Turn 1

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You're Greg Vader, a normal 15-year-old geek living in your parents' house with your mother Linda and your father King, who's always traveling on business (That's a name, not a title, and a pretty common one). And you've just had the biggest revelation of your life since you found out where babies really come from.

It turns out that all this paranormal devilry began not thirty years ago, as the secret world government is trying to convince its herd, but much earlier. Judging by the entries in the diary almost simultaneously with the emergence of mankind as a reasonable species.

And there have always been gods, now better known as Hours. And also the so-called High Ones - people who, by performing the right rituals and making sacrifices, gained unprecedented power, and infinite longevity.

Such secrets are not shared with just anyone, and even if you publish everything on the Internet, the herd will not understand and the shepherds will not forget.

The things you found in the suitcase belonged to a mortal who served the Hour known as the Forge of Days. He does not mention his name, but in the last pages of his diary, he writes that he has gathered everything necessary for the exaltation ritual, and all that remains is to find a reliable helper.

Apparently, you, Greg Vader, now hold the key to power! All that's left to do is to figure out what to do with this.

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This is the very beginning of the Christmas vacation, and except for the holiday dinner, you are free as the wind. For the next two weeks (two turns), you are free to do whatever you want.

You have one action of the body (B), two actions of the mind (M), and two actions of the passions (P). You have 9 funds at your disposal (all available savings).

Influences: Enlightenment - Enlightenment is near! I can feel the world ticking! (Bonus to Study rolls. Can turn into a Fascination if it fails.)

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Turn 1 Results

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After looking over the pile of sketches and notebooks that have accumulated over the last week of research, you can't help but think about following the example of your predecessor and inspirer.

Keeping a diary is a sensible idea! A compilation of thoughts, a collection of questions to be answered, notes on goals and milestones, setting new goals... After all, if the agents of the World Government find you and erase your memory, plunging you back into the darkness of ignorance, you can recover at least some of the memories securely stored in paper and ink.

Looking back on the past days, you can't help but feel triumphant: One way or another, all your goals were achieved! Although looking back, your demands on yourself were somewhat harsh...

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Influences: Enlightenment - Enlightenment is near! I can feel the world ticking! (Bonus +5 to Study rolls. Can turn into a Fascination if it fails.)

Work:

[X] (B) This body is mine. All these rites and rituals are rather traumatic acts, not to mention sacrifices. Yes, and some knowledge, as well as much more than some practices, hurts the one who learns and performs them. You need a much sturdier and stronger body so that you don't have to go to the emergency room after every vein you open. Physical exercise should do the trick, and somewhere under the rubble in your room were lying dumbbells donated by your father. Requires 3 passes, 80% chance of success. (On completion, +1 body action, increased vitality.)

Required: 20. Roll: 90 + 10 (Decreasing Growth Burs) = 100 (Artificial Crit!)

Contrary to expectations, your body sings when you start exercising.

In fact, it reacts to physical activity like a drought-stricken land to a July rainstorm! The blood pounding in your ears and your lungs pumping the air like they are playing a vaguely familiar tune for you. Every morning workout and evening approach with dumbbells gives you an ineffable feeling of bursting strength. You really love it!

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In the next turn, a positive influence will be in effect: Inspired Vitality! In addition, unlocked the possibility to get a positive trait of the body, for the creation of which each subsequent body crit will make a separate d100 roll (a successful roll will give the trait with the reset of the accumulated scale, unsuccessful - increase the probability). Currently, the probability is ?%.

[X] (P) The creation of art. Your parents and teachers have mentioned more than once that you're not a bad painter. It's true that you've given it up lately, but getting an album and paints out of a drawer is a minute's work. And although the painting will take a long time. If you put the picture in a frame, it can try to sell. And you'll need the money and a lot of it. It takes 1 pass, and the chances of success are 80%/60%/40%/20%/5%.

Required: 20/40/60/80/95. Roll: 38 x 1.5 (Emotional Fountain) = 57.

Passage of the 2nd degree.

After you get a few ideas online, you pull out a large sketchbook and paints, blowing off the accumulated dust. A few thin pencil lines mark the outline of the future painting, and a few minutes later, the first paints are laid on top.

A few hours later, you tear yourself away from the finished painting, hungry, and look around skeptically. It's... surprisingly good.

The image of a bright forest glade, strewn with flowers, on which two blurred human figures, reminiscent of your parents, are frozen in a dance, recalls in your memory similarities with some paintings of world classics. The level, of course, is not at all the same, but at least it is not ashamed to hang on a wall somewhere in the living room.

Maybe you should have started with something simpler, like a gaudy still life with vases and apples, but you're glad you didn't make it easy on yourself. After waiting for it to dry, you take the thinnest brush and sign in the lower right corner: "G.K. Vader. Blossom Dance."

Already on New Year's Eve, when your father finally returns from his business trip, the three of you celebrate, celebrating as a family all the winter holidays that King Bucket has already missed or will miss by going back to work. Given the frequency with which he is home, you could celebrate Easter at the same time.

In addition to the traditional exchange of greeting cards, you present your painting as a gift to both parents. When you open the package, King raises his eyebrows in surprise, and Linda looks touched. They seem to like the gift.

Now the Blossom Dance painting adorns your living room, and you have seven more funds received as a gift, several travel postcards of cities your father has visited since his last visit, and a warm blue wool sweater with your name and a picture of a pokeball on it. A few sizes too big, but still comfortable.

Study:

[X] (M) Examination of the diary. Your predecessor's notes are structured enough that you don't have to run around the room pulling out the last of his hair trying to figure out exactly what he meant. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't look into them, on the contrary. You should study the diary as thoroughly as possible because its author implicitly hints that it contains more than meets the eye.

A kind of memo, or an admonition to the heir? Requires 1 pass, 80%/30% chance of success.

Required: 20/70. Roll: 31 + 5 ( Enlightenment ) = 36. 1st Degree Passage.

Your predecessor is a real conspiracy theorist, because not only does the diary never mention anyone's name or a specific place, but everything that could be considered secret knowledge is encrypted with allegories, metaphors, or even extremely tasteless poetry. In spite of all the obstacles, you manage to get some valuable information out of the diary, even if it is not complete knowledge, but only general information.

The Woods growing by the walls of the Abode are nothing more than a pre-door where a predisposed person may accidentally enter from ordinary sleep. For a deliberate and more conscious transition, one must have at least a rudimentary Knowledge of the Principles of the Moth, the Lantern, or the Knock. The knowledge itself is not given, but fragments of ways are mentioned, like the need to fall asleep surrounded by white or to put a freshly cut strand of hair under the pillow. And all this with allegories and riddles, like, "...There is a woman's heart that holds Samson's power, and before entering the house of Hypnos must part with some of it, for..." Ugh. It should have been written in normal language.

To enter Mansus itself, aka the Abode, one must pass through the White Door, which, like all the others, charges a fee for its passage. It is not clear from the records what exactly the door charges, but there is mention that those who are weak in the body may fall ill after entering through it, and those who are strong still feel drowsy and chills for a long time. Another reason is to get the body in shape.

There is also a brief listing of existing principles: Lantern, Edge, Heart, Moth, Forge, Winter, Grail, Knock, and Secret Histories.

The last two are different from the others, but how exactly is not quite clear.

More is written about the Forge than anything else, for the predecessor belonged to an order that worshipped the Forge of Days, the Hour of this principle to which the twentieth hour of the day corresponds, and to a lesser extent a certain Madrugad.

You write down separately the items and books that the predecessor mentions in his confusing notes, to make sure you don't miss anything important when sorting through the rest of his stuff. And it's worth going back to the diary a little later, you sense that something else is hidden in it...

[X] (P) Admiration for art. Your drawing skills have dulled considerably, and at the best of times, they didn't exactly shine. But you can fix that! The Internet is full of films about famous art galleries with the works of great artists of the past and online tutorials on many kinds of art! If you set your mind to it, you can improve your technique dramatically.

Requires 3 passes, 70% chance of success. (On completion of +1 Passion action, increase creativity)

Required: 30. Roll: 53 x 0.5 (Emotional Fountain) + 5 (Enlightenment) = 26 + 5 = 31 Passed.

To get inspiration for your art and learn new drawing techniques, you spend time watching some video tutorials. Online galleries are more of a drag than a thrill, but you can pick up a few interesting tricks from old masterpieces.

[X] (M) There is knowledge in words. A mind is a useful tool. Especially when the path to greatness involves comprehending secret knowledge. To better understand them, assemble them into a single mosaic, decipher them, and perhaps to find new ones, one should keep this tool sharply honed. School textbooks are good to start with. Requires 3 passes, 70% chance of success. (On completion +1 mind action, erudition increase)

Required: 30. Roll: 25 + 5 (Enlightenment) = 30. Bare Passage.

Because of the many things to do, and the revelations piled up this week, you can barely find the energy to finish your homework assignment for the summer break. You would be very surprised if your hard work got less than an A+, but in terms of mental development, which was the primary goal, the result is satisfactory at best. Although amid all the stress, this result was more than predictable.

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