You got the letter of invitation yesterday. Just after you could have sworn you heard your dead grandmothers voice.
"Maybe I have power too?" You thought to yourself. Ever since magic starting to flow freely around society, more and more people have been discovering their powers. The psychics where real, the card readers, the healers, the clearvoyants, they where all telling the truth.
And yesterday morning i could have sworn my grandmother spoke to me. I remember her destinct voice, that raw, almost gurgling sound after 60 years of smoking. "I'm ok" she said, that was all.
Only a couple of hours later, the letter arrived.
It was from The White Court. You've heard a little about them, but not much. They surfaced shortly after the magic outburst, claiming to have existed for centuries, maintaining order amongst the magic-users, where our own laws and courts couldn't.
They said everyone agreed to follow the rules, because they were needed, with only a relatively few magical people, it wasn't that hard to agree amongst each other, and keep order.
The letter was short and precise:
"We invite you to live at our headquarters at Axel Towers, to witness a couple of trials, and get an understanding of our laws and ways.
Should you accept, please be in front of your apartment at 20:00 tomorrow evening.
- TWC"
Too curious to say no, you know find yourself waiting at the side of the road.
As soon as the watch on your arm says it's usual "beep", signaling the beginning of a new hour, a car pulls up, and opens it's door.
[[get in the car]]
Without a word from the driver, he puts the car into motion, and drives off.
The only sound he makes for the entire trip, is a cough now and then.
You watch the familiar city of Copenhagen pass by the window, as you head towards the center of the city.
Nothing appears different, but everything is. The people have changed, the limits of what is possible is completely different. You've heard of places where pollution fills the air, of teleporting people colliding land masses. As you drive by the lakes, you can see people on the small island in the middle, and think about our great island to the north. Some say that this all started up there.
It's funny, a couple of years ago, you only thought of greenland as the place where Santa Claus lived... Who knows, maybe he really exists too?
As you approach the newly build Axel Towers, you can't help but feeling a little intimidated. Who are they exactly? Will you meet Victoria, the leader and central judge? What kind of cases will you witness?
The car stops in front of the Towers, and the door opens.
[[get out of the car]]
As you step out of the car, a woman appears by you side.
She seems young, in her twenties, with dark blonde hair and a slim figure. She doesn't say a word, but gestures you to follow her.
As you walk into the Towers, you notice blades hanging from her belt. Guess it makes sense to have some kind of security.
You follow her into the tower and into an elevator. The woman presses the button for the 6. floor. Not a sound is heard for the entire ride, not even any awful elevator music.
You leave the elevator, and are brought to a room. The woman opens the lock and hands you the key. As you enter the room, she closes the door and you can hear her leave. You check - the door isn't locked.
You look around the room. It's fairly simple, but cozy, with classical paintings on the walls and big solid furniture - the kind of furniture you can sink into and almost disappear.
As you walk around the room, you notice a piece of paper on a table.
[[read the letter]]
Welcome to The White Court.
I am sorry if your transportation here was a bit intimidating, my associates doesn't talk much, but they are the best there is.
Let me be completely honest: You are here because we have noticed your powers.
As you may know, our purpose is to ensure peace and order in the world. We have done so for many, many years. Magic has existed for as long as mankind, and for much of that time, we where the ones maintaining enforcing the rules of the magical society.
We do this, because magic users have agreed, that a level of control is necesarry. Through history people you know as Noah, Moses and others, have used their powers to an extend, that severely impacted the world.
The world will fall into chaos, if we don't have rules.
And that is why we have invited you.
We would like you to experience a couple of cases, to get a feel for our laws and ways. And to see first hand, why we are important. Some cases might be small, others of great importance, but all of them are cases where people have been accused of doing things, that we agree cannot be tolerated.
I hope you will enjoy your stay
The first trial is tomorrow morning, you will be picked up at 9.
- Victoria Vindicare
[[go to bed]]
You wake up early and get ready, even though you don't really know what to expect.
At a quarter to 9 there is a knock on the door, as you open the door, you see the woman from yesterday - she gestures you to follow her, again without a word.
You take the elevator to the ground floor, and walk to another one of the towers, there is a bit more commotion here, but the woman firmly keeps walking forward and through a big open door.
You enter the courtroom, a large room, that looks almost like a courtroom from the movies, but you don't have any time to admire it, as the woman points to a seat in the gallery.
On the seat is a small book.
"The laws of magic" it says on the cover.
As you sit down an elderly man next to you whispers: "Don't worry about the book for now, but it might come in handy later," he gives off a little laugh, and then turns his head towards the end of the room, where a door just opened.
"All rise for the judge" a voice, seemingly out of nowhere, proclaims.
[[Stand up]]
You've heard some stories, but never seen her with your own eyes.
But there she is. Victoria Vindicare. Beatiful, with hey long golden hair and wearing a simple yet impressive dress in black and white. She looks so fragile, yet also firm as a rock.
And hey eyes! Oh those eyes! Even though you are a good distance away from hey, it is easy to make out her eyes. One completely white as a blank piece of paper, and the other with a pitch black iris and pupil.
She walks with steady steps to the chair in the center of the back wall, you notice that the woman who led you to your seat is now standing near her.
"Please be seated" she says.
As soon as the short commotion is over, the voice from earlier is heard again:
"Todays case is against a fortuneteller, who has used his powers to win the lottery several times in a row"
The man next to you leans in and whispers: "follow along now, i'd like to hear if can guess if he is guilty of a crime later"
[[Let the trial begin]]
The trial begins. (shortened version)
It's about a man, who is accused of looking into the future, and seeing the lottery numbers, and therefore winning several times in a row.
He claims that he was just lucky, but a woman tells the story of how he told her and a lot of her friends, where they would meet their husbands. Before magic became more common, he had a small business telling futures, and according to the woman, he was always correct.
The next witness is the owner of the kiosk where the lottery tickets was bought, he tells how the fortune teller had told him which specific numbers he wanted on his coupon.
The fortune teller, on the other hand, claims that he was just lucky.
Victoria listens closely, not giving out any signs of wether she believes the different stories.
When everyone has given their testimony, Victoria speaks again:
"Mr. Jones, I would like to hear from you"
You suddenly notice an old man, that has been sitting at near Victoria. "Has he been here the entire time?!" you think to yourself.
"Some things a beyond coincidence" he says while looking directly at the accused.
Victoria nods, and starts doing something with her left hand, tapping the tip of her tumb on the tip of her index finger, then the middle finger, the ring finger and the little finger. Back and forth.
The room seems quiet as the city after a storm.
The man next to you leans in again, and whispers very carefully:
"So, what do you think? Will he be found guilty?"
You don't know what to say, guilty in what? You think, but then you remember the book you found earlier. You open it, and look at the first page:
----------------
The fundamental laws of The White Court:
- Magic should not be used for extensive personal gain
- Magic should not be used with malicious intent
- There should be no prestige differences based on magic skills
- Magic should not be used to manipulate people without their knowledge
----------------
You think about the case, and give the man your answer:
[[Yes, i think he has broken the law]]
[[No, i don't think he has done anything wrong]]
The man gives of a big smile. "Ah! So you see it too?! This is a clear cut example of a guy trying get his hands on a lot of money i think!"
The silence continues for a little while, but is soon broken by Victoria:
"We, the court of the magic society, find you guilty of using your powers to extensive personal gain. You have used your powers to get an extremely unfair edge in a game of chance, and you have clearly won using methods not accounted for in the design of the game.
However, since no one was hurt, and still had their own fair chance at winning, we will go easy on you. You are sentenced to pay all your winnings to a charity of your own choosing, and will not be allowed to play the lottery ever again."
As soon as the verdict is given, Victoria stands up and walks out of the room.
"Hah! He got what he deserved! What a cheater! Who even tries to cheat at the lottery? I mean, it's a big national game. Of course the court knows if the winner is a magic user, and of course they are going to look into it," the man says, as he also stands up and walks out of the courtroom.
You feel a bit tired, and decide to
[[Go to your room]]
The man looks at you with slight disappointment, but turns his attention to Victoria, who has begun speaking:
"We, the court of the magic society, find you guilty of using your powers to extensive personal gain. You have used your powers to get an extremely unfair edge in a game of chance, and you have clearly won using methods not accounted for in the design of the game.
However, since no one was hurt, and still had their own fair chance at winning, we will go easy on you. You are sentenced to pay all your winnings to a charity of your own choosing, and will not be allowed to play the lottery ever again."
As soon as the verdict is given, Victoria stands up and walks out of the room.
"Hah! He got what he deserved! What a cheater! Who even tries to cheat at the lottery? I mean, it's a big national game. Of course the court knows if the winner is a magic user, and of course they are going to look into it," the man says, as he also stands up and walks out of the courtroom.
You feel a bit tired, and decide to
[[Go to your room]]
As you enter your room you feel exhausted, and throw yourself on the bed.
Was the verdict fair? You think to yourself. He did cheat, didn't he? But wouldn't everyone with that kind of power, use it to win? Or maybe the is the entire point?
As you lay thinking about the case, you slowly drift into sleep.
When you wake up, it is dark outside. "How long have I been asleep?" you think for yourself.
You're hungry. But there is no food anywhere. "Maybe they tried to deliver it, but left when I didn't answer the door?" you think, disappointed.
With nothing to eat, and a growling belly, you choose to
[[leave the room and search for food]]
You close the door behind you and walk to the elevator.
Come to think of it, you have no idea where the food came from. It was just delivered to the room.
You press the button that takes you to the top floor, thinking there may be some sort of restaurant or cafeteria there, but as the doors open, you find yourself in a hallway much the same as the one on the floor your own room is located.
As you walk down the hallway, you notice a slightly open door, even though you have a feeling that you are not supposed to be here, you can't help yourself and open the door.
The room is magnificent. A great panorama window outlooks Tivoli, the old amusement park. Paintings cover the walls, some which looks very old, others modern. A grand piano stands in one of the corners, with an inscription on: "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to listen to my music one last time - Ludvig van Beethoven"
You continue to explore the room, it seems that centuries of artifacts can be found.
In the center of the room stands a desk. As you approach it, you notice a small worn book on it. When you look closely, it has small stickers of flowers on it, and seems very worn. It doesn't fit in with all the other things in the room.
On the cover it says, with big capital letters:
"The diary of Victoria"
Your heart skips a beat. Could this be Victoria Vindicares diary? Is this her room? No, more like an office maybe?
You check the door, not a sound can be heard, and curiosity gets the best of you.
[[You open the diary]]
May 19. 1992
Dear diary.
I'm scared. Mom and dad fights more and more, and yesterday they sold the TV to some guy with a lot of tatoos. When they saw me looking at them, dad started yelling at me, and told me to go to my room, I don't know what i did wrong.
Ever since dad stopped going to work, they have been fighting more and more. I really hope he starts working again soon, so they will be happy again. I can hear dad coming home in the morning, he didn't use to be gone in the night.
I really hope things will be as they where before, i'm afraid of what will happen next.
- V
[[close the diary]]
You hear a sound from the hallway, and quickly put down the diary, and rush to the door.
You peek out, but there is no one to be seen. You then take a quick glance around the room and notice a key on a small table next to the door. Without thinking you take a deep breath, grab the key and hurry out of the room, into the elevator and back to your room.
You slam the door behind you when you reach your room. Your heart is racing and you completely forgot your hunger, not that that's important anymore.
You don't know why, but you have an urge to go back, the main reason you are here, is because you were curious as to what The White Court is, but now you have found something even better, even more interesting. A peek into the mystery that is Victoria Vindicare, and you realise that you already have made a decision:
You will stay for the week, attending the court at day, getting to know the laws, and at night, try to get another glimse at the things in that room. And most importantly the diary! Could that young girl really be the same Victoria? It must be!
Maybe you'll learn more tomorrow.
[[Go to overview of story]]
This was an example of the first day at The White Court.
The idea from here on is, that the "player/reader" goes through different days, each day being presented with a case, which could be something that doesn't brake the law, like a guy being accused of speakin ill of The White Court (there are no laws against freedom of speech), while other cases will be a direct violation of a law (not all laws are defined by our group, that would be quite a task).
The player will make their guess in the end of each trial, but the story will advance anyway. This will introduce them to The White Court and their laws.
At night we will sneak out to Victoria office (having the key we snatched from the table), and read an entry in the diary, telling the story of how Victoria is forced to leave her home, how her parents die, how she blames society around her (the government), how she discovers her powers trying to revive her mother (fails), and finally how she shortly thereafter is taken to The White Court and decides to stay, in order to one day change the world.
A short overview of the different entries (including the one from day one) can be found here:
[[diary entries]]
As the final entry is read, the player/reader will be caught, and as they are being dragged away (not seeing who caught them) by an extremely strong person, the words "The End" signals the end of this story.
May 19. 1992
Dear diary.
I'm scared. Mom and dad fights more and more, and yesterday they sold the TV to some guy with a lot of tatoos. When they saw me looking at them, dad started yelling at me, and told me to go to my room, I don't know what i did wrong.
Ever since dad stopped going to work, they have been fighting more and more. I really hope he starts working again soon, so they will be happy again. I can hear dad coming home in the morning, he didn't use to be gone in the night.
I really hope things will be as they where before, i'm afraid of what will happen next.
- V
---------------------------------------------
June 2. 1992
Dear diary.
We left our home a couple of days ago. I don't understand why. Mom told me to leave my things behind and come with her in the middle of the night, i only grabbed my diary. She said that if i didn't follow her, someone will come and take me away. I don't understand who would do that.
I asked if dad was coming too, but mom said that he won't be coming back. That dad had an accident, and that he is in a better place now. I asked why we can't go where he is then, but mom didn't answer me. I still don't understand why we can't go to the place dad is.
Mom has begun coughing, i think she is sick. We need to be in this better place.
- V
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THE FOLLOWING ENTRIES ARE DESCRIBED BUT NOT ACTUALLY "WRITTEN"
---------------------------------------------
November 13. 1992
Describes them being homeless and being rejected by others (society shuns them), her mothers health is declining, but she tells Victoria, that they can't go to a hospital, because then she will be taken away by the government. Victoria is increasingly frustrated and angry with the sourrounding world.
---------------------------------------------
January 20. 1993
Describes her mothers death, and her discovering her powers trying to revive her (light emanating form her fingers, a short sense of warmth in her mothers body, but in vain). Explains her anger with the world around her, wanting to take her away and therefore not helping her mom.
---------------------------------------------
January 21. 1993
Desribes a taxi pulling up in front of Victoria. She she gets in it (hearing her mothers voice telling her to) and is driven to The White Court, where she is fascinated by the magic, and feels safe.
She is told that she too has special powers, and they can teach her to use them. And she writes that she will become strong enough to change the world, so no one has to live in fear, and that the ones responsible (the government) for her mothers death, should not be allowed to rule.