Paisley Evans

## Background and Trivia

* Disorganized, easily distracted
* Constantly late
* Had trouble holding down a job or maintaining interest in anything for long
* Addicted to coffee
* Employed as a chef, but considering taking up look weaving
* Parents divorced. Her father remarried while Paisley was working on her undergraduate degree. Paisley's stepmother, Rita, had subsequently become a well-meaning complication in her life for the last four to six years.
* Friends with Vivienne for at least five years. Often shared details with her regarding her latest hobby (needle felting, as of episode 1)
* Somewhat aware of Bex's troubled (Mage-related) past, though she was unaware Bex was a juvenile delinquent and a Hollow One until episode 4.
* In episode 1, Paisley (indirectly) burned the Johnny Wu Family House to the ground through a Magickally-improvised Molotov cocktail that she threw at a pair of battling HIT Marks.
* Married to Bex for about 2 years, dating for 2-3 years before that
* Intoxicated on magic (tass) mushrooms in episode 2. Ingested another mushroom in episode 3, which triggered a negative reaction. The toxins were subsequently purged by Vivienne.

## Character Biography

### Dinner with Friends

In 2023, Paisley was married to Bex. They lived in a two-bedroom condo in San Francisco. Paisley had a green conure parrot familiar named Captain Larry Vesuvius Birb, the Last Word, Destroyer of Keyboards (Birb for short). Their relationship may have been slightly strained.

Shortly after seeing Bex off for work, a flyer for a Chinese restaurant named Red Star Noodles was conveniently slipped under her door. As she and Bex were meeting her friend Vivienne and her girlfriend Holly for dinner, but had not picked a venue, the timing seemed serendipitous.

Once she texted the details to Vivienne, she took a midday nap and dreamed she was a jazz trumpeter named Marvin who played with the Marvin King Band... before a mishap involving a trumpet valve and the son of the owner whose club they were playing at. After he was fired, Marvin was approached by a woman named Chastity Goodwyn, who flirted with him before extending an invitation to play at a private social club called the Goodwyn Foundation.

Having overslept, she hurriedly jumped into the shower (that should have been available for Bex) and neglected to close her laptop... which was open to a webpage about in vitro fertilization.

Paisley was momentarily confused to hear that the restaurant they were going to was named Johnny Wu Family House and not Red Star Noodles, but ultimately dismissed it as inconsequential. She and Bex eventually met Vivienne and Holly and started to have a pleasant dinner before being interrupted by Anthony 'Tony' Wu, a SFPD Bomb Squad officer and Council member who apparently knew Bex from her days as a Hollower (a past colourful enough to get her banned from the establishment). After a short and increasingly awkward conversation, Tony said his goodbyes. As an apology, he offered to cover their drinks (a gesture that was subsequently expanded to their entire meal).

Unfortunately, their dinner was rudely interrupted by HIT Marks, one of whom fired on them. They would later learn the hostile HIT Mark was a prototype HIT Mark X, while the 'ally' was a comparatively outdated HIT Mark V. During the ensuing battle, Bex and Holly were injured while Paisley lobbed a Magickally-improvised Molotov cocktail. The four escaped to the back alley as the restaurant burned down, only to be followed by the now-damaged HIT Mark V who asked for their help (episode 1).

### Old Enemies

The group made it back to Paisley's and Bex's condo. By that point, Bex was suffering both from the injuries she had endured at the restaurant and PTSD flashbacks of her previous HIT Mark encounter. Vivienne was able to heal her physical wounds and bring her back to lucidity, though Bex was soon alarmed when she realized a HIT Mark was in her home. Meanwhile, Holly was able to detect a mind pattern within the HIT Mark, one containing numerous ways of killing people... all of which were suppressed by some form of termination override.

After the mages confirmed their identities, the HIT Mark V told them he was specifically reprogrammed in 2001 to seek them out by Dr. Evelyn Taylor, a mage of the Society of Ether who had since passed away. When asked, he told them that Dr. Taylor had given him the name Gunther, as he had a chain gun in his possession at the time. A block on his memory banks prevented further disclosure until he went to a physical location somewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area. After some investigation, Bex and Paisley determined that the location in question was the Cliff House.

At that point, Paisley received a call from her mentor, Rex. When he wasn't repeatedly assuring her that he was 'on her side', he mentioned that mages from the San Francisco Council (including Anthony Wu and Lisa Derosa, Holly's former mentor) were investigating the Family House fire and asked whether she knew anything about it. After receiving an unconvincing lie from Paisley, he also informed her that Derosa was on her way to the condo. Vivienne was able to heal the HIT Mark (while Holly cautiously watched) while Bex used her rotes to disguise Gunther's appearance and disable any tracking mechanisms that may have been active. However, they were unable to block Derosa from scrying on their location or establishing a connection between their condo and her shop.

The mages reluctantly accepted Derosa's invitation for a casual conversation in her shop, which was subsequently extended to Gunther. Mushrooms of tass were offered to break the ice, though they had the side-effect of getting Holly and Paisley high. Unfortunately, the conversation soon grew heated as Vivienne (mistakenly) believed Derosa had drawn premature conclusions (Paisley burned the Johnny Wu Family House down with Magick) while Derosa accused them of violating Council rules regarding secrecy (while revealing certain outmoded views regarding Mages, the Technocratic Union and the Ascension War). Vivienne was in the midst of pacifying the situation when an outraged and intoxicated Holly knocked Derosa out with a single punch, much to Bex's approval. The mages hurriedly ransacked the shop and used Bex's Magick to put Derosa in a form of mental stasis (where she thought she was high) before fleeing the scene, thanks to a Tesla that Gunther forcibly acquired (episode 2).

### Answers in Ashes

As Gunther drove, Bex used her laptop to hack into the traffic cameras, all while jammed next to Vivienne and Holly (who were making out to regenerate Willpower). Paisley reluctantly answered a call from her stepmother, Rita, and immediately regretted it, as Rita proceeded to ask whether she and Bex were available for a surprise vacation before mistakenly assuming they were trying to get pregnant. After Birb made the situation worse by repeating some ill-timed phrases, Paisley took another tass mushroom and promptly vomited in Gunther's face. Once Gunther pulled the vehicle over, Paisley stumbled out and collided with a traffic meter. A sympathetic Vivienne Magickally purged the toxins out of Paisley while Gunther cleaned himself off as best as he could. After assessing the state of the car, the group elected to have Gunther acquire another vehicle (a green Toyota 4Runner).

Bex also hacked into the Cliff House cameras at Holly's suggestion. Between those security feeds and the traffic camera footage she had already accessed, she determined that the site was being protected by Paragon Security, a company affiliated with the Technocracy whose employees were licensed to carry a wide variety of firearms.

Once the group arrived at the Cliff House, they made various Magickal preparations:

* Vivienne increased her strength, dexterity and stamina. She also cast a spell to detect life patterns.
* Paisley reinforced her clothes and enhanced her sight to see electrical signals (including those from cellular phones, cameras and satellite uplinks). She would later prepare a Magickal EMP in case of emergencies.
* Holly reinforced her clothes and did the same for Vivienne. She also kept up her mind shield (from episode 2).
* Bex set up a video loop in the security feed and raised a mind shield, all while maintaining her rote on Derosa (from episode 2).

Gunther was asked to accompany them as they did not know precisely where they needed to go to unlock his files. In doing so, they inadvertently updated his protocols, allowing him to harm organic beings so long as he did not kill them. Gunther seemed slightly pleased at that development.

After the group entered the Cliff House grounds, Gunther identified a small building marked 'Giant Camera' as their target destination, which they would later learn was the San Francisco Camera Obscura. The mages soon discovered that the security was somewhat lax: as one of the gates was 'protected' by a rusty open padlock, the bulk of the security staff were holed up in their office watching anime and the lone patrol officer was high on marijuana and in the process of reliving himself. Holly snuck up on the patrol officer, knocked him out and took his belongings (including a Desert Eagle, a set of keys and a walkie-talkie).

Seeing that Holly had cleared the way, the group snuck over to the Camera Obscura. Gunther dealt with a call over the walkie-talkie by feeling the patrol officer's vocal cords and successfully replicating his voice. With no further complications, the group entered the building. Gunther approached the viewing table in the centre of the room and automatically began to update his file protocols. He looked up moments later and, through an optical laser, used the camera obscura and table to project a series of files... along with a video file from Dr. Evelyn Taylor.

Dr. Taylor told them that they had successfully unlocked Gunther's files and could now copy, move or transfer them as they saw fit. Originally, she had chosen to keep the files hidden, but had recently come to the conclusion that it was not her choice to make, but that of the latest generation of Mages. She had chosen them as they were all members of the Nine Mystic Traditions and one of them, in particular, was related to a dear friend of hers'. Candidly, she confessed her greatest regret were the things she and her friends did in the name of what they believed was a brighter future. She wished them well before signing off.

Still processing Dr. Taylor's message, the mages were about to leave when a man outside called out to them. He identified himself as Senior Agent Locke of the Technocratic Union and ordered them to surrender. A panicked Paisley dropped the EMP she had prepared earlier, temporarily disabling all electronics in a thirty foot radius... including Bex's laptop and, by association, the stasis she had maintained on Derosa. As everything went dark, a gunshot rang out (episode 3).

### Very Bad Things

While Bex was paralyzed with PTSD due to the loss of her spells, Holly hit the Technocrat with Mind Magick. Meanwhile, the mages heard a familiar voice cast Magick of his own. Paisley recognized it as her mentor Rex. As her spell wore off and the lights came back on, Paisley saw an older man (who she presumed was the Technocrat) and two security guards... both of whom had been shot by Rex, who was accompanied by two Hermetic apprentices. One of the guards was already dead, thanks to Rex, his gun, and the spell he had just cast. Frightened, she retreated and screamed at Gunther to engage the Technocrat. Gunther began to obey, bodily tossing the other guard over the stairwell. The shocked Technocrat (who identified himself as Agent Locke) recognized Gunther as 'H2609,' deployed two bots against the Hermetics, and ran. Hearing Paisley cry out, Bex snapped awake, chugged an energy drink and chased after Locke. Vivienne, wanting to protect the data stored within Gunther, ordered him to retreat, but not before he took a hit from a blasting sceptre Rex pulled out.

Holly successfully scrambled the minds of the Hermetic apprentices, but suffered injuries and an inverted sense of smell due to Paradox backlash. The Technocracy bots would subsequently knock one apprentice out before engaging the other. Locke appeared to split himself into three duplicates. Unable to distinguish the 'real' one, Bex, Vivienne and Holly would each attack one of the images. Rex ordered them to leave in the name of the Council. For her part, Vivienne objected to his authority and the right he had to attack and kill the guards, who for all intents and purposes, were merely Sleepers.

Before Locke passed out, he blurted out that he knew Bex. With a shock, she flashed back to her near-fatal encounter with a HIT Mark while running with the Hollow Ones and realized that Locke had somehow saved her life.

Paisley urged Gunther and her companions to run. Bex decided to take Locke, despite Rex's orders to kill him. Vivienne was confused, but helped her out. In response, Rex summoned a lightning bolt from the skies that almost destroyed Gunther and nearly killed Bex. Enraged, an injured Holly lashed out with her Mind Magick and imploded his head. The last Hermetic apprentice hastily retreated.

Vivienne used another Tass mushroom to heal Bex, though the effort caused a Paradox backlash that turned her pants to mushrooms and moss. Paisley employed her Matter Magick to enact a slapdash fix on Gunther. The bots administered nanotech first aid on Locke.

A scarred but awake Bex approached Locke, who repeated recognizing Bex from the Johnny Wu Family House, which the Technocracy monitored for insurance purposes. When asked about the attack, Locke was at a loss to explain, but ultimately guessed that the HIT Mark X, which Vivienne recalled seeing earlier, had actually been waiting for Gunther. While Vivienne still wanted to part ways with Locke, Bex insisted he might still be useful. Locke offered to help them escape if they healed him.

A reluctant Vivienne complied with his request. After the group decided to retreat to Holly's gym, Locke (with Bex's help) opened a Correspondence gate to Core Zen. Unfortunately, he opened it directly beneath their feet and they fell through, causing some additional injuries. Locke later explained that he was a successful field agent when he participated in the raid against the Hollower cell that Bex belonged to. Seeing one of the HIT Marks about to explode and kill Bex, he rewound time and got her out of harm's life, as she reminded him of his sister. His act of compassion cost him the success of the operation, his career and his marriage.

When the subject turned to Rex, a stunned Holly walked away. Bex followed, admitting (to Paisley's surprise) that she was the only other Mage who had taken a life. Locke would later confirm to Vivienne and Paisley that Bex used to be a criminal and a Hollow One.

Meanwhile, Holly had retreated to the gym showers. After some time, she opened up to Bex, saying she didn't intend to kill Rex, the rage she felt and the conflicting toilet of emotions within her. Bex advised against using her Mind Magick to dull or erase her memories and to seek comfort from Vivienne. She also admitted that a past attempt to 'tweak something' during a fight led to someone else's death, which she felt was partially her responsibility, and that she might have done something similar to Rex if she was conscious at the time. Before she left (and cried alone), Bex offered her number to Holly in case she needed to talk, nothing 'war makes fast friends.'

A half hour later, Gunther had hooked himself up to the gym's flat screens and began to display the recently unlocked data. The group began seeing dossiers on Tradition luminaries and leaders, connections between the Council and the Nephandi, plots to weaken and destabilize one Tradition or another, actions taken against minorities and marginalized groups... in effect, a century of Council plots to manipulate the Nine Mystic Traditions into staying united against the Technocracy. Bex whispered aloud that she should have stayed a Hollow One. As the ramifications sunk in, the Mages were left wondering what they were going to do (episode 4).

### Fragile Truth

Paisley felt they were morally obligated to release the data. Vivienne agreed, feeling the Council was too outdated and too focused on the past in general and the Ascension War in particular... even before learning about all the crimes and atrocities they were complicit in. Bex was also in agreement but, knowing that simply releasing the data without taking precautions would get them shut down, suggested sending it to their contacts, posting it on social media and generally broadcasting it in any way possible. Locke warned that publishing the data on the 'mainstream' internet would be easily thwarted.

When Locke offered to make them all coffee, anticipating they might need energy to plan some course of action, Holly tried to read his mind. While she was unable to penetrate his Mind shield, she did recognize he was exhibiting signs of an imminent heart attack. Vivienne confirmed that with her Magick (along with learning he had high cholesterol and had recently quit smoking) and healed him, but at the cost of some Aggravated damage and some motion sickness and vertigo.

While Locke threw up, Bex made some coffee. She asked an anxious and hovering Paisley whether releasing the data was the right thing. Paisley confessed she wasn't sure, but felt doing nothing was just as dangerous as doing something, so she chose to do something. Bex expressed her worry about losing her.

Locke offered to take the data to the Technocracy and use it to take down the Council. The mages declined, feeling it would trigger another Ascension War (that could lead to (another) victory for the Technocracy) and that their best course of action was still to release it to as many people as possible. At that point, Holly received a call from a blocked ID on her cell phone. Her efforts to ignore it resulted in another call on the gym phone, which she reluctantly answered. Tony Wu spoke to her, speaking both as a SFPD Detective (to say they received a hot tip that there was a bomb at Core Zen and squad cars were en route) and a Council Mage (asking if she and her friends knew anything about his family restaurant being burned down, Lisa Derosa being Magicked and her business robbed, or Rex's untimely death). Holly indicated it would require some time to explain and requested a neutral meeting spot. Tony suggested a Luna Coffee shop a half mile away and repeated his warning that police were on the way. The group hastily departed, copying Gunther's data to their phones and Bex's laptop.

Ten minutes later, they entered Luna Coffee, where they were surprised to learn Bex used to date the barista, Mark Moon. Paisley was particularly surprised, and a little jealous, to meet *another* person from Bex's past. After exchanging greetings, Mark offered to cover their drinks for the night, pointedly excluding Locke. After finding a quiet booth, Bex began preparing the data for distribution. She included Mark as one of her first contacts, with a special note to distribute the data if anything happened to them. It was at that point that Tony arrived.

The mages gave the detective a quick summary of the night's events: that they had simply planned to meet each other and be introduced to Vivienne's girlfriend, that their dinner was interrupted by Gunther and a more advanced HIT Mark (resulting in the unfortunate destruction of the Wu Family House), how they learned that Gunther had been reprogrammed and sent to them by Dr. Taylor of the Society of Ether, how their efforts to investigate were interrupted by a confrontational and condescending Lisa Derosa, how Holly knocked her out and Bex Magicked her and how Rex (along with fellow Hermetics) tried to kill them and the Sleepers who were unfortunate enough to work security. They also explained that Locke's presence, as a recognizable Technocrat, by saying they wanted to keep an eye on him, while noting he'd been surprisingly helpful. When Tony asked why Rex would take such extreme measures, they showed him the data. He recognized one of the names as someone with known Infernal attachments... possibly even Nephandic ones. Holly tried to read Tony's mind and was able to determine he'd deduced what they were going to do before a preset defence spell went off, causing her to punch herself.

Tony tried to dissuade them from their course of action. He brought up the sins of his ancestors, his imminent divorce and how his soon-to-be-ex-wife's acquisition of the Wu Family House would likely destroy the multi-generational business as a loose analogy for what the mages proposed to do. He suggested that they at least be somewhat selective in what they released, citing the fragility of the Nine Mystic Traditions and his fears that the data would cause irreparable fractures and divisions. He proposed they work within the Council to effect the change they sought, even going so far as to suggest Paisley take up the now-vacant seat of Councillor for the Hermetics. Ultimately, the mages were resolute in their belief that releasing the data and holding the Council accountable for their past actions was the right thing to do.

Seeing that they had made their decision, Tony gave them one last chance to reconsider by giving them privacy while offering to buy Locke coffee. Concerned that they had been occupied in one location for too long while talking to Tony, the mages decided to send the data while making a run for it. As they headed for the side door, they recognized the internet connection was being deliberately slowed, but chose to keep going. Unfortunately, their fears were realized: they emerged to find the police and the Council waiting for them. Bex tried to take all the blame, but the Councillor for the Chakravanti insisted on taking them all into custody, promising that they would receive a fair trial. The mages were unconvinced...

No one really knew what happened to Vivienne, Paisley, Holly or Bex. However, Mark would visit the Curios and Curioser bookstore a day later. He handed a thumb drive to the proprietor, Penny, and asked her to pass it to a man named Neville. Mark also suggested that she look at the thumb drive's contents herself... (episode 5).

## Character Information

**Tradition**: Order of Hermes

**House**: Ex Miscellania

**Essence**: Questing

**Nature**: Kid

**Demeanour**: Innovator

**Attributes**:

* Physical: Strength 2, Dexterity (Hand-Eye Coordination) 4, Stamina 2
* Social: Charisma 2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2
* Mental: Perception 1, Intelligence (Creative) 5, Wits (Improvisation) 4

**Abilities**:

* Talents: Art 2, Athletics 1, Awareness 3, Cooking 2
* Skills: Crafts 2, Etiquette 1, Melee 1, Research 3, Stealth 1, Technology 1
* Knowledges: Academics 3, Cosmology 1, Enigmas 1, Esoterica 3, Investigation 1, Medicine 1, Occult 2, Politics 1, Science 1, Enochian 1

**Backgrounds**: Avatar 4, Resources 1 (effectively 2 due to shared Resources with Bex), Library 3, Familiar (Birb) 1

**Arete**: 3

**Spheres**: Forces 3, Matter 3

**Willpower**: 5

**Merits**: Loyalty (Bex) 1, Artistically Gifted 1, Poison Resistance 2, Rising Star (Order of Hermes) 3

**Flaws**: Impatient 1, Absent-Minded 3, Debt (Student Loans) 2, Family Issues (Divorced Parents) 1