Disclaimer: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and all characters from the show are the property of Joss Whedon, 20th Century Fox, and the UPN Television Network. The Cthulhu Mythos material is loosely based on the "Call of Cthulhu" role-playing game (copyright Chaosium Inc.) and the book "Encyclopedia Cthulhiana" by Daniel Harms. SAVE is based on the organization in the Chill Roleplaying game (copyright Mayfair Games Inc.) and the earlier version of the game (copyright Pacesetter, Ltd.)
You know that things are getting bad when the sight of Quentin Travers is reassuring. Considering everything else that's going on, dealing with Quentin feels strangely safe. Perhaps because it feels familiar. I'm the Coordinator for SAVE's New York City Regional Headquarters. It's my job to decide whether the latest report of weirdness requires a investigative team of SAVE envoys (at least if the "weirdness" is anywhere near the NYC metro area). I'm also partially responsible for choosing the team. And I attend funerals. Too many funerals. People I'VE sent out into the field who run into something they can't handle. Which is happening more and more frequently in recent years. The same thing seems to be happening in the other regions. We're under siege and we're losing ground. We have taken some countermeasures. Last September we reinforced the magical defenses of our World Headquarters, the various Continental Headquarters, and a number of the larger Regional Headquarters. At least now we have real safe havens for our envoys. This still doesn't help a team that gets chopped to pieces because they run into some demon we've never heard of before. The new spells we've acquired DO help, but they're dangerous, often exhausting, and most of our envoys haven't been able to learn them yet. It's not just our own teams who are running into problems. We're getting some troubling reports out of Sunnydale. Among other things, Buffy is having difficulties adjusting. Which is worrisome, because the more hopeful prophecies seem to have her playing an important role. We'd like to have someone there at the Hellmouth to help, but the only people Buffy and her friends are likely to trust can't be spared, at least not for any length of time. Truth is, I'm not entirely sure Buffy and her friends SHOULD trust us. We've kept something very important from them. The "Urn of Osiris" that Willow used in her spell didn't exist until a couple of weeks before she resurrected Buffy. WE created the Urn, or rather, had it created. Melissa Johnson, our main contact to Sunnydale, always has argued for telling them about the Urn. She's probably right, but it's a bit late now. As it is, we may have manipulated them into doing something that we weren't even sure we wanted them to do (although Melissa says that I'm underestimating Willow's determination). We're feeling a bit desperate, so are a lot of other people. Which means that there are a lot of new alliances being formed. SAVE has been trying to coordinate our efforts with those of our various allies and I've attended many of the resulting meetings, as the deputy of the Continental Coordinator. We're part of a real crazy-quilt of a coalition. Aside from ourselves and the Watcher's Council, there are people from a bewildering array of magical traditions. Some of which I didn't even know existed until recently. Then there's the sect of vampire knights who seem to think they're the second coming of King Arthur's court, and a minor deity (or powerful demon, depending on who's classifying) with larger ambitions. Finally there's N'tse-Kaambl. The Shatterer of Worlds. The only major deity who's come down firmly on our side, or at least firmly against our enemies. Many of our newest and most powerful spells came from her, through her representatives the Shatterers. We need her help badly. But we also know that she has little real concern for humanity. We know that, to her, a few lives, or a few thousand, are merely a triviality. Not a very comforting thought. Not comforting at all.