Mixed Family (SFW, SI, Slash) - A Chronicles of Darkness/New World of Darkness 2e Crossover Story.

[Dragos Bee]

Prologue - Awakened Blossoms

List of Game Lines listed in the Crossover: Werewolf the Forsaken Second Edition, Mage the Awakening Second Edition, Princess: The Hopeful (Homebrew). Other Gamelines are also given minor mentions.

My twin and I were always weird.

When Dad turned the lights off after telling us a bedtime story, we saw that our eyes glinted like wolves' in the night. We were three then, but we knew enough to see that this was weird.

What was even weirder was that the story our father told us was not just supposed to be fiction, but part of a tabletop game whose second edition had not been released yet. And yet, the tale which he recounted in such solemn tones, and which he bequeathed to us as a future 'duty, was identical to the backstory of the Uratha; the faction of Werewolves known as 'The Forsaken' from the New World of Darkness/Chronicles of Darkness.

"The world was once whole, a Pangaea where people crossed the border between spirit and flesh. Then Father Wolf and Mother Luna, the Spirits of Hunting and The Moon, fell in love and created The People, the unified tribes of Werewolves. Then Father Wolf grew old and weak and our ancestors had to replace him, and so they went for his throat, tearing it out and killing him so we can take his duty," another three years later, Mom summarized what Dad had said as she sat us down after school when we told her about the shadowy shapes behind every wall, the strange noises near the boiler room, and the pale and sickly green lights close to the sky.

"Luna then cursed us with a tendency for madness and a vulnerability to silver in response to her consort's death," Mom said, her tone less soft and soothing but easier to understand. "On the plus side, she did allow us to have children with Humans and other Werewolves..."

"So we are in Second Edition after all -" my brother took the second Mom took to muse to whisper to me, only for Mom to hear and ask:

"What edition? This is not a game," she said in a clipped tone as her eyes narrowed in rebuke.

I nodded quickly and gently pushed the back of my brother's head so he'd nod as well; there'd be time to find out more as we grew up...

------

"Another fight?" Dad said as he looked at my bruised face and my twin's swollen fist. "Let me guess; you allowed someone to see your eyes when the lights were out? Or did you see something which 'doesn't exist'?"

He was smiling when using that last term.

"A group of kids were bullying another kid and said kid almost jumped off the roof," my brother responded in a cool tone that let the implications hang in the air. "We beat up the bullies after talking the kid out of it."

As Dad's face twisted in disbelief and he opened his mouth to ask if we were indeed telling the truth, I pulled out my new smartphone and showed him the recordings I made. Even now, I knew that they bulged out in rare surprise.

"Daniel," he said to me, "you and Leon shouldn't draw attention to yourselves. But you did the right thing. I'll have the Pack look into it, make sure Depression spirits don't form around the area."

He sighed loudly, his shoulders slumping in an Un-Werewolf-like way. "That said, it's time to bring you into The Academy; if you two insist on tackling your duties early, then you should be trained in such - Add that to the fact that the world is more than our kind, the Spirits, and Mortals..."

-------

'The Academy' was an institution for Wolf-Blooded kids. What are Wolf-Blooded, one may ask? Humans who are touched by Luna, the Spirit of the Moon, with a special connection to the Spirit World (aka what we call the Hisil). Many of them have descent from Werewolves or were badly affected by seeing one or had ‘exchanged bodily fluids’ with one, sometimes through the stereotypical ‘bite’. Many of them also turn into Werewolves eventually, but not all, but unlike in the Old World of Darkness, even those who don't turn into Werewolves are treated with respect because, well, they can still defend themselves.

Thanks to an agreement with the local Mage Consilium, Changeling Freehold, and Demon Agency, we also had a number of Proximi, Fae-Touched (Mortals who can see Changelings and Faerie Magic), and Demon-blooded (Note that in this world, 'God' is actually the God-Machine, Angels operate on Occult Cybernetics, and Demons are fallen Cyber-Angels who can also sire offpring with some Demon Powers).

Complicating the picture was that there were True Mages, Changelings, and yes, a Demon or two in the school as well, although the teachers made clear that any attempt to create a 'pecking order' among the students or bully them for having weaker powers would be cracked down on with extreme prejudice.

Needless to say, our good looks and charm (I had the brightest golden eyes while Leon's were soulful black) made us the talk of the town; Leon was cool, aloof in the the way which drew girls and boys to him, while I was happy, bubbly, and enthusiastic and knew when looking adorable would get me and whoever I was hanging out with out of trouble.

Oh, right, we were aware that we liked both guys and gals as we were growing up.

But if we were weird, we were weird in a way that made us special. And we were weirder than what we might eventually become or what might happen to us in this world… no, these Chronicles of Darkness...

-------

“Daniel, time to wake up!”

My mother’s voice snapped me awake from my dreams of the past. As my eyes opened wide, I swiftly moved to change from my PJs to the shirt, jacket, pants, and footwear that made up my ‘school clothes’ before going downstairs for breakfast.

Me

Originally David Garcia Martinez from Lalin’s Curse, a Webcomic by Isaky on Webtoons, now used for Daniel Palaiologos with her consent.

“You’re almost late,” Leon said as he was wolfing down (there’s a pun to be made there involving our ancestry, but now wasn’t the time to say it) his meal of pancakes, sausages, and bacon, occasionally snatching pieces of the latter from my plate.

“Stop that!” I said in turn as I rushed to the table, took a seat, and began gorging myself on what meat and pancakes remained, as well as the last third of a ham-and-cheese omelet which I washed down with a still-full glass of orange juice.

My Brother

Custom Art by Jitobeans I paid for. Now Leon.

“Seriously, though,” Leon said to me with a sigh, “This is our sixteenth birthday - Can't you take this seriously? More importantly, Summer is over; we’re going back to class and we need to prove we haven't been slacking!”

“It’s only been a few minutes, Leon!” I protested, “We’re not even late for school - If anything, we might come early!”

Was it weird that I actually liked School, particularly as the School I am in was special?

“Brush your teeth, boys!” Mom said as we got up to leave, “And use mouthwash! And make sure not to forget your bags!”

Knowing full well that Mom was a Werewolf who specialized in using Human and Spirit laws to bring their quarry low even before closing in with her claws only made us more prompt.

Either way, we made sure to be thorough with our oral hygiene lest we get a reputation for bad breath in addition to weird eyes which saw the impossible. After that, it was time to go to The Academy; it wasn’t that far so I and Leon could just walk.

-------

“Daniel,” Leon whispered as we walked to The Academy, "We need to talk. About being reincarnates."

The breeeze was blowing hard, almost howling even though it was summer; the sound of cars zooming near the sidewalk drowned out my brother's whisper further. Nevertheless, I told him, "Do we have to, our in the open?"

"It's been sixteen years!" Leon dropped the whisper. "Sixteen years since we were reborn here, and we still don't know why! And what's worse, we're likely to spend the rest of our lives as Werewolves or stay Wolf-blooded forever, and that last part is not a good scenario even though it's miles better than being a Kinfolk in the Old World of Darkness!"

"I didn't know you didn't want to be that -" I said just before Leon pulled me back from the road as the 'Walk' sign was still turned off.

"Do you want to be Isekai'd again?! At least it's quicker than the Pandemic, though..." Leon then continued as we waited for the signal to cross the road, "But yes, I do not want to be a Werewolf or keep being a Wolf-Blooded. I want to be a -"

Reality lurched, and Leon vanished before my eyes as my surroundings disappeared, shifting into motes of light amidst a sky that blazed with cloudless lightning and blue-white fire, where clouds made of those same motes of light mixed with imperial purple aurorae which shone amidst a howling, heavy wind.

And ahead of me, I saw a watchtower of golden moving parts, with Angels - Supernal Angels, I knew now, not the Occult Machine Cyber-Magical ‘Angels’ of the God-Machine - flitting about its upper heights, inviting me to the tower, the only refuge against the fire, lightning, thunder, and wind outside.

I rushed to them; what else can I do, even though I knew too that one does not get gratification without a price? I signed my name on the Watchtower, though with what, I did not know. My tongue burnt with a speech that was not the First Tongue of those blessed by Luna, this speech was of a metaphysical truth that cried out to be said, not merely the Spirits’ language.

This was not natural, even for the World of Darkness; not the Awakening itself, which proceeded according to the template provided by the books I read in my previous life, but the fact that it was being handed over to me - Something which should be impossible without complications, something which even the God-Machine has not demonstrated itself capable of doing.

Oh, my God! What if the Awakening grows wrong? What if I become someone who cannot use their Magic right?

"Do not be afraid. You were sent here for a purpose."

The words burnt with metaphyiscal truth, and I swooned, overwhelmed by transcendent thoughts...

------

I opened my eyes, although I did not remember closing them. And we were at the gates of The Academy.

The sun was glinting brightly on the red glazed tiles of the roofs and windows, causing the dew to glimmer like thousands of clear gems. As we stepped through the gates and into the gardens, dozens of flowers bloomed like a carpet of color, with gold roses with silvery edges sticking out amongst the reds and blues and purples and whites.

“Are these even possible?” Leon said while I sniffed the air, looking for any unusual resonances and finding a few, but not hostile ones. As it is, the place seemed less stuffy and boring than it seemed to be, and more… Blessed.

“You can look it up, but we have other things to worry about,” I told him as I pulled him into the school building; normally he was the one pulling me. "By the way, are you whole?"

Leon smiled back and said, “I’m alright. And yes, I am ‘whole’. Of course, we just lost all traces of our Wolf-Blooded heritage except our glinting eyes, and we have some explaining to the faculty and our parents to do, but…”

“This ain’t normal and this ain’t the bad kind of abnormal either,” I continued as we entered a relatively deserted alcove. "I think that we just crossed over with that Homebrew involving Magical Girls and Boys."

"Princess?" Leon smiled briefly before pursing his lips and trying to look 'cool' again. "Nah, that can't be."

Footsteps - Unfamiliar ones - Could be heard coming towards us, as he said, "But it is. But it is, Daniel and Leon Palaiologos... Or should I say, Daniel and Leon Cook?"

We whirled at the person who just butted in, only to recognize -

Our New Friend

Art Commissioned by me, now Ken

"Ken!" I shouted eagerly, "Nice to meet you in real life, even if it is in 'another', well..." my voice lowered to a whisper, "World."

“Yep,” Ken said before shifting to a more formal tone. “But you'd know me as Ken Illustrious Ikari now instead of the more mundane Ken Aizawa..."

He then gave a smirk which in Anime, meant he knew more than he let on, “And we have much to talk about after class.”

I knew enough narrative convention to know that a quest awaited and that we might finally get answers...