Something's rotten in the state of Iceland.
Well, maybe.
Sheila P. (Petroskiv, if you must know), a young, extremely charismatic
woman has recently won over the hearts and minds of the near-arctic
country. She's not a singer, actress, or preacher... just a beautiful girl
and a wonderful public speaker who seems to have the nation's full
attention. Recently, she was given her own talk show, where she discusses
a staggeringly eclectic number of topic with a wide-ranging selection of
guests, from politicians to ecologists. Sheila's poster graces the wall of
most every teenager in Iceland, and a record deal is in the works (hey,
anyone can sound good with enough production).
In other words, yet another typical media sensation - here today, gone in
six months. But this one is peculiar....
Firstly, her appeal is strangely...focused. Her following outside of
Iceland is virtually nil, yet her fan base within Iceland is *huge*. And
fanatic. And damn near all-encompassing. In fact, last week the governing
house voted (by a 3:2 ratio) to make March 18th "Sheila Day". Even in
Iceland, the permanent creation of a day of observation for a pop
sensation is a bit unusual.
Secondly, one of the 'quirky', 'fun' things that everyone loves about her
is how she encourages people to worship her. Literally. She laughs about
it, and doesn't seem to mean it too seriously... but there are specific
things that she encourages people to do. Repeat a certain self affirmation
while gazing into a picture of her face. Watch her show and then watch the
rerun (from last season) which airs one hour later, without leaving the
room. And people are doing them, exactly as told... if it might make them
feel better, why not, right?
Ethereals rarely overstep their bounds quite so brazenly, but when it
happens, someone has to slap them back into place. This is where the PCs
come in. They are told to verify her nature, discover how she got such a
good Role, and then destroy her power base and dispose of her vessel (or
soul-kill her, for darker games). Insert the usual disclaimers and such
here... now get down there and go to work.
Simple. (Yeah, right.)
Sheila P. is 100% human, 100% mortal...which explains her Role quite well.
She's also a natural 6-Force human (heavy on the Ethereal Forces), a
schizophrenic, and a lucid dreamer who's managed to spawn off an
Ethereal...well, her.
Back in the day, Sheila was young and insane. She was well on her way to
ending up in an institution or perhaps dead... until her potent dreamscape
control and schismed consciousness created a replica of herself, imbued
with as much "self" as she could give it, in a dream. The two of them
began talking every night, and it actually proved to be wonderful therapy;
the intervention of her dream self helped her turn her life around and
begin to relate to the world better. The replica became a dream fragment,
able to stick around even while she was gone... and then (with the aid of
her steady flow of Essence) a full-fledged Ethereal.
Hanging out in the Far Marches, "Sheila" naturally ran across the Norse
pantheon. Through them, she learned of the War, worship rites, Songs, and
much else... and she had a brainstorm. Entreating the aid of Sa'ga (Nordic
Patron Goddess of Iceland / Odin's drinking partner), she had little
trouble convincing Sheila to go along with it - after all, who doesn't
want to be famous? Just to be safe, and practical, they decided to limit
it to Iceland for now, and see about spreading worldwide later.
Sa'ga has thrown all of her (meager) remaining power into this gambit,
giving Sheila an Ethereal Connection and teaching her a few Songs, namely
Ethereal Attraction, Ethereal Empathy, Ethereal Nimbus, Ethereal Opening,
Ethereal Sensation, and the Songs of Dreams. Using these, and her natural
Charisma, Sheila has managed to convince most of Iceland to outright
worship her.
And the Essence, of course, goes to "Sheila".
Who shares with Sa'ga.
Who now has the full attention of the Norse pantheon. Who are waiting to
see what's going to happen next before committing to the plan.
And what does happen next?
Why, the PCs arrive, of course.
By the way, while a little trip to the Far Marches will soon seem in
order - to wipe up this little 'dream fragment gone wrong' - PCs may find
that Sheila has a mighty powerful control over her own dreamscape, and is
willing to stay in it indefinitely to protect her alter ego. Combine those
two with Sa'ga (who has everything to lose if this fails), and you have
one heck of a nightmare on your hands.
And even if you win, where's that Essence going to now? Better stop that
flow quick if you don't want "Sheila" recreating herself through sheer
belief.
Oh yeah, and if you're an angel, better make sure Sheila doesn't fall
apart and go insane because of the loss of her Ethereal twin. She really
is a nice girl, not much of a manipulator, with a bright Destiny, you
know. Do the right thing.
And don't forget that recreating Sheila as a Soldier would be a major
coup. Losing her as a Soldier to the Other Side would be a major loss.
No pressure.
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