IN> A Couple of New York Tethers

[William Keith]

Came across some news stories recently that interested me for their 
Tether potential.

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Broken Angel

Weak Tether to Creation
Forces: 3
Locus: top floor
Capacity: 18 Forces
Flow: 1 Essence per 10 minutes

Features:

Influence: moderate.  Humans viewing Broken Angel are sometimes 
inspired with a feeling of contrary quirkiness they would like to 
express in an art medium of their choice.

Seneschals: Xylie, Mercurian of Creation; Attuned Seneschal.  Among 
other personal traits, has Mercurian of Stone Attunement, a Vessel and 
Role as a friend of the (human) owner's, and a small bird Vessel to 
hang around the Tether in when his human side has no excuse to be 
there.

Broken Angel is an art house in the literal sense of the word, a 
building turned into a unique piece of art by a dedicated owner and 
resident.  Rising from the rough-and-tumble borough of Brooklyn, its 
challenging, handcrafted spirit makes it an artistic landmark known for 
miles around.  The years of dedication of the owner, Art Wood (that's 
really his name, he's a straight-up human who has no idea what he 
owns), finally woke a small Tether to Creation that was noticed and 
stabilized.

Xylie, the assigned Seneschal, found it easy to befriend Art and help 
spread the word of Broken Angel as an architectural labor of love.  A 
weak Tether with an absent Superior, it never had a lot in the way of 
resources, and it barely survived a recent attack by demons of Fire 
(October 10 2006).  The building has now been damaged and is threatened 
with condemnation.  Xylie would hate to have this happen, and hopes to 
see the Tether survive and flourish.

The trick is, Broken Angel *isn't* exactly up to spec.  Xylie knows it 
can stand -- he possesses David's Mercurian of Stone Attunement, 
magnifying the simple awareness of Tether state that Attunement gives a 
Seneschal, and is certain the building is sound.  Unfortunately, at 
present at least part of that is due to the supporting factor of Eli's 
Forces helping hold it up; left to its own, he's not sure it would 
still be standing.

Xylie also has trouble with the fact that the Tether depends almost 
entirely on a single human's vision and personality.  Brooklynites are 
fond of the place, but it wouldn't devastate the community if Broken 
Angel fell.  He needs to convince Art to work with city code inspectors 
to make Broken Angel physically sound without compromising his aristic 
vision, and he needs to shore up the place's defenses against another 
arson attack.  In the long term, he'd like to push Art to realize his 
grander dreams of a public art space or a nonprofit museum, but as 
usual, too much pushing could separate the act from its Tether 
potential.  These latter two tasks, especially tracking down an arson 
threat from any clues Xylie has gathered, are excellent adventures for 
PCs in a position to help.

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NYTimes, Oct. 22 2006:

On a warm, cloudless day a few weeks ago, Riverside Park hummed with 
activity. At the annual Oyster Festival, crowds of people downed 
freshly shucked oysters and drank pints of Guinness as the Hudson River 
lapped softly in the background.

In the same park, about 30 blocks to the north, the scene was less 
genteel. Two homeless women, one speaking animatedly, the other 
silently combing her hair with her fingers, negotiated with a crack 
cocaine dealer.

“Come over here a minute,” he told them, gesturing to an overgrown 
section where soiled mattresses lay in a tangle of weeds.

Both episodes took place within half an hour of each other at one of 
the city’s most popular open spaces....

Riverside Park

to Flowers ... *and* Fate
Forces: 15 (7 from Novalis, 8 from Kronos)
Locus: dividing road, usually 125th street
Capacity: 35 Forces to Heaven, 40 Forces Hell-wise
Flow: 1 Essence per minute up, 1 Essence per 2 minutes down.

Features: Forked, Intermittent.  As a Heaven/Hell fork, the lower locus 
does not experience the Light of Heaven.

Influence: weak, divided and unpredictable.  Humans may be quiet and 
content, or they may be quiet and sluggish.  Sometimes it's hard to 
tell.

Seneschals: Chrysan, Elohite of Flowers (Attuned); Hakh, Habbalite of 
Fate (Word-Bound)

The park would likely have been an average Tether for either Superior 
who claimed it, but as bad luck would have it, the instigating event 
was precisely when humans began to notice the great disparity between 
the north and south sections.  The peaceful, well-manicured southern 
section sent a runner up to the Glade, and the pit of drugs, sex and 
homelessness on the north side cracked open a trail to the Archives.  
Both Superiors involved instantly knew what was going on as they 
stabilized their end of the Tether, and both refused to back down.

Today, the Seneschals each struggle to claim Riverside entirely for 
their master.  The park stretches from 59th street along the Hudson 
River up to 158th street, with the change at 125th being palpable.  
Which side can operate the locus shifts moment-by-moment; the 
Seneschals must contest their Wills with each other to allow their Side 
to use it at any given time.  This can mean precious seconds if an 
attack occurs, but so far both Superiors have been content to strike at 
the underpinnings of the other Superior's presence in the Tether.  Both 
harbor hopes of driving the other out and claiming the entire space, 
but much can be read into their choices of Seneschals: did Novalis 
elect to keep Chrysan merely Attuned rather than Word-Bound to shelter 
him from Word-conflict, or is she willing to destroy the entire Tether 
if Kronos seems to begin gaining the upper hand?  Hakh, on the other 
hand, was clearly chosen as a specific foil for Chrysan, and being 
Word-Bound to the Tether not only provides Hakh with extra abilities 
but also ties Hakh's fate to capturing the southern section; one way or 
another, for Hakh, loss would mean destruction -- a scenario that 
itself may give Novalis pause.

The identities of the Superiors on either side can be altered to play 
up any one of the several well-known conflicts a GM would like to use.  
Novalis could instead be tackling Andrealphus, with Servitors of 
Judgment and the Game wandering around seeking signs of collaboration.  
Fate could instead be struggling with Yves directly, alerted by Novalis 
during the seizure process.  Creationers on the South side could be 
trying to rescue artists from a den of Fleurity's.  Blandine could be 
fighting Beleth.  How hot the struggle is at 125th can vary 
significantly in each of these scenarios.  PCs could certainly be 
recruited for any number of tasks:

* simple Tether defense.  This could be a long-term assignment for PC 
background -- his "day job" -- or a hasty recruitment: "David's 
contacts in the gang network tell us some Hellsworn will try making 
some newsworthy trouble on the South side tonight.  Stop them without 
getting a riot on the front page."

* striking into enemy territory.  "Get some of your rougher friends and 
make some newsworthy trouble on the South side tonight."  "Gather all 
the trash bags sitting out on the North side and get them to the city 
dump.  Don't get shot while you're cleaning the place up."

* working community perceptions.  "Convince the school to hold its 
picnic near the Hudson on the South side.  We'll make sure it's 
shielded."  "Spread the word that you can get laid for crack at 
Riverside."

* working the city government.  "Get some Parks inspectors out here and 
show them what the reports aren't saying about the North side.  Get 
some funding for serious cleanup."

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William