#draw albether instead

[peadles]

[kerisham-review]

Cultist Spotlight: Dr. James Albeth

By Mme Bechet

Not everyone drawn to the world of the occult is of the lowest cast of society. Indeed, even the most prestigious of the world are drawn into the mystery and wonder of our viewpoint.

Not long ago, I had heard that a doctor at the local asylum had taken steps down the Way – and who else would it be, save the most well-respected doctor of our time, Dr. James Albeth.

Renowned for his reform techniques and effective practices, he began to see reason in his patients’ madness. At a later date he would tell me, “It was like suddenly seeing the light of day after a lifetime of darkness. My patients – they never got it right. They never saw how it all fits!”

He was first introduced to the Glorious lore by one of the more unstable members of the fallen Wildwood Club. While he couldn’t give me particulars, this member was one who had travelled to the Old Continent and had seen what should never be seen. Naturally, the good doctor had wanted to see the creature that had sent his patient mad – and he did. The drawings that he showed me were all at once spectacular, fantastic, and terrifying, even for the initiated.

He returned over and over to this monster’s spot, gaining more information each time, taking more people with him. His papers were fascinating – he knew how this thing moved from one dimension to the next, altering the world around it, building impossible structures for it’s den.

After some time studying this creature, he began figuring out how to play with reality himself. It cost him many of his acquaintances and patients, but he finally worked it out.

You see, most seeking to ascend the House are searching for immortality or true power, but he – he found his particular knowledge. He became a Voidwalker. His name is scattered across the histories, his  visage found where you least expect, his homes never quite within reality.

The last he was officially seen was in the Sidestreets. He was attacked by a group of thugs – a nice suit looking for trouble would do that – and just as an officer came to his aid, the strongest of the group took a swing at Dr. Albeth – but, instead of the usual thump of fist-on-face, the doctor disappeared, appearing behind the group and perched on the edge of the stone wall separating the streets from the river. The officer – who had simply assumed that the man was extraordinarily fast or clever – attempted to break up the scene, just as an unfortunate throw of a loose pebble passed slightly too close to Dr. Albeth.

The officer reports, to the best of his understanding, that the shadows deepened around the man as the stone seemed to multiply around him, moving, as he said, very fast. We both know that this was more than the uninitiated eye would see, and as it turned out, the Voidwalker was, indeed hungry that night. The poor soul who had thrown the stone could barely let out a yelp before being near-vaporized – leaving nothing save a pile of cloth scraps. The Voidwalker’s smile widened unnaturally, his eyes glowed and the darkness became absolute.

When the officer could see again, the thugs were gone, leaving nothing save a scattering of cloth and a mangled body wearing doctor’s attire.

The Voidwalker did not perish that night, for he would go on to give me his – purposefully incomplete – research notes for safekeeping.

If you see him, you will have seen an aspect of the worlds beyond, and to an extent, the creature that he studied. If you want to find him, seek out an impossible nest beyond the mists of the Old Continent, and you may just find both the man and his monster, traversing realities, and feeding.