Fallen Age: Golden Age, Book I

There is no hope in the World of Darkness. The Vampires speak of an eternal age of blood, the Garou of final battle before the Wyrm drowns creation in blood, the dead look as their lands grow ever fuller. Some look to it with joy. Some with fear. Some... from Pentex to the teaming Ratkin, seek to tear it down themselves.

But before the World of Darkness was an Age of Glory.

And it's champions are returning.

It is impossible to save the world.

But the Exalted? They were forged to do the impossible...

“Hello, Claire,” the man said as he walked in the little shop.

 Claire looked up at him and nodded. “Hello, Mr. Green.”

Not his real name, that much was obvious, but her grandmother had been firm—if Claire was ever working after dark, and someone showed up with a silly story, do not contradict them.

Claire knew Grandma wasn’t dealing drugs, but even so… She got a feeling of danger from some of the after dark visitors.

“I was wondering if your grandmother had my… shipment.”

“Ah, yes, here it is!” Claire said, going behind the counter and pulling out the tightly wrapped book. She handed it to him quickly. It felt… wrong.

“Thank you,” he said, glancing at her, and then glancing at her work. “The Liber de Spiritibus. Deep reading, for one so young.”

Shit. Grandma would murder her. She’d always warned Claire to not let anyone see the books—the real books, which was why at school, she read the crap you could buy at Barnes and Noble. “I uh, found it at a used book store!”

“I’m certain you did. Just remember, young lady, not all things are as easy to put down as they are to call up… And not all guests would be so sympathetic to your hobby. Perhaps you should be more… subtle.”

“Uh, yes!” Claire put the book down and Mr. Green paid her, adding a tip, then left. Claire took a deep breath. It was time to close.

Put up the Wards that Grandma had taught her to make. The kids at school joked about them, but Grandma had shown her how to look… and there were things out there. You couldn’t look too hard, lest they look back at you, but Claire remembered Tommy, the most popular kid in school… she’d seen something on him after he’d gone to that summer camp. A month later, and he’d been shot by the cops after killing his parents. Rumors said, he’s been screaming about the ‘voices’.

Claire had asked her Grandma about it, and Grandma had actually whacked her on the head, and forbid her from talking about it.

“Girl, we’re little fish, and you’re talking about finding out what the sharks like to eat.”

Claire stared into the street. There weren’t many people in there. Riverside wasn’t like LA but everyone knew it was… not super safe to walk around after dark. The night clubs and the university were lit up, but they had private security from Pentex Protection, and her parents would murder her if she went to a night club.

But Grandma, it doesn’t matter if the little fish avoid the sharks. The sharks will always come looking.

Grandma had told stories of her life in Mexico city, but never why she’d moved up to California. Not to Claire, not to Mom. No stories about her family.

At all.

It was weird. And that was another reason Claire sometimes read books that Grandma didn’t know she had. Books about manipulating Mana…and summoning power.

She lifted her hand. Murmured the words, and then glowing strands of light coalesced around her fingers, forming eerie flames. Not enough to protect her, and in fact, given how long it took, against a human a baseball bad would be better.

But the flames, according to her book, could be used against spirits—even spirits that could ignore baseball bats.

Claire had no idea about the things Grandma refused to tell her, but if half the things she’d read were true…

Many of them wouldn’t be something that would be annoyed by pepper spray.

Mom wouldn’t be here until later tonight, and since Claire couldn’t go out…she’d work on the little charm Stacy wanted.

Supposedly magic, but Claire had a feeling given what she could do that the confidence boost would be better than any magic, but she still worked on the charm, carefully inscribing the words for good luck in the ancient languages, before pricking her finger and smearing it with her blood, a token of her desire and payment.

And then, she saw the lights of Mom’s car. Time to go home.

*****

AT home, Claire passed the Pest, her little brother, who was happily ensconced on the living room floor watching the newest episode of FIRST TEAM! In fact it was a double length special.

Claire shook her head, as the diabolical general Druid gave another speech as he was about to blow up a dam to flood a valley to destroy a new Pentex low income housing complex.

That is so stupid. On the other hand, she knew half the kids would be talking about it, or the next bit of merchandise they’d bought…

It could be a little creepy at times.

But then Mom called her to dinner, with the Pest whining that he couldn’t eat in front of the TV and then after they finished, Claire had to go and finish her mundane homework.

*****

“The Gods have fallen,” the woman next to her spoke. “And Creation is ravaged. It will fall as well.”

Claire looked up into the dark sky. There were no stars in it.

“When we die, we shall go into the great vault.”

The words came from Claire’s mouth and they were a man’s words. “To stay there for eternity?”

“All things break down, in time, save for exaltations. Remember what would have awaited humanity had we failed. Creation will fall, but something will replace it. And eventually… others will inherit our power. When it is needed. When the vault’s walls crack and first let dreams of what we were out, then our power, to those who are worthy.”

A snort answered her. “Autocthon’s last glory. I wonder if he will also survive.”

“Who knows? Certainly, we shall never know. ”

“Aye. The wind is calm. It is a good night.”

“It is the last night.”

Claire opened her eyes, looking up at the white plaster of her ceiling.

“What the heck was that?”