Imbolc

[undergroundmods]

Watch on YouTube

The festival of Imbolc marks the end of winter and the coming of spring. It may not seem like it, but the days are getting longer and winter's grip is beginning to thaw. What better time to celebrate new beginnings and make a fresh start?

That's exactly what the witch community is doing, as Samantha Okeke takes her place as the newly anointed Mother of Witches. The event is being held at the Redbright Institute, courtesy of Sylvia Redbright the previous Mother, and will take place entirely outside. Carefully placed warming spells ensure that the air temperature in the grounds is comfortable rather than freezing.

The event begins at 5pm (after sunset at 16.52) and finishes at 8pm.

Order of Events
5pm-5.30pm: Flowers and Candles
The first half hour allows time for guests to arrive and mingle. The main area where guests will arrive first is the lawn and pavilion. Here there are two stalls selling a variety of early spring flowers and candles. A third stall is selling hot drinks where you can buy tea, coffee or brandy, a fourth is selling a variety of fruitcakes, cupcakes and seed cakes, and a fifth is doing excellent business selling plant pots filled with earth blessed by the new Mother of Witches and a variety of plant seeds. A sign on the stalls proclaims that all proceedings will be used to fund a new centre for magical innovation, sponsored by the Mother of Witches.

At the pavilion there is an altar where guests are encouraged to light their candles, lay down their flowers and wish for good health in the year ahead. It is also traditional for young witches to wear flower garlands, so expect to see a lot of flowers around in general.

5.30-6.15pm: The Mother of Witches
At around 5.30pm there will be a ceremony where Sylvia will officially pass on her crown as Mother of Witches to Samantha. Guests will be ushered through to the quad to witness the ceremony. A podium has been set up in the middle of the quad where Sylvia will wait for Samantha to arrive on a raised chair carried by four male witches. Wearing a white dress with gold lace trimming, Samantha represents the purity and fertility of the upcoming spring.

It's then time for Sylvia to symbolically hand over her power by giving Samantha her wand and setting a crown of jasmine flowers on her head. The final act is for Samantha to light the candles that have been placed around the podium, a symbol of new beginnings.

She will then give a speech, addressed to the witches of course, but she is aware that there are others in the crowd who will be interested in what she has to say.

6.15-7.15pm: Offerings
Samantha will be sitting on the raised chair which has now been set down on the podium, flanked by the four male witches. A small white cat sits in her lap. Now is the opportunity for all guests to bring gifts and offerings for the newly anointed Mother of Witches. Every coven will nominate a representative to present a gift and say a few words. It would be courteous for guests from other factions to do the same, though not everyone will.

In the meantime, the gardens are open for guests to wander around with fairy lights strategically placed to help guests find their way.

7.15-8pm: Mingling
The remainder of the event is open for guests to mingle as they please, with the quad, front lawn and gardens all open. The stalls will be selling food, drink and other wares right through to the end of the evening.

Comments

NPCs

[brightwitch]

(Say who you'd like to talk to when you tag!)

Sylvia Redbright
Sylvia is available only during the first half of the event. She'll be drinking tea and chatting to her fellow witches before the ceremony and then stepping aside to let Samantha take centre stage. Whatever feelings she has about Samantha at this moment – and there are things in the new Mother's speech that concern her greatly – this is not her night and she does not wish to steal Samantha's thunder. Consequently, she will say her goodbyes soon after presenting her gift to Samantha (a ruby ring). She hopes Samantha never has to use it.

Samantha Okeke
Samantha makes her grand entrance to the event when she is literally carried into the quad on a raised chair held aloft by four strong witches. She has a smile for everyone and the crowd seem to love her. Her speech starts by praising Sylvia for her thirty years of work and dedication and talking about how honoured she is to take up her mantle. Then it gets more interesting.

"As I look around at all of you, I see so much hope and so much optimism," she says. "But I have also seen fear. As witches, we are the keepers and custodians of the supernatural community. It is our duty to maintain the balance within our world, and when that balance is threatened it is vital that we have the skills and know-how to deal with it. My promise to you is this. I want every witch to feel empowered, to unlock his or her full potential, and to use all the tools we have at our disposal to make our world a better place. Magic is a gift. I want you all to embrace that gift, embrace your magic, and take joy in all the great things that we are going to achieve, together. Better education for young witches, better access to the tools and ingredients we need, and most importantly the freedom to experiment and find new ways of improving the lives of witches across the country. We can do that. We can be better. We can do so much more.

"Let me give you a concrete example. Today I'm very happy to announce that I plan to open a new centre for magical excellence and innovation, to foster an environment of creativity, freedom of expression, and experimentation. We have so much talent in this country. My father always used to say that British witches are peculiar. I think he meant it as a compliment. I want to take that quirkiness, that sense of independence and eccentricity, and combine it with the rigour of a scientific laboratory. Britain has some of the best universities in the world and carries out some of the best research in the world. There's no reason why that can't apply to British witchcraft too.

"So I say to you: no more fear. Imbolc is a time of new beginnings, so let's wipe the slate clean and make a fresh start. Be passionate. Be bold. Be brilliant. And most of all, be yourselves. Thank you."

After the speech, Samantha has something of a regal bearing as one by one representatives from the various covens and others come forward to offer their gifts. Keen observers will note that the white cat that appears to sit in her lap is not a cat at all, but a fae: Samantha's familiar. Samantha blesses each witch that approaches her with her wand, and she has a kind and gracious word for everyone that approaches – assuming of course that they are polite and respectful in turn.

Following the formal ceremony, Samantha is keen to get up, abandon her flower crown and wand, and work her way through the crowd. In particular, she tracks down Katherine Moore and spends a significant amount of time having a whispered discussion with the werewolf alpha. She can also be seen conversing with the various Night Council representatives. Samantha has a plan to make her vision of a new innovative type of witchcraft a reality, and she wants to get buy-in from the Council members to help her do that.

Katherine Moore
Katherine spends most of her time on the fringes of the event, hanging back and observing, though she does offer a gift to the Mother of Witches on behalf of the East End Pack (a hand-crafted wooden staff that doubles as a stake). She isn't one for ceremony or hippy witchy bullshit, but she does want to get a sense of whether this new Mother will kowtow to the vampires in the way that Sylvia Redbright has or whether she might be able to find an ally amongst the witches to help with a counter attack against the Islington Nest.

That's why she can be seen having a long discussion with Samantha in the gardens after the ceremony. A large part of her is happy that Samantha is talking to her at all, which she knows is a ridiculously low bar but it is a reflection of the werewolves' standing within London at the moment. Maybe, just maybe, the changes within Circle Daybreak present an opportunity for the pack to assert itself within the supernatural community.

Others
You can pretty much guarantee that every witch NPC on the Elites list will be there, so let me know if you want to grab any of them!

Katherine

[falsify]

Ah, now there's someone Eames has been meaning to talk to for a while now. He's so busy most of the time, he hasn't managed to reach out properly to the wolves, but why turn down the opportunity when it presents itself?

He's spent most of the night at the fringes too; avoiding the witches for the most part, but eventually he wanders up to Katherine with a smile and a glass of champagne in his hand.

"Ms Moore," he offers a hand as he approaches, "I'll admit, I didn't expect to see you here."

[brightwitch]

Fae. She can smell it on him instantly, the acrid tang of magic, the sense of otherness. Katherine looks at the offered hand and then back up to the fae who apparently knows her name.

She folds her arms. "It's a big day for the witches. What's it to you?"

She's not the friendliest customer.

[falsify]

O... Kay. Fair enough. He takes his hand back and puts in in his pocket, unbothered by the frosty response. If he let people shut him down just because they weren't happy to see him, he'd hardly talk to anyone.

"The witches haven't been friends to the wolves in quite some time," he glances over his shoulder where some people are fussing over Samantha, and then back to Katherine, "hoping that'll change with the new Mother?"

[brightwitch]

She's suspicious of strangers. Consider it a defence mechanism.

"I don't know," Katherine answers, and resists adding 'what's it to you?' although that thought is still uppermost in her mind. "A sea change like this, it could happen. You hoping to make daisy chains and sing kumbaya with your new Mother?"

Yeah, she knows he's fae and not a witch. She's just testing his reaction.

and Samantha

[falsify]

As a token of friendship, Eames has indeed come with an offering-- gift giving is a tradition he holds fast to. It's a copper pot, engraved with subtle patterns and decorative handles styled as branches and leaves of ivy delicately moulded in copper too. The inside has a subtle ceramic coating to stop the copper interfering with anything one might mix in it.

They've really thought of everything.

There's nothing in her speech that raises any red flags for him, no more than he's suspicious of most witches anyway, but as he approaches with his gift and spots her familiar... That's a little less benign. There's a brief wrinkle of distaste to his nose, but then he's all smiles as he offers the gift, so everyone knows the fae — or the Unseelie, at the very least — have only friendly intentions.

"I fear it might be a little... Old fashioned, after your speech," he says with a touch of wryness.

[brightwitch]

It's a beautiful gift. Samantha is delighted with it. Far more delighted than her cat familiar, who sits up with his hackles raised when Eames approaches. Samantha ignores that, nudging the cat aside while she coos over the pot.

"No, it's lovely," she says and looks up at him with a bright smile. "Vintage! Sometimes old is the new new."

[falsify]

Well there's a reaction he's never had from a cat before. Eames raises an eyebrow at the thing (god, he can only imagine what he'll be hearing from Finnick about this later,) but he chooses to ignore it for now. Whoever it is, they made their bed. Probably.

He hopes.

"I'm glad you like it," Eames smiles back with a short bow of his head and a gesture to the others with gifts to present, "I don't want to take up too much of your time, but I wonder if we could have a chat later? Without your... Friend, maybe." He says the last part with a wink and hushes his voice a little, "I don't think they like me."

[bellbound]

Yes, he made his bed. Doesn't mean he has to like it. Or being ignored, for that matter.

"I can hear you," says Mogget, resting his fore-paws on Samantha's leg as he looks up at this arrogant Unseelie. "I'd say I would have expected better manners, but in fact I'm entirely unsurprised."

"Mogget!" Samantha's tone is scolding. She shakes her head at Eames. "Sorry. I'm still breaking him in."

Mogget doesn't roll his eyes, but the look he gives Eames is very much the equivalent. See what he has to deal with. Samantha has no idea what she's doing. He'd hoped to fool her into taking off his collar, but unfortunately she's not quite that stupid. Or maybe Sylvia gave her a stern enough warning.

Anyway, Samantha has regained her composure. "Sure," she says, grinning at Eames. "How intriguing."

She knows who Eames is, which makes it all the more interesting that he wants to talk to her in private. She looks forward to finding out what he has to say.

Samatha and her familiar

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl did the polite thing before attempting to stalk that white not-cat. He waited until it was off her lap and she was out walking around. But by then the urge to follow was too much to keep fighting and he needed to see if his senses were fucking with him or not. He could only tell something was off about the cat, not what exactly and his curiosity demanded to be satisfied. So stalking it, it was.

And perhaps giving a low rumble in his throat to try and catch it's attention and communicate with it. Cats, even if they were familiars, usually paid attention to him when he focused on influencing them.

[bellbound]

Well, it was nice of Daryl to wait until Mogget had wandered off before stalking him. The cat was following a familiar path through the garden as he headed towards the fishing pond when he caught an unfamiliar scent and his ears pricked. Mogget snorted to himself. Shapeshifter.

He turned around, eyes scanning the darkness until he caught a glimpse of another set of feline eyes hidden in the shrubbery. He sat down on his haunches, tail curling around his paws.

"You may as well turn back," he pointed out. "We can hardly have a conversation otherwise. Unless you are trying to eat me, which I do not recommend."

[dirtyredneck]

Daryl stopped and sat up, raising his body enough to show that he was double the talking not-cat's size. So the familiar was a fae. If it was really a familiar and actually bound to the witch and not just another witch with a talent for taking shapes.

Daryl himself was twice the size of most housecats, so he wasn't worried about what the other cat could do to him physically, but magically was another matter. He huffed before walking out like he wasn't at all threatened by this new information. Then started sniffing at him as he got close.

There was a low rumble in his chest, one last test of communication in the language of cats. Just to be sure the not-cat really couldn't understand him.

[bellbound]

Mogget backed up as the bigger cat got close, hackles raised. Unfortunately he didn't speak cat and so he didn't know what this shapeshifter's intentions were. He could tell that the bobcat was interested in him for whatever reason and so Mogget hissed in response. Back off.

Samantha

[stauncherhearted]

Nancy had had a nagging feeling that when Samantha had referred to 'witches', she wasn't including her. Maybe it was because the woman had been very clear as to her feelings on what she viewed as traitors. Silly, honestly. She didn't know enough about the situation at hand to call Nancy anything. She was no traitor, not when she had been with Midnight.

But she knows it's bad form to come to one of these and not approach her, not bring a gift of sorts. For hers, she'd selected a good bottle of gin, and taken great pains to procure it. With flowers woven through her ginger hair, and a polite, soft smile, Nancy approached the new Mother, bottle in front of her to present.

There was no need to be petty right now, not when she was doing her best to support Cooper in any way she could. Even if that meant getting along with Samantha.

[brightwitch]

For the record, no, she wasn't including Nancy. Anyone who chose to leave their coven and make their bed with a vampire had opted themselves out of the circle of trust as far as Samantha was concerned.

But she also wanted to ask Nancy's boyfriend a favour tonight, so it paid to be a little more polite.

So Samantha accepted the bottle of gin with a gracious smile and nod, acknowledging Nancy's right to present her with a gift. "Thank you."

[stauncherhearted]

Right, she totally chose to leave. Shadow Coven had been destroyed. Nancy had stayed with them to the last. The last thing she wanted to do was join those who had hurt her in the first place. Thanks but no thanks.

"Of course. it's one of my favorites." She smiles pleasantly. Isn't she supposed to receive a blessing now? She didn't enchant these flowers into her hair for nothing, Samantha.

Sylvia

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha makes her appearance only a little late. It isn't a night for her, but she has an interest in seeing how the event goes off both practically, as a part of Redbright, and politically as a part of the supernatural community. And a rather vulnerable part of it, from her perspective. Maybe it's old instincts that make her skittish, but she likes knowing who the players are and what their aims.

That in mind, she's there in time to hear Samantha's speech, and she stands impassively toward the back of the crowd through it. The focus, so solidly on the witch community, is not lost on her.

After, it's Sylvia she seeks out first. She doesn't have a plan for the encounter, but she wants to gauge the previous Mother of Witches' reaction to a message that is on its face a marked change of direction for Daybreak. Before Sylvia departs, just after she's discharged her responsibility by making her gift, Natasha intercepts her, falling into step beside her as though by coincidence.

"She has a flair for the dramatic," Natasha observes dryly.

[brightwitch]

Sylvia, perhaps unsurprisingly, is heading off to get a drink before she leaves. Natasha catches her eye when she falls into step with her and Sylvia nods in response.

"She's a gifted speaker. I was very impressed."

Samantha is supremely confident, no one could fail to notice that. She reminds Sylvia a little of herself in her younger years, with all that energy and drive, though she suspects it will be channelled in a different direction. Sylvia has always been cautious, taking calculated risks and reassuring her covens with messages of security and solidarity. Samantha's message tonight was far bolder.

[outstandingbalance]

"Impressive," Natasha agrees. Sylvia's answer strikes her as very politic, measured. She can respect that, and she doesn't expect anything else. Even if they weren't at a public event, she wouldn't have. Their relationship isn't there, and Natasha doesn't expect it to be.

That doesn't mean they can't talk. That she can't fish a little.

"She knew her audience was." And it wasn't everyone here.

And Samantha

[outstandingbalance]

Toward the very end of the evening, Natasha finds an excuse to cross paths with Samantha. She doesn't consider herself to be in any position to engage otherwise, but she's good enough at what she does to make such a meeting seem casual.

She looks up as though just recognizing who's in front of her, and smiles slightly. "Congratulations," she offers, brows rising somewhat. It's a delicate balance of socially fluent and caught above her pay grade. The kind of posturing that had served her well as a spy, and as a vampire. "It was some speech."

[brightwitch]

"Thank you," Samantha answers brightly, but the redhead isn't the vampire she wants to talk to. "Have a great night."

Her eyes are already slipping past Natasha, looking for the next person to approach as she moves to weave her way through the crowd.

[outstandingbalance]

"You too." Natasha considers being more forceful, but there's something telling enough about the dismissal. For the time being, she's more inclined to let the opportunity get away rather than potentially draw attention to herself.

It's not a brush off that goes unnoticed, though.

sorry samantha

[ghoulaid]

The Night Train was a drag, but this is almost just as bad. Everything's so pleasant and flowery and formal and- and witchy. He's still holding a touch of a grudge against witches of London, and all their sweet little ceremonies that seem to drag on forever aren't raising his opinion. But he's not here for his own enjoyment. He's here to keep his eyes open (though he does close them for a bit during the speech, if only to keep from rolling them) and his mouth shut.

He's been skulking around the outside of the crowds, keeping to himself, and ends up zoning out at some point. When he comes back down to earth and turns to relocate, he finds himself inches away from running right in to Samantha herself. He quickly corrects his course by jerking back and blurting out a surprised, "Holy shit."

Then he frowns. Be nice. Be nice. Be nice. "You oughta wear a bell." Close enough.

[brightwitch]

Startled, Samantha comes to an abrupt halt and almost spills coffee over herself. It's a good thing she didn't, otherwise the skinny werewolf guy would be getting such a chewing out right now. Still. Rude.

"Excuse me."

She's firm about it. No jibes about how he ought to wear a leash, although she's certainly thinking it. Samantha's aware that in her new role she needs to restrain her tongue more than she normally would. So she gives him a tight smile before moving past him.

[ghoulaid]

Ghoul lifts both hands slightly in what looks like a sort of surrender as she passes by, holding still otherwise.

Staying quiet is another matter. "Good to know you ain't as pleasant alone as you are when you're makin' nice speeches in front of a bunch of people." All right, so maybe he can privately admit that her reaction wasn't uncalled for. Kind of stiff, but they did almost have a collision. It's that moodiness that makes him want to antagonize, that's all.