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This month's news from Alternative Views News

Front page article in the London Lambast Daily, 21st March

Mother of Witches announces new Magical Innovation Centre in Richmond
By Daisy Connell, Witch Correspondent

Yesterday Samantha Okeke, the Mother of Witches, officially announced the chosen location of her much-vaunted new Centre for Magical Innovation in Richmond. The selected venue is an impressive, modern building on a university campus in Teddington, Richmond, better known as a hub for scientific research.

The venue boasts state of the art facilities, including several laboratories, and was selected based on a combination of its cutting edge technological equipment, high security and excellent location.

Speaking on-location at the site for a press conference, the Mother said: "I am delighted to announce the location of our first new Centre for Magical Innovation. This inspiring and modern environment will enable us to be forward thinking, creative and rigorous in the application of new magic to address the challenges we face in today's society."

Refurbishment of the venue will take place over the next month, with the centre due to open by the end of April.

Summoning magic to become legal again?
The Mother also hinted that the Night Council is set to soften its stance on the use of magic relating to fae. She appeared to confirm rumours that Circle Daybreak have submitted a petition to the Night Council requesting that summoning magic no longer be classified as dark magic.

The previous Mother of Witches and current President of the Night Council, Sylvia Redbright, has always been known to be strongly against the use of any magic relating to fae.

At the time of writing, President Redbright was unavailable for comment.

For more on this story, go to page 5.

Article buried on page 9 in the London Lambast Daily, 21st March

Shopkeeper disappears
The proprietor of the dress shop Pins and Needles disappeared yesterday. "Mrs. Lotus" owned the dress shop in Harrow but did not turn up to open the premises on Monday. Believed to be a Seelie, local residents reported that it was typical for the rather odd shopkeeper to close up shop during summer months.

"I'd usually expect her to go when the clocks go forward, you know," said Alex Farley, the business owner next door, "which would be this weekend, so maybe she decided to take the time off a bit early. She forgot to lock up on Sunday afternoon too, so the shop was left open and empty all day. I don't know what that's about."

A request was put forward to the Night Council to investigate, and received the following response: "It is common knowledge that Seelie and Unseelie move back and forth between this world and the Other Realm. We do not believe this matter to be of any significance."

Front page article in Worldly Weirdness Weekly, 25th March

It's official: the Mother of Witches DID submit a petition to make summoning magic legal again!
By Charlene Pinter, Night Council Correspondent

Worldly Weirdness Weekly can officially confirm that the rumoured petition to the Night Council to make summoning magic legal WAS submitted by the Mother of Witches, Samantha Okeke. We can also exclusively reveal that:

• The Mother has already informed Circle Daybreak that summoning magic is not only allowed, but ENCOURAGED.
• She wants to train young witches to summon and control fae.
• She wants ALL witches to have their own familiar.

Go to page 4 for the full story and to find out why the President will HAVE to accept the petition.

Front page article in the London Lambast Daily, 31st March

Night Council makes U-turn in law on summoning magic
By Daisy Connell, Witch Correspondent

Today the Night Council announced that it has formally accepted the petition put forward by Samantha Okeke of Circle Daybreak to amend the definition of dark magic to no longer include summoning magic.

"Summoning magic is about protecting ourselves," said Peter Vrinak, the Night Council Vice President. "There has long been a hole in the law where spells to banish and trap aggressive fae have technically been counted as dark magic, even though they are absolutely vital for self-defence. We have seen fae activity in London especially increase over the past year and I for one welcome the opportunity to ensure that witches are trained to defend the supernatural community from these creatures. Efforts to contain the infestation in Bromley and Bexley have so far met with little success. This is a wise move from a new Mother who is unapologetic about putting London's needs first."

The revision to the law means that the following magic will now be allowed by both the Night Council and Circle Daybreak:

• Summoning fae
• Banishing fae
• Commanding fae (once summoned)
• Entering a contract with a fae (once summoned)
• Travelling to the Other Realm

Dark magic is still forbidden – but summoning magic no longer counts
After more than fifty years of summoning magic being forbidden by Circle Daybreak, much of the craft has been lost. It is expected that the Mother of Witches will seek to train young witches and build up expertise in this tricky and delicate area of magic.

When asked if she believed that dark magic should be allowed, the Mother responded: "I am against dark magic. I fully support the Night Council's efforts to ensure that dark magic is not practised in our community, and that we do not damage the hearts and souls of our young witches by encouraging them to practise it. I am proud to lead Circle Daybreak and to continue to use our magic for good, for the betterment of the community, and to improve the lives of thousands of witches up and down the country."

For more on this story and rumours of the Maiden's involvement in the original petition, go to page 4.

[OOC: This post is open to anyone who wants to react or talk about any of the news! If you want to grab an NPC, just say so in your comment.]

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"I'd hoped I might have at least twelve hours before I was called to action," Finnick says, though it's more for himself than for Eames. This is terrible news, and they have to act on it quickly, but he knows he just needs a little bit of time to get through the pain of things before he can function properly.

"Do you have a plan?"

"Not yet," he frowns down at his coffee. He doesn't want to say he doesn't know what to do but he really doesn't know what to do.

Honestly, now they're here he half thinks maybe he just wanted to talk to someone who kind of understands what they're dealing with. Eames has been summoned a few times but he's never been bound and honestly he doesn't know anything about it.

He sighs, turning it over in his head and glances back at Finnick, "I can leave you to wallow a little longer if you like."

The words should be an insult, but the way he says it is a genuine offer to leave Finnick be for now instead.

"No, it's been long enough," Finnick says, even if his tone isn't entirely convincing. He's of two minds about it, which doesn't make it a lie, and he's not about to turn Eames away just so he can wrap himself in a blanket and stare blankly at his television even if that does sound like a nice relief from this damned world.

He turns his attention to his coffee as he gathers his thoughts, but there's a whole damn lot of them and he figures it's probably best if Eames speaks first, outlines his intentions at least. Finnick knows what he wants to do but he's too close to this to parse whether it's what he should do.

Eames is rapidly becoming of the idea that going home and doing the same as Finnick is the best option available to him right now, but he can't just take to day to do nothing. He's the Lord of Autumn, he has to act.

"It feels like she wants a fight, and we both know better than to give in," he says, level but tired too. He's sick of being an adult about things. "Fuck me if it's not a really appealing idea right now though."

"There are only two choices," Finnick says, his voice bitter and angry. "We retreat or she dies."

Wow, okay.

It's not really a surprising stance for Finnick to take but it still catches Eames a little off, pausing for a moment before he even forms any words.

"It's not that simple," he says, suddenly hit by a wave of deja-vu; talking about what to do with Norrell, but it's hardly as if the man was well-liked or respected; he was easy to get rid of.

"Killing her makes her a martyr. She's not some back-alley witch who wouldn't be missed, and if her death is linked to the fae it becomes an example of why we need to be controlled."

"Then they all die," Finnick says impatiently, "or we find a way to cover it up. We can't co-exist with people like her in this world."

He looks down at his coffee, frowning because all of this is hard to say. "You must understand that."

"Right. Me and you-- we'll kill them all, is that it?" Eames leans back in his seat, sarcasm thick as he looks at Finnick levelly. "Because fuck if anyone else in the courts is going to get off their arse to help."

"If that was the only plan we had," Finnick says, exhausted and drained of any will to have a real conversation about this. He knows they should, which is the only reason he hasn't told Eames to leave.

"Sometimes I don't care if I die," he adds by means of explanation, "may as well make something of it in the process."

It's like he tried to avoid dealing with Finnick's emotions and ended up being thrust face-first into them. 'Like' because that's exactly what just happened. Eames is quiet for a moment, fingers tapping idly on the lid of his cup.

"I don't know what that witch did to you," though he has some ideas, guesses based on how Finnick doesn't seem to hate anything with anywhere near as much passion as he hates witches and vampires, but he can't actually say he cares that much either, "but I'm not running headlong into a fight that won't benefit us because you can't see the forest for the trees."

"I see the forest just fine," Finnick says, anger bubbling up to the surface again as he clenches his fist on the table, "I've been in that forest and I came out the other side. Not everyone gets that luxury, but you'll have to excuse me if I have a little trouble getting perspective on this."

He turns to Eames and fixes him with an intense stare despite his exhaustion. "The only reason I am here is because the mortal scum - that human who rented out my body and my blood for profit - is dead. She wants us to be objects and they won't stop at using us for magic. They will sell us and trade us and forget that we ever had minds of our own. So yes, I think she has to die. I think the whole forest needs to be burned down."

"I'm not saying I disagree, not exactly. I'd happily bury that whole council and all of Daybreak's upper echelon with nothing but their nightmares for company until they die.

"But--" He pauses, trying to decide the best way to say what he's trying to get across here. Truth be told, he doesn't care all that much about what Finnick's been through, not any more than how it affects him in the present, but Eames thinks he has the emotional acuity to know it's still a sensitive topic he's dealing with here. "I'm concerned that what happened to you might make you forget that what we want to do and what we can do are two very different things."

Finnick sinks into his chair, deflating as he tries to calm himself down. He still hasn't completely figured out why Eames is here, what he wants from him, so he does his best to sort out some words in his head that can best explains where he stands right now.

"The only thing I know I can do is fight," he admits. "I've never been one for plans or schemes, not even before. You said you wanted the man who helped you cut a deal with Sylvia, but that was only a different kind of fight in her office that day. I was made for survival, not strategy."

He frowns down at his hands, where he's worrying a rope bracelet, half of a set he made for himself and Annie. "I'm not trying to make excuses, I'm only telling you that I'm better at being the edge of a blade than I am at being the hand that wields it. If you were hoping for a plan I can help as much as I know how, but if you want more than that you've come to the wrong place."

Eames is quiet again, looking down at his coffee for what feels like the hundredth time before he suddenly admits, "I don't know anything about binding," like it's something he should be embarrassed about.

But he figures he might as well be honest with Finnick about this much.

"I should-- all things considered, I really should, but I never thought of it as a risk, so..." He trails off into a vague gesture, so here they are. "I don't have any experience with this. I suppose that's why I came to you first."

That doesn't necessarily catch Finnick off guard but it is a change in direction that he didn't quite expect. He takes a deep breath and nods, once again taking a moment to sort out the words in his head before he speaks.

"It's straight forward and it's not at the same time. It's easier the more powerful they are and the less powerful you are, but there are other factors at play. Generally they'll need your full name to fully bind you but I don't know if that's always the case with stronger witches.

"They can't make you lie or go against your nature but they can make you pretend all they want, so you have to be very determined in your questioning if you want to find out whether a fae is a consenting familiar or is being compelled to obey. I wasn't used for magic very often but it's... it's like they've opened a channel and they can draw on your magical energy whenever they want. They can't use your magic really, it's not quite the same, they just use it to supplement their own. It can go both ways but that's providing they let you use magic at all."

He sighs again. "Binding is much more serious and involved than summoning and commanding - the things she's allowed - but it's not exactly a stretch. A fae can be compelled to convince others they've consented to a contract even if they haven't so even if she made that distinction in the law there will always be a danger."

Eames takes that all in, nodding. Not much of it is new information per se, but hearing it from someone who's had that experience makes it all a lot clearer in his mind.

"Samantha's familiar-- Mogget. He has some sort of bell attached to him." Wow that feels like a stupid observation to have made. Eames shakes his head, but he continues on, "I wrote it off as a cat accessory but it's there in his other forms, and the chime is definitely magical."

It's a question more than it is a statement, asking if Finnick's ever heard of anything like it.

Finnick nods in return. He has relaxed a lot since they got onto a topic less about him and his capability to act. "There are physical things, like collars and magical tethers, that will keep the bond in place and strengthen it. It might not necessarily break the bond if you remove it - there are lots of ways to maintain a bond without constantly thinking about it but witches seem to like using physical objects to focus their magic. The cat, specifically... if he has been inherited like you said, Samantha may not have the means to keep him bound without that collar, since his contract would have been with some other witch."

That makes sense and Eames hums in understanding, thinking on it. The information is useless unless he intends to release Mogget from his binding somehow, but Eames also hasn't written that off entirely.

"Thank you," Eames finally says after what feels like a long silence. He still feels like there's a lot he doesn't quite get, but at least he has some idea of where his understanding is lacking now.

Finnick doesn't acknowledge that with anything more than a brief frown. He still doesn't feel like he's contributed anything, and he won't until he's had the opportunity to fight.

"They had iron cages when they came to Bromley," he says, his tone now gentle and sad. "They'll pass it off as consent when those fae make deals to get out. We might have to fight our own soon."

"I know." It's been a concern. Witches are dangerous, but fae under their control even more so. "They'll likely use them to pull more over to their side too."

"Then maybe we should find out how to get them back," Finnick says, glancing in Eames' direction like he's waiting for him to say it's a bad idea. "We need to deal with Samantha but those fae need help."

He thinks it's an awful idea, but he's not going to say that. He's also not going to make those fae a priority, but he nods slowly. It'd be nice to help them, even if he doesn't feel strongly about it the way Finnick does.

"We should look into ways to undo bindings," he says, "just in case any of them are bound with something stronger than a verbal contract."

Finnick's thinking more along the practical lines of cutting off what he can only imagine is a significant power source for the witches as well as a bolster to their numbers. Plus, you know, the fae are trapped and they deserve to be saved.

"Investigating one might help us with the other. If Daybreak's using a specific spell to bind all those fae we can find out what it is and how to undo it if we get closer."

Eames nods, fingers drumming impatiently along the side of his cup. It sure would be nice if things would stop being awful for a little while.

With a very weary sigh, Eames leans back in his seat and rubs his face with both hands. "It's probably not going to be simple and easy, is it?"

Finnick gives him a very soft look, almost feeling sympathy for the man. Finnick knows this weariness well - when it's not external forces it's internal ones making his life difficult. Simple and easy is a rare feeling for him.

"No."

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