Everything

One of the creepier forms of magickal “construction” includes investing living beings with Quintessence and using them as portable batteries for both Quintessence and Paradox. Detailed in Mage 20 (p. 521), The Book of Secrets (p. 145), and How Do You DO That? (p. 48), this discipline is high-level stuff with an occult pedigree going back to ancient times. Despite its traditional nature, however, the thought of turning living things into paranormal tools — especially without their consent — runs roughshod over the autonomy of the “flowers” in question. Thus, many modern mages view the practice with disgust even as their pragmatic peers employ every trick and tool at their disposal, regardless of the ways in

which such practices impact their living instruments.

As The Book of Secrets explains, the nature of Resonance can change the nature of the Soulflower too. A goldfish infused with Quintessence that has an Aggressive Resonance is one nasty goldfish, and while such changes won’t matter much with, say, a goldfish, they could spell the difference between a docile living “container” and a rebellious enemy, if you’ve infused Quintessence into a creature who has the physical and intellectual capacity to harm you. Despite the risks, however, certain mages still invest Quintessence into higher-order animals (humans included), if only because the sense of power appears to outweigh the potential risks if that “flower” gets fed up with the arrangement and decides to turn that mage’s power back against her “master.”

Eva Cherone

When her boss told Eva, “We’re deeply invested in you,” he meant it literally.

The job at HAXCorp seemed like a dream come true, especially with a mountain of student-loan debt weighing her down. Until that gig came in, she was sharing an apart­ ment with her thankfully now-ex and a cat that pissed on everything that wasn’t covered in plastic. How she passed the

interview with that little beast’s urine ghosting her clothes, Eva still doesn’t know. That was three years ago, and here she is: office admin for the division manager of Accounts Receivable, and while the pay package isn’t glorious, Eva’s pulling down more than anyone else she knows. Hell, she’s even got benefits at this job — pretty much a first in her employment history. So if she glosses over a few “irregu­ larities” here and there, or turns a blind eye (okay, several blind eyes) to some stuff she’s seen or heard about… hey, that’s the business world, and no one told you it’d be easy.

It’s not that Eva’s not ambitious. I mean, she graduated in the top 1% of her high-school class, held down a 4.0 average in college while her friends and roommate were out partying, and left school with a summa under her belt. Why she wound up flipping burgers for the next three years is anybody’s guess, but things are tough all over, that economic downturn’s still keeping jobs scarce, and Eva wasn’t nearly as bad off as lots of people she knew. She kept clawing, kept interviewing, kept her head up and her eyes on the prize. An admin job’s not exactly much of a prize, but after the last few years, she’ll take what she can get.

Hardworking, attractive, and sharp as the edge of 70 lb. letterhead paper, Eva’s almost 30 and has her own small-but-fashionable apartment a short bus ride from her office. Too bad she’s never home, but there’s only so many hours in the day when you’re trying to get ahead. The ex and his rotten cat are distant memories, and her boss Michael keeps her busy enough. The fact that he’s “Michael” to her instead of “Mr. Del Rio” speaks to her high spot in the office pecking order. On Mr. Del Rio’s suggestion, she’s taking some self-defense classes — a girl can’t be too careful in the city, right? Especially not when she works so many late nights. Her boss is paying for those classes, too. Yeah, Michael really looks out for his people, and Eva’s pleased to be part of his team.

Some folks whisper (not where she can hear them, of course) that Eva’s got a thing with Mr. Del Rio. They’re not wrong, but it’s not what people think it is. Mr. Del Rio really has invested in her, but it’s in no way sexual. Eva’s what you might call a living asset: a walking charisma battery who keeps secrets, handles dirty laundry, and knows how to pull out that little bit of extra energy at crunch time when things get hairy and billions of dollars are on the line. He’s grooming her to be his personal assistant, but needs to make sure she’s up to the task. So he tests her, and tracks her progress, and hands her assignments that aren’t too crucial to see what her limits might be. He’s also keeping tabs on her to see if there’s some potential for true Enlightenment behind that aging college-girl façade. If there is, though, Mr. Del Rio hasn’t seen it yet. For now, he’s just investing her with energy, tapping it when necessary, and watching to see if Eva’s got long-term prospects or if she’s just one more human resource to liquidate eventually in the name of the bottom line.

Lord Floof

Why does she carry that cat everywhere she goes? The way she strokes his fur, it’s a wonder the poor thing hasn’t gone bald! Lord Floof is indeed Sharisha Mae’s a constant companion, and he does indeed have very soft and strokable fur. A beautiful example of the Ragdoll breed of cat, Lord Floof (his real name is Bhaga, but everyone these days calls him “Lord Floof”) is an ingratiating little beast with a well-honed sense of how to make himself as adorable as possible. Even folks who normally hate cats love Lord Floof, and everyone wants to pet his fur.

No, he’s not her familiar. But he is more than he seems to be. Lord Floof is, in most regards, a normal cat — no smarter or more magical than any other feline. Sharisha Mae, however, has invested Lord Floof with a combination of spells that make him a combination Quintessence vacuum and battery, absorbing life-energy from those who pet him and retaining it for Sharisha’s use. A low-level Mind spell also entices people to pet him even more than they would under normal circumstances. And so, beyond his innate cuteness and pettable fur, Lord Floof is an effective Soulflower: sweet-tempered enough to appreciate his coddled life and appealing enough to suck energy from even the most resistant ailurophobes. It’s a good thing, however, that Sharisha Mae has conscientious taste in friends. As things are, the Quintessence he retains in his purring little form tends to be Calming, Nurturing, and Adorable; if folks started infusing him with Predatory, Obnoxious, or Treacherous energy, this adorable companion might remind his human associates that felines are the alpha predators in their weight class, and can take on things much larger than they are if the cat in question is so inclined.