. Beneath the surface is a series of offices, a storage area and a computer lab.

Basic Equipment
-Like the PSNI, field agents are allowed the use of a firearm once they have displayed competency in using it. While normally a sidearm such as a Glock 17, other firearms are available upon request from the armoury such as rifles, shotguns and even grenade launchers (gas grenades to be used in the event of a riot). The use of specialised ammo is also available on request (silver, Cold Iron and incendiary)

-Every agent is equipped with a smartphone for easy communication and with access to the Bletchley Code, allowing for the use of low-level magic.

-Basic protection such as an anti-stab vest (used by the police) and light Kevlar.

-Extendable police baton

-Access to police vehicles is available on request, but agents of a Class 2 and above can commandeer a civilian or police vehicle in the event of an emergency.

Examples of Specialist Equipment

-Nightvision gear: Goggles, surveillance equipment

-Riot gear: Heavy Kevlar, batons and shields

-Bletchley Code tablet: Restricted to agents of a Class 2 and above, contains access to more low-level spells.

Personnel Ranking/"Pecking Order"
​

Class 0: All citizens of the United Kingdom and Ireland are considered Class Zero personnel once they witness a supernatural or unearthly event. In the event of exposure, the citizen can either be sworn to complete secrecy or alternative sworn into the service of the Albert Branch.

Class 1: A civilian or member of the security services undergoing basic training for the Albert Branch. In the event of a Class 2 or above event those training will be forced into active service. Outside of the training materials they do not have access to Albert Branch documentation.

Class 2: Rank I Agent. Depending on how they perform this status ranges from 1-4 years unless the agent is declared KIA. They have access to some equipment and classified documentation, but very little. They can swear in Class 0 agents and assist in the training of Class 1 agents.

Class 3: Rank II Agent. See Class 2 for details, they have access to more than a Rank I but not that much. Agents can only be promoted to Rank III and above with the approval of at least agent of higher status. Can lead a team of Rank I agents and train agents of Class 2 and below.

Class 4: Rank III/Department Head. With access to more documents and equipment, the Class 4 is capable of leading their own department of the branch and has the same privileges as a Class II. Can only be moved to a Class 5 with the approval of two Class 5 agents or one Class 6.

Class 5: Rank IV/Executive Head. An agent of this ranking is in charge of the monitoring of multiple departments, and has access to higher classified material and equipment. Can only be moved to a Class 6 with the approval of one Class 7 or three Class 6 agents.

Class 6: Rank V/Auditor. Acts as a liaison between multiple departments of the branch, and is responsible for higher duties such as acting out policy with the Collective and other security forces across Great Britain and Ireland.

Class 7: Rank VI. Acts as a liaison between the Branch Heads, Her Majesty's government and the rest of the Albert Branch as well as other agencies across the world.

Class 8: Branch Head. The head of the Albert Branch, nicknamed "The Inner Circle" by some, this group of individuals oversee the entire operations of the Branch.


OOC Note: The Code for the lore page is: Jumanji