Midnight Market

The Midnight Market is a meeting of the supernatural forces in a given area. Generally considered neutral territory, the Market is often held on either the night of the full moon or its opposite (the night of the dark of the moon). The Market gets its name from when it exists; perpetually between the hours of 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. Suspended in the sliver of time at the end of one day and the beginning of the next, it exists separate from the mundane world; a pocket pushed into the space between the mundane and the mystical world.

Each magical community has its own way of getting to the midnight market though not every enclave can support a communal path to get there. Some Markets, such as those in New York and other larger cities, move the entrance around so that no one area has undue influence over what happens there. In smaller areas, the entrance to the market (called the Gate) is held collectively and protected by the members of the community.

For those Enclaves who can support a path to get to the Market, the normal means to gain entry involves a bridge, generally where one can get 'inside' a crossroads. This may be a tunnel under the road or an overpass. Opening the path varies from location to location, but generally it involves some natural portal like an archway. Through the inscription of symbols, or the tapping of stones or sometimes even the singing of a particular song, the Otherkin can walk through the arch and arrive at the Market.

Upon arrival to the market, the general flavor is colored by the magical 'bones' of the area.

Imagine walking through a stone arch in a park or under a bridge and in one step be in a medieval setting like the set of Robin Hood. The appearance of the Midnight Market is entirely dependent upon the 'essence' of mundane world where the Enclave is based. Places where the energies are old will tend to appear as though they are reflection of some medieval landscape. Other places where the energy may be mixed between the old and new, might have a patchwork of elements that vary from the medieval to the modern; London fog with a splash of Middle Eastern bazaar.

This is the Color of the Midnight Market.

People come to the Market to find whatever is needed. Small bits of dragon (thought to be extinct even within the Witch World), the odd Fetish, and dried mandrake root is just scratching the surface. Where people get the most out of the Market is all of the networking that occurs within the rows of stalls. Needing a spell cast for you? Needing some help with a particularly pesky Imp? Bodyguards, Servants, Seers and the like will often ply their talents for the highest bidder.

If its information that you need, the mystical coffee houses, along the same lines as a Turkish cafe, are where the news of the [[Otherworld] are discussed and the pulse of the worlds are monitored. Several powerful Otherkin make themselves available to those who need to find out what is happening either above or below the magical radar.

Though the neutrality of the Midnight Market is observed by most, the need to occasionally enforce the peace requires that the grounds are patrolled. The leader of the peace-keepers is traditionally known as the 'Sheriff'; a definite connection to the ancestral European roots of the Market.

The Sheriff and those who serve him, the Wardens, are commonly identified by the wearing of a black cloak and a red hooded mantle. The authority of the Wardens or the Sheriff only stretches to the boundaries of the Market, but in some Enclaves their rank can extend to the mundane world as well. When walking in the mundane world these badges of office can manifest as a black trench coat and a red scarf or bandanna.

## Time

Time within the Midnight Market is a difficult thing to grasp. The market only exists within a sliver of time - but the gate that connects it will eventually pass out of that window.

Example: If you entered the Market through a gate in New York City, that gate will only remain connected to the market for a while. Once the gate passes out of the window of time (past 12:30 a.m.), then that gate won't get you back. So how do you find your way home? Well, if you walk back out through the same arch you came in at, you'll appear randomly in an area where it -is- midnight. This could mean that you're moving several states away as you cross timezones. Which gate do you appear in? Oh - its totally random.

So the usual rule is to get in, get what you need and get out.

So what happens if you decide to stay in the market for the whole day and then just wait for your gate to realign?

Nothing.

Well, technically nothing.

Maybe technically nothing.

Ok... so something happens but it's not bad...right?

## Remaining in the Lands of Midnight

The Midnight Market exists in a small, oddly stable part of the Umbra. Consider it a variant of a Horizon Realm that people can get to from all over the world. It's so small that few true Magi even realize that it's there. The problem with remaining within the realm too long is that the absense of a static reality tends to affect those who are 'mostly' mortal.

### **Dangers**

* **Hunted:** Those beings not native to the mortal world will begin to detect your presence within the Lands of Midnight . Many of them require bits of humanity to fuel their power. A soul, skin, blood - all of these things are needed by them and there's little that you can do to stop them in -their- reality.

* **Time:** The reality of the Lands of Midnight is quite different than the reality of the mortal world. Time acts differently. Staying too long within the Market can make you skip whole weeks, months even years in the mortal world. You will return to find that time has left you and your friends have aged or even died in your absence.