a life within shadow

Supernatural elements have existed since the very dawn of time. Running in the undercurrent of every society humanity has ever known, they have drifted and shifted and maintained their ethereal existence uninhibited. Century over century, they were free to remain exactly as they pleased -- as long as they did so within the rather stifling limitations of the shadow.

 

But not all supernaturals were content with such a yoke. There were some who strained against their bonds; those who killed to kill and tormented the living just for the thrill of it. Rumours of all things unnatural can be attributed to these careless members of the metaphysical; who were either seen first hand or left enough evidence behind them to set idle mortal tongues a-wagging.

 

And they were entirely within their rights to do so.

 

the extermination

It all came a cropper 233 years ago, when a Rose (by any other name but her own) founded a reprehensible establishment that has since come to be known as The Gardener Society. They immediately sought to rein in those supernatural whose ideals did not match theirs -- thus beginning what the oppressed creatures of the paranormal have come to know as The Extermination. They began to research, to stalk, and to banish the supernatural.

 

A hundred years ago, the Spooks decided that they'd had about enough of that.

 

the revolutionary

An extraordinary vampire with exceptional vision that keeping magic and the supernatural hidden is fundamentally unjust came to the rescue. Klaus Koenig tired of the noose ever tightening unfairly around the neck of anything mundanes considered 'unnatural'. The movement was painfully small to begin with, just Klaus, his consorts Natalia and Petra, and a handful of others who were too closely hunted to set up any real operation. But word travels fast and it wasn't long before a motley bunch of other supernaturals rallied to the cause.

 

Coming to be known rather colloquially as The Spooks, the operation is gaining more and more momentum with each passing day. The harder the Walpurgists work to suppress the strangeness of their very existence, the greater the Spooks endeavour to be able to live without their influence. Some are more humanitarian than others; there are members of the movement from all walks -- and all species -- of life.

 

Though it would be easy to reveal themselves outright, Klaus's idea of political warfare is a little more artful than that. The Gardeners, whose efforts in secret keeping include the unfair consignment of innocent people to asylums, must be exposed for what they are. Liars. In a bid to generate small pockets of truth around London, the Spooks are therefore making every effort to trip their adversaries up: the goal is not to orchestrate a big reveal, but to provide enough tiny cracks that the conspiracy becomes undeniable.

 

rising influence

Though a supernatural may well choose to join the cause that will see them running -- free and monstrous -- through the streets, it is very much Klaus Koenig who determines the way things are run. Those within his inner circle are valuable based on the usefulness of their opinions, the depth of their particular skill-set and their resounding ability to do as they are told. As such it can be a very difficult task to rise to any kind of rank within the movement, and just as easy to fall from your pedestal. Those with Koenig's ear in turn have their own lackeys, who then work above the general numbers of the masses.

The views of the group vary from those who want equality with humans and those who would privately like to dominate them. Klaus keeps things tightly under wraps; they are not chaotic, their targets are the Gardener Society first and foremost. Their alliance with certain humans means that there is absolutely a bent within the group to achieve harmony between man and supernatural creature, though quite how it is going to work as a practical method of living is anybody's guess.

 

Flawed in that many of the members want freedom without moderating their behaviour to accommodate people, in the long-term it is unlikely their ideas have much merit. However, Klaus is a charismatic leader -- and it is easy to look at the current situation and declare it unfair.

 

membership

Spooks are recruited by other Spooks. Those who join are sworn in -- the tunnel and boarding house are secret locations, at least as far as the Walpurgists are concerned. Knowledge of the movement ripples outwards from the centre -- the rumours that a cell of renegades exist are rife in the supernatural community, but not everybody necessarily knows who or where they are.

 

the stations

Recently, the Spooks have become more channelled in their efforts, and now have two branches within the boundaries of the Burroughs.

 

earl's court

Situated in the west of the City on the outskirts of Kensington, not that it is considered prime real estate. This abandoned underground station was never finished; work ceased in 1878 and the proposed topside entrance sealed. Due to an increasing level of poverty in the City, however, people soon found that prying some boards from a wall was preferable to living in the harsh conditions often experienced in London. People still filter down into the depths looking for somewhere out of the elements to take their ease, and are often very sorry indeed that they did.

 

The steady meals are very much appreciated by the supernaturals who now dwell in the depths. A decrepit railway carriage left there when lines were tested and subsequently found wanting is now the Spooks' headquarters -- it is from here that Klaus runs his operation.

 

Now that the tunnel is well-established it has become something of a tent-city for vampires with nowhere else to go. At the heart of the station is an abandoned train, placed there for promotional purposes and in the end never removed. It has three carriages, and Klaus Koenig makes his home there. At the top of the tunnel the newest, sickliest vampires sleep -- walking through them is very unpleasant -- and the deeper you go, the more danger you are in. The Spooks' tunnel is a hub of social activity as well as a place for political dissent and a good day's sleep, so there are always people around regardless of when you enter.

 

shoreditch

Nothing more than a run-down boarding house on the outside that is perpetually without vacancies, on the inside the establishment is teeming with supernaturals, from demons to werewolves and everything between. It is not for those who are wishing to mainstream within the confines of their overbearing mortal society; the house has only one rule: mundanes may cross the threshold of their own volition, but must be disposed of neatly afterwards.