The human world at the surface is the same as always, people just living beside monsters. The monsters come in categories; depending on the magic that gets rid of them. Often the creatures of nature and plants are burnt by fire. The damned are the new vampires and are publicly aware among humans. The damned although can't speak to humans - they can mute trades. Sigil walkers of all sorts do this sort of trades business.
Humans can now become hunters by job. The jobs more like a typical odd jobs fantasy adventurer. Ranks are by combat and a separate ranking for awareness. There is god followers whom take the mantal of divine blessing and healing magic. Soul wounds are a new thing that humans can have inflection. Now humans can suffer from it, they do research into it. This upgrades the whole sigil interface to include human studies and has really diversity of information. Death gods are still a thing but they arent common. More time then not, undertakers as pairs are the death gods of hunters. Undertakers are still kidnapping souls that face realm collapse to be added into their race.
The modern age is full of hybrid technology that is a wpeaon against spirits and assistance to spirits interacting with humans. Everyone that comes of age gets their own crystal notepad slate. It is a phone, spirit translator and all your banking needs. This doesn't collapse living realm banks as the exchange between banks of hell, heaven and living realm are interlinked. More then that, having a slate means you automatically are given hunter awareness ranking and can sometimes be selected by guild poachers to join their affiliate programs. Schools are already hybrid teaching about the other realms along side human educational course already in place. It is a smooth way to bring the next generation forwards as the olders ones are still trying to understand it all.
Some turths are still not publicly available like how gods work. Soul study is taboo. Geophysics of hell realms and the brutal heaven world's. Gods do not directly poke hand into anything themselves. Always leaving it to small vessels or their cult followers to spread for the gods will. This distance has kept humans clueless about if gods are real or not. Always feeling the work of the gods in misdirected ways. There still some functions that living humans aren't able to see through the sigil panel. They can use the slate but they can't read the interface prompts that demons, angels and undertakers get. The sort of difference between smart phone and AR gear. Although humans are trying to make crystal glasses that functions as AR smart tech. The issue it the lack of knowledge about what the slates are made of. As no even the undertakers or gods knew that. But it's always found growing where a fallen monster was slain. The theory is that monsters convert into this crystal but conjectures come about. Not seeing this happen frist hand. Monsters are flesh and cut with metal, if they were this crystal - they couldn't fight them. Leave it to humans to no have all the piece and still find some screwed up backwards understanding.
A new gate had opened with return of the tapeworm threat, bring about the collaboration of mages and the cult of Tomes. It's new years celebrations with fireworks at full spray as crowds are out watching the skies dance of lights. Right as soon follows screams of humans being murdered by demons hosts. Humans that carry demons. As it turns out, the demons are infected. Thus this remarked the new year in blood shed, bloody dawn as the event was called in newspapers.
The old journal of newspaper scraps about the event was flop back down. A long sigh of finding herself distracted again. Cleaning the house for sale. She just following her grandpas death will request. She already found the weapons he used during the bloody dawn event and hidden them in her shadow. Out of reach from her reckless death follower brother. Not sold off by her aunt, since her aunt is not given a slate like everyone else. To be fair, her uncle that her aunt fell in love with also didn't receive a slate. Her mom in the other room has been looking for something but has refused to explain anything to Leah.
Leah isn't of age but has secretly already been making rankings with her cursed side. She been helping her brother that only just received his slate. Their mom has never intervened since his taken oath with death gods since he could be just following a death gods request. There is also the out right blind denials that Leah wouldn't even get one the slates at all. Leah struggles at school so much, graduating it seems a distant fading dream. Her mom also assumes Leah is like her sister - unaware or blind to seeing spirit people. Really it's the opposite, spirit people are always distracting and in the way.
Leah was picking through more the same bloody dawn event box; a lot of old court papers and trial. But it's all black out tape and nothing makes clear sense. It wasn't that surprising that Leah's birth certificate was in there and a bunch of human court stuff about child support payments. Several crops up of the name Seer. A failed court order and just a ton of loan sharks papers. There even everything about the sort of debt the Seers have created them into. All the evidence needed. Leah stands in scanning in every last paper into her sigil interface system. It puts this into private locked files in a hidden back tab. Once she had filled every last hidden paper and surface the birth certificate to the top and carried the box into the living room.
"Hey mom, this has my birth certificate in here. Maybe the papers are important." Her mom shot up from her spot, "This box was in the closet in the guest bedroom." Her mom takes the box anyway and began picking though. The failed court papers was exactly what she been trying to find. Relief washed a little.
"Joseph, go help her in the guest bedroom. I am still looking for grandpas army papers." Joseph huffed and moved from the back office to join Leah in the guest bedroom. They both play nicely as their aunt came in too, she doesn't trust them to do anything right. Of course their aunt found the human army papers, which was good enough. Aunt stating why were they even leaving Leah to try to help them if Leah can't read. Leah heard no reply about it.
"When are you going to tell them that you can read and write?" Joseph asked.
"Never at this rate." Leah goes back to a hidden spot. She was unraveling the seals over this to reach the area. With a last little jar filled, marked with a sharpie and she pockets the spell away. Joseph stares confused how she did that. She wiggles brows and knocked the right spot, opening the hidden door. It was a sealed side room. It's full of all sorts things from Grandpa's path walking along Sigil and stay at courts among spirit lands. Leah scanning in all the papers and the handing the to Joseph. He taking the supplies he will make use of. Some pouches of throw dust and abnormal candles. He tossed her a candle to keep too. She caught it but it was reflex since she was reading something interesting. She scans it in and hands it to Joseph. He knew from how the paper changed colour, it was a secret order. So he looked to her to ask of it. She shook not to bother. She turns away with careful picking other things. Holding the old cloak up to measure. He stares at the cloak. He back looks to be sure and waved that she has to hide this. Gave her back the black letter. This is their secert. She nods amd shadow hid it all. She takes the fake copies of grandpa ID - he did use these fake ID. But they arent the real ones. Leah had the real ones now. She leaves nothing unchecked, and only makes sure the sigil stuff was normal stuff. She adds them to a suitable box and together they agree to come up with a way to explain it. Once they had it figured out, they carried it together to the living room.
"I will call the office." Their aunt excuses herself, as all supernatural phenomenon is to be reported to the public guild of hunters.
"She broke the illusion and we both started playing with the fake wall. And..." He trialed off.
"Grandpa's walking gear, his weapons and other items. The ID you were looking for." Leah passing the fake ID off.
"Joseph, she can't have broken a seal like that." Her mom hissed but takes the items.
"I have said this before. But Leah needs a proper assessment with the guild hunters. Not those jerks you keep hiring." Joseph takes mom's hand and shows her to the guest room. Leah carries the box with, not to leave it to chance. She shuffled all the important stuff into this box. Even scans in stuff they found without her or missed. She glares at a spirit person nearby, taking the box to the guest room.
"This wasn't what I was expecting." Her mom sobs at the threshold of the open secert room. It's still full of evidence. So much stuff, "I can't have a human hunter here." She takes the whole box Leah had and puts it to the hidden room. Closing it. She cast a spell that makes the illusion return and sighed. She then froze of being stupid to reveal magic to Leah.
"You could have done a better job." Leah huffed and right hand flicks in repairing the illusion, "There it's the same colour and smell. Now let's us go back to the livingroom." Mom is bewildered following after Leah, looking back at Jospeh.
"I kept trying to hint at this, so don't blame me. In fact, be glad I stopped her doing anything abnormal around average people. She likes making ice in her drinks a lot. Even at restaurants." He pushing mom along to keep up.
"I just got off the phone with the hunters. They said they send someone around but since it's not urgent, they priority is else where. There a gate opened at the Junction out of this house estate, so I guess we just have to make ourselves comfortable." Aunt sits back down going through paperwork. She gets stuck into scan reading. Leah sees the undertaker hovered to bewitch her aunt. As soon eventually her aunt got up from the chair. Walks herself to the back office. At a guess was going through the computer, as the keyboard was clacking away. Joseph brought out his crystal with the ID flashed up. Her mom does the same, assuming that Leah wouldn't be part of this. Likely to see Leah bewitched into being distracted to something else. For the most part Leah did show a fake ID she as for these emergencies, but it does have stamps of proving she was a higher level then the status visible. But since this wasn't a slate method, only the undertakers knew of her ID. They don't bother bewitching her but they arent allowing her in this business.
They seem in a lot of integration about where Grandpa's old stuff is and any small enough clue to where exact his weapons are. As this was the goal these folks have only. Leah knowing they know nothing left for the kitchen. She nosed about the kitchen of a strange stand off of three different undertaker crests. They ignored her as she opened the fridge. She stares darkly of there being something her grandpa left in the freezer. The seal spell over it was partially undone and now as she closed the fridge, knew the undertakers here were fighting about it.
"Excuse me." She turns to them all in the kitchen, "Are you looking for something?" They all slowly face her. They take a long while to make a change of expressions. Slower then undertakers should. So she knew it instantly.
"You happen to know if you can help us? We need to find an object. It long and sharp." They treating her like a five year old. Their issue is, she actually turned 14. She knows what a weapon is and how dying happens.
"Maybe you can help me with telling me your name and relationship to the man that used to live here?" The right hand posed.
"Don't trust them!" The front window sprays glass everywhere. She backed into the fridge evading the worst of it. The sleek black uniform as the undertaker made these fakes into dust. In this commotion, Leah turned to the freezer and undid the spell craft. She slips all these things into her storage. She left it open and ducked from attack. One undertaker against four left. He turly just trying to get rid of these things. She slips around to the garage door and it's locked with a powerful seal. It has an illusion of a wall about it. She crutched as another sprays as dust. The undertaker jumps the open server window into the living room and fights the clothus (clothus pretending to be undertakers for grandpas old stuff) in there. She sees they already attempted the guest bedroom and found the fake wall emptied. She grateful the shadow tricked that stuff in her pocket when her mom closed it wrong. They were hissing and spotted her across the way. She breaks the seal her own method and crossed into the illusion of the wall. She slams the garage door closed and made it dark in here, shadow slips everywhere and everything she knew to hide. She rolls herself underneath the massive truck her grandpa loved using. She readies for that door slam. Her mask had lifted to find hidden stuff, like the spirit shooter modified police gun in the truck glove box. At no hesitation and as if she trained for years, ready the gun for firing. She puts herself comfortable enough to be ready to fire, flat and lined the shot. She takes a deep breath in and held, listening in held breath. Slow breathing, clear mind. A soft draw in and held. The door bangs but she held her cool. The garage slip door was soon rising and she repositions gentle. Long slow drew of breath. Clear focus. Someone runs to the door frame in being ready to breach. She rolls evading someone playing with the truck. She back crawls and slips the long way around to the exit of the sliding door. Carrying gun at the ready but held with not wish to fire. Her finger not by the trigger. She makes it to the front of the house, staying low. She makes it around her mother's car, using shadow to unlock it and slips to the back seat. Soft door close and it locked eventually. She stays calm.
"What the hell? How are you even alive?" That's a very mocking tone from someone that was expecting her here.
"Nice to see you awake, Twaz." She lowered more, "Enjoy the dreams you had?" He hissed at her for that and huffed as he caught himself - reminding himself this was a weird girl and who knows his soul name. Her broken distorted dream shape has been the dream guide in his sleep. Playing a part in directing the dreams to foreshadow times ahead for him. She snugged right into the back of the drive seat and used a beach towel to cover her head from direct sight.
"How is being human doing for you?" His making small talk for a reason and she readies the gun again, "I doubt that a gum will help you." She adjusted calm and clear. Finger away from the trigger until she was certain. The safety turned off, chamber checked one last time. She ignored the several attempts of Omens to distract her.
"I am getting put of this place." Not her mother opens the car. The alarm is going off because it was without disarming the security. He cursed under breath, looking about for the park break which was on. He raised hands with gun into his rib.
"Who the fuck are you and what are you doing?" Speaking damned frist and with a older voice. The man opens the car door again and just bolts it. She then took aim for an another direction, squaring a potential shot. She lowered only to change of the damage would matter more for an average undertaker, she held this aim in deep gaze. But really she is absolutely ready for a turn or jump away.
The undertaker shows open palms of surrender and narrows to really test that she was ready to take a life or not. He even dared to step closer to her but she made sure the safety was off and took aim of the floor between them. She also used her feet and shadow to slide across seats, making it to the other side away from them. She also aware of being in the road. So she puts the safety lock on and got away from hazards. Putting herself back near her grandpas truck. Using the back wheel for cover. She takes a breather and listens into the house about everything.
"Your father worked under us, this crest of spiders." Leah heard this and can agree that he indeed has their uniform but this isn't everything to satisfy her. She creeps around the kitchen door. The undertaker from before is looking around for Her. Seeking where she could have ran to. She makes the magic flicker on the large door for her to slip into the kitchen again. She circles evading the broken window and the glass everywhere. She sees they closed all the doors that had no one or nothing else left. Her aunt is now seated in the living with them. Ribbons gone. So her aunt can see them. Hear them.
"As his daughters, you inherent the job. But we also understand that you can walk away from this. We will not assume anything of your future and only come back after you or someone else close dies again." Her aunt loves that offer. She takes her keys from the diner table and leaves. Joseph stands up and looked around. He sits down again, nervous.
"If your looking for the girl, she slipped out of out sight." The man motions to his people and she evades them by making it into the bathroom. She gladly alone and sits in the dark of the bath tube. Gun turned on safety.
"Still the gun will do nothing." She shot a glare at Omens for following her.
"I pluck all your feathers in a minute." She threatened, "If your a god, then at least tell me that my mother and brother are OK in this deal. If they get what they want or something." Omens thinks about this, "If I had something to offer in exchange of their well being." He nods certain of that much at least.
"They want to know where your grandpa gear went." She sighed at this, "Maybe recruit you folks form some human things. This isn't actually putting your mother, aunt or brother cousin in any harm. I say they get the good end of the deal. You personally, not so." She doesn't care about herself.
"If walking hell and back is what it takes. They have to be worthy." She gets her gear on and all her personal kit. She keeps with the gun for now. She softly leans in knowing they busted the garage door open at this side. She eye rolls of this and softly turned the nearest light off. Shadow walking herself through into the living room. They all sit at the edge of their seats. Omens flew around and lands at the coffee table.
"Smart girl." Omens huffed. She slips behind her grandpas favourite chair.
"Remind me... your daughter is special. She's not just a Fallown." The one in charge makes small talk and her mom huffed.
"If you mean she has a creepy book that floats around her, then yes. Or is that her magic casting is way to on point." Her brother resigned in shrugs.
"She also a Seer. But like all the other children that don't show promise. Is thrown out of their society." Her mom elbows brother. Glaring at him since he doesn't know what his talking about.
"Young lad is in training with the death order. He knows about the tome. So she has one."
"One? I don't think you can call it that. More like she can take any of them." Her mom rolled eyes as that wasn't even a thing. But the person talking leans back, "The only issue with her is the dyslexia. You know she been editing the soul if something is upside-down. Always upside-down. I don't how she does it. It's like she holding tome wrong. And get this, she like sending mail to total strangers. I had to stop her a few times. Especially if has one the death carriers pretending to be baby in her arms. She so weird." Her mom is worried of him being to causal to the royal before them.
"Oh, I think I know who she is." The guy now sighed too, "She makes snakes appear from no where."
"Exactly!" The guy frowns a lot and looked at Omens. Omens nods at this being true. They all settled again and all the folks came into the living room. Searching every possible human hide spot. Coffee table moved and nothing. Her mom then did something to the coffee table as it was one those expanded ones. It lifted to a full size and has engraved reminders. The personal safety box combination. A dispell password for the guest bedroom. A reminder of the modification gun in the truck glove box. A recent note was stuck about the chest freezer and top freezer in the kitchen. These places all are empty, including the safe.
"Someone stolen all of it before we got here." Her mom pouted.
"Nah, I just didn't trust it going to you." Leah leaning on the back of the chair. The gun still steady for defense, "You have proven nothing to me. I am just a little clueless girl that can't read or speak. I am just a burden time and again. Even when we moved out of grandma's cult house. You didn't trust me when I told you about the flat guy. We moved from there to your sisters. I bet even now you been inching to move to England without us. At least Joseph is sorted at any boarding school. You once again believe me to be a problem. I haven't even an opportunity to show you. You just shut me down or just over look it. Like just a while ago when recasting the illusion one wall again. You were so shocked I could that you said nothing. It hurts you know." She turned quiet to let that sink in. She had to then disarm the undertaker that approached her to close. Trying for a bewitching. She used the undertaker she disabled to knock four others. She knew she wasn't able to knock them out or leave them disarmed. But she has a move, she slips around and was soon hugging the leader. She ignored the one pretending on the sofa. Hugging the real guy that been organizing the others around the place while the humans are talking to false title one.
"Right, crest... your... unicorns. Unicorns are vaguely useful. So are you his advisor or you just pretending?" She felt them up for weapons and pick pockets them easy. She pulled them to evade a tackle from others and she carries this guy no issue to the back office. She finds a gate open here. It's not theirs.
It's just a gate to some pocket sigil interface. She crossed in without fear and takes the undertaker with. This pocket was her scrapyard. Place full of corpse left over, stones to borrow chips and a ore forge set up. She knew all the traps and walks them through the decay version of her grandpas house. The pictures of all those other lives she was. The quilt of crests. The soilder uniform two flags and 42 medals in a heretical sealed case. Her picture as an adult in full uniform. She unfazed of all these house items being hers. Even the guest bedroom was fish tank set ups. A sort of fish keeper hobby and plants. Long abandoned of no life inside. She drags the undertaker through to the garage and to the rusted truck. The close enough copy of the truck. Key in the ignition. She tossed the guy in and takes the driver seat. It purrs awake and she drives like it's another day.
"Where are you taking me?" She laughed in hearing that. She takes the reservse out of the drive way and followed the made road that takes them far deep into the pocket realm. She finally reached to the other end with getting where she wanted. The guy she took with has been silent and not trying to escape. She parked, break up and nods to him.
"A little test. Not hard. Just pick a gate." She posed forwards about the edge of the pocket.
"Where do they go?" He likely testing her back, she doesn't mind.
"One is to the dunes of time at the edge of existence. One is to deaths domain. One to his wife's place. Several will take you to other pockets that I own, spaces I use to store god eaters or odd materials. There is three that are crest undertaker kingdoms. The one you want is the corridor between undertaker realms." She didn't point to anyone of them but this amount of them she said checked out, "I find that the hardest door to walk is where often you belong. It's easy to slip away. It takes courage to face fear and come back." The undertaker nods a lot at this, "While we're are here." She gives a bag that was her grandpas. It held the orders he didn't finish. The items to be delivered. She slipped in some extras. Since her left hand presented the bag, he took it back. She then open the glove box at their front, nods on offer to take what they want. Several monarch daggers. Many lost crests. Each a crown. Each needing a new owner.
"It's why they give me that cute nickname, empress. The lady of lost crowns." She smiles, "I just thought they were to pretty to be lost." A crown was picked, "It suits you, Unicorns. Very light and holy. You lot deal with gods a lot." The box she closed, "One at a time, they get angry with each other. But if you know someone worthy, send them my way. They be doing a similar test. Courage themed. Dangerous not. I am a living human on the surface after all."