Entre Ombre et Lumiere

* Alec jots down the name T.W. Arche, collects the handwritten map of the bayou, and pockets the Hidden Men Of Letters Note.
** As they write this down, the action feels like repetition, like they’ve done this before.
*** When they flip to the beginning of their notebook, they’re reminded of when they found the letters A-C-E-H-R-T-W carved into a bookcase in a secret room in Lenore’s house.
*** Alec notices these letters spell T.W. Arche.
* Martha sees Alec focused on something as she approaches.
** She tells them the symbols she found feel important, like a sixth sense.
** Alec seems perturbed at being interrupted for a moment, but shakes it off, and looks at the symbols.
*** They recognize parts of them, but not their significance as a whole.
** They decide to sign the Alchemical Symbology book of the library.
***Martha uses the name Annie Williamson + the hotel address.
* Alec points out to Martha how the letters match the name she found, and it disturbs her.
* She can tell the map is of the edge of the bayou to the south.
* The two of them decide to head to the nunnery to collect a stray habit for Martha.
* When Martha sees the hustle and bustle of the convent, she feels a strong nostalgia.
** This is the convent she used to live in.
* She simply walks sneakily into the courtyard where the laundry is hanging and snatches a habit off the line.
** It’s all perfectly timed and coordinated.
** Alec is impressed.
* They decide to head back to St. Lumiere.
* Everyone reunites there.
* Signe adds the note of the symbols, and the Crescent reporters to their small pile of evidence on the table.
* The diary note talks about an artifact that is said to influence shapechangers, and Cyrus points out that werewolves are shapechangers.
* William explains the clues we discovered on the corpses.
** The crescent symbol matches what Martha drew!
*** The alchemical symbol for silver
** We have the symbols for: Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Silver, Spirit Mercury, and Quintessence.
*** Quintessence is the 5th element, soul.
*** Cyrus knows Spirit Mercury has to do with witchcraft.
**** Prima Trio is the philosophical principle that the elements mercury, sulfur, and salt form the three connections between the mind, body, and spirit.
*** Both Quintessence and  Spirit Mercury have similar properties in ritualistic witchcraft.
**** Expulsion, binding, reanimation, etc. come to his mind.
* Cyrus explains how they didn’t find anything interesting at the graveyard, but he wants to do a seance at the grave of the victims.
** He wants Signe to help because of her dream of the victims.
* Alec finds that the Libri Invisibilia is oddly barren of any mention of witches.
* There are a lot of references to werewolves, though.
* Signe asks Martha why she thought these seven symbols were important
** Martha says she had a feeling, an intuition.
* Signe has a thought. . . what if the murder victims were sacrifices?
** Intentionally selected and not victims in a battle against two sides.
* Alec states we need to gain contacts within the Witches and Werewolves to find out more.
* Martha is very suspicious of Madame Beaudreaux so talking to her deceased husband Gerard might be a good idea.
** When she mentions Mr. Beaudreaux, the spirit voices become deafening to Cyrus, and a hanging chalkboard clatters to the floor.
*** This has shaken Cyrus.
*** He excuses himself for some air. Alec follows him.
* Signe picks up the chalkboard, and sees written on it, 25:2
** Martha recognizes that as a proverb in the Bible.
*** “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter. To search out a matter is the glory of Kings.”
*** A rare proverb to have in a church.
* Meanwhile outside, Cyrus and Alec have a little chat
** There is a lot more noise associated with this church than Cyrus is used to.
*** Alec suggests maybe we keep our HQ at the hotel instead.
** They talk about the coincidence of finding the name in the Men Of Letters cache and the anagram of W-A-T-C-H-E-R
** Finding out MoL headquarters could have valuable insights.
** Locating this artifact that influences shapeshifters might be very helpful.
** Wila is learning a lot, but both Alec and Cyrus are worried for her wellbeing.
** Martha’s investigatory skills at the library impressed Alec.
* It’s brought up how we’re only assuming it was a war against Witches and Werewolves because:
** The tit-for-tat nature of the murders
** Then the MoL reference to a peace pact brokered in the early 1700s.
* All of a sudden Wila exclaims that she found a clue!
** She’s holding a bible and a torn piece of paper
** It is a Hidden Diary Page of Gerrard Beaudreaux
*** He talks about the burden of stewardship of St. Lumiere, how he hid secrets around the church for the next caretaker, and destroyed the ‘archives of information’ to protect the knowledge.
*** He refers to the church as ‘nexus of power’
*** May this information be found by those who seek to protect it.
* We immediately start looking around for clues!
** In the rectory, Signe, Cyrus, and William notice a notebook lodged under the leg of the dresser, p propping it up. It’s the Diary of Gerrard Beaudreaux.
*** These entries were made before his death, ten years ago.
** William finds strange symbols on the altar in the center of the room.
*** Could be the ones Gerrard wrote about
*** He presses the stone square and a secret compartment opens!!
**** Inside is a small ornate box, adorned with the same symbols
**** It’s wrapped in another page of writing.
***** Aetherscope Diary Page
**** Inside the box is an artifact, a silver circular device with runes carved along the rim. The Aetherscope
* Cyrus inspects the Aetherscope
** The runes are esoteric symbols that are open for interpretation.
** The golden arrow points to different symbols that Cyrus interprets as:
*** Crushing depth,
*** Burning desire
*** Severance/separation by force
*** Death
** He feels overcome by a feeling of hopelessness
* Signe writes down these interpretations as Cyrus dictates them, but as he says ‘death’, she is filled with fear.
** The dark cloud around Cyrus’s head is darker.
** She is shaken by this.
* Martha wonders if the lines indicated on the hand drawn map from the MoL cache are the ley lines that were mentioned in the diary entries.
** Alec tries to match this map to actual maps of the New Orleans coast.
*** They could probably find the coast location but there are no spatial distances marked.
*** We think it’s somewhere west of Delacroix, between Lake Learie and Grand Lake, which is SE of New Orleans.
*** Martha knows to avoid this area, it’s where vagrants go, lots of bugs, alligators, and unlivable (unregulated)
* We think about heading to the graveyard for a seance, or finding where Gerrard is buried.
** Cyrus notes the voices are quiet.