Coera

I. Alone with Revenge

• How Riel is thrown into it, and learns he is not alone.
  Riel's girlfriend is turned to a vampire, and is tasked to akill all of her living ties (family, friends, etc.) She is enthusiastic, but for some reason spares Riel. Through anger and dreams, Riel is encouraged to seek revenge. he is motivated and strangely lucky, and has some success.
  
• How Riel learns he is alone.
  Though luck is with him, Riel is busted during a slaying, and thrwn in the pokey. He is questioned by Lorelei but released by Katherine, and she uses her connection to erase his past. Riel dreams of Eva, who tells him not to trust Katherine. Katherine arms Riel and sets him on a path, but asks a price.
  
• How Riel's success is a failure.
  Katherine's path involves slaying the seven generations above Melody - that will give her the choice to free herself. Really, Katherin is only using Riel for very potent food and to create a power vacuum that she can fill. When Melody's sires are killed, she does get a choice - to free herself from Riel, which she takes. Katherine spirits herself away, leaving Riel alone and weeping.
  

II. The Cause is Greater

• How Riel receives training.
  Though Riel is in despair, his jihad continues. Dreams from Eva keep him afloat until he starts to find his comrades - Jonas, Lorelai, and Emmett. Jonas leads Riel through the fires and provides balance against Katherine's taunts and teasings. Jonas pays for Riel's enrollment in Duckworks.
  
• How Riel finds Religion.
  Riel trains at Duckworks alongside terrorists and vamps, but what he learns is worth the moral stalemate. Jonas disappears amidst mystery. With training in meditation come more and more dreams of Eva, which illuminate Riel's identity and mission, and he feels a heavy, lonely weight. Jonas appears agains amids the death of the vamp trainees, and Duckworks is destroyed.
  
• How Riel finds peace in turmoil.
  As Riel and Jonas bloom like a flower in the midst of the vamp ranks, doppling their commercial empire and exposing their infiltration in world politics, Riel is guided by Eva to the understanding that she, Adam, and God himself have full faith that no task has been given that he cannot complete, and peace and comfort take him.
  

III. Live by the Gun, Die by the Gun

• How Riel has his revenge.
  This is a story of guerilla war. The vamp empire collapse has left nations unbalanced, though no major nations themselves have fallen, vampire leadres leave gaps in power. Threats of nuclear war and consipiracy loom on the horizon. Riel's underground army rises against the three major clans, and he brings them down. He is thrown into the spotlight, and is thought by some to be the antiChrist, and by others to be a new saviour. He is briefly named king of Brazil.
  
• How Riel finally succeeds.
  Amist the wars, Riel seeks out melody. Once again she has a choice, but now it is because Riel can give it to her. She is released, and Jonas dies. Riel turns his attentions toward using his influence to restore world order.
  
• How Riel learns to let go.
  Riel's frustration and despair return when his attempts at politics only lead to more death and instability. Eva appears to him with a vision of the future - she shows him that his taks is done, then takes him back to meet David.
  

Today I take you on a visual tour through the history of the Jack Riel character.

I think this is the first Jack Riel picture ever drawn(?) My guess it's from the summer of '93. It's about right for my drawing style then.


The next 3 are from early '94, and by this time, Riel's looks is pretty finalized, even though he still seems to be in some kind of mixed modern/fantasy setting. I can place these drawings pretty accurately, because I drew them while studying Cubism in high school art. :)




Here's Riel's first appearance in the proto-Coera story. This is a concept drawing for Riel as Deifyd's brother/teacher.


I never wanted to take Riel out of the modern setting, though - he was an extension of an adaptation of the Merlin story from The Once and Future King, in that he was a mentor who travelled back in time. Riel's own story was taking shape about this time - the second drawing will probably still fit as a reasonable illustration by the time the story is written.



While I was in Wales I really fleshed out Deivyd's story, but I didn't neglect Riel, either. Since I didn't have the above pictures with me, I redrew and colored the dinner date.


And this is current Riel, as of 2006. Not much change for 13 years! In fact, he may have gotten younger!

The very earliest drawing of proto-Jonas was a sketch in the margins of coursenotes.


But then he was drafted into the family of Riel's supporting cast.

Which also included:
Emmett

Lorelei

and Kathy.


But then Jonas's story began to develop a bit on its own.


And this is Jonas today.

Crazy Town: "Candy Coated"

You see I'm ok now but I dont think it will last
Because reality is something i can't seem to grasp
Candy-coated pain is like a ball and chain
Pulling me closer to death, I feel closer to death now
Candy-coated pain is like a ball and chain
We only dig deeper by running away

It's deeper than what it looks like
We never got an equal shot so we took mics
Packed the candy-coated pain in the first pipe
That said my name and the candy-coated pain is the worst type
You got it nice my every day is like your worst night
The world is digging in my wounds screaming out I bet it hurts right?

Jesus Jones: "Welcome back, Victoria"

welcome back, Victoria
so the pendulum swings back
welcome back, Victoria
you went away, OK
we got a little slack

and once again you'll cover up
what you don't understand
don't close your eyes
you can't hide behind your hands

welcome back, Victoria
we'll be no threat when we're deaf, dumb and blind
welcome back, Victoria
clean books, clean screens, clean words,
dirty minds

Here are a bunch more songs ripe for the Refinery cover, either for their words or the music:

Oingo Boingo - Skin

If you peel away the skin is there anybody there
If you peel away the armor is it too late to begin
Is there anybody hiding if you peel away the skin
Now a spark has passed between us now
A momentary recognition
Something lost and something gained
And something shared that feels strange
Something cold that will not go away
There's a heart as cold as ice
In a vault that's made of stone
Over years the walls got higher
Over years the walls have grown
Is there anybody in there in this self inflicted tomb
If you peel away the layers is there someone in this room

They Might Be Giants - She's an Angel

I found out she's an angel
I don't think she knows I know
I'm worried that something might happen to me
If anyone ever finds out

Why, why did they send her over anyone else?
How should I react? These things happen to other people
They don't happen at all

Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

My head is like a lettuce
Go on and dig your thumbs in
I cannot stop giving
I'm thirty-something

Sense of security
Like pockets jingling
Midlife crisis
Suck ingenuity
Down through the family tree

You're perfect, yes, it's true
But without me you're only you (only you)

The Who - Join Together

Do you really think I care,
What you read or what you wear,
I want you to join together with the band,
There's a million ways to laugh,
And every one's a path,
Come on and join together with the band.

Zoe - Hammer

If I had a dagger
I'm sure I'd drive it in.
I wouldn't stop the twisting
'Til you weeped out all your sins.

Oh tell me - why it's so hard to live.
Why do I take when I really should give?
Oh tell me - why it's so hard to be.
Why am I so blind, when I really should see?

Naughty by Nature - OPP

Arm me with harmony
Dave drop a load on 'em

OPP, how can I explain it
I'll take you frame by frame it
To have y'all jumpin' shall we singin' it
O is for Other, P is for People scratchin' temple
The last P...well...that's not that simple

You probably know the rest.

Fenix TX - Threesome

Let's try this all again, only faster now
Now go ahead and pretend I'm your master now
And if you want to dance, if she wants to lead
I'll go out of my way to make you believe
That your love is all I need

John Mayer - 3x5

Didn't have a camera by my side this time
Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes
Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm
in the mood to lose my way
but let me say
You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes
it brought me back to life
You'll be with me next time I go outside

Indigo Girls - Shed Your Skin

I’m speaking in tongues
Handling you
And I got religion now look at it
The days grow longer
As we grow stronger
So shed your skin baby
Let it rip

Come on over now
Come on over baby
Tell me it’s holy holy
I don’t know what that is
Come on over child
I want to call it the fullness of time
I don’t know if it is
Come on over now
Hey holy me
Console me
Some power
Controls me
Remorse it
I force it
Don’t free it
Just be it
Just be it
Just be it

I’m looking to find you
But it’s a little to late
To
Well I look and doubt
If i
In you
In you

I got the hangman
I got milagro
I got the celebration too
The flesh is strong
My spirit’s stronger
So shed your skin
Baby let through

(like the other songs, in addition to being a great song in general, it has good lyrics in general)

CHORUS
But I'm not gonna give up the ghost
no, not gonna give up the ghost
I'm not gonna give up the ghost, no not gonna give it up
'Cause I haven't the strength to hold out too long
If we both hold on together we can make each other strong

After all we're flesh 'n' blood
(repeat)

Nick Drake's "Pink Moon"

I saw it written and I saw it say
Pink moon is on its way
And none of you stand so tall
Pink moon gonna get you all
It's a pink moon
It's a pink, pink, pink, pink, pink moon.

During his college years (and beyond), Riel fronted the local band, "Refinery". Refinery was a cover band, but they covered the song by changing the genre and sometimes the tune and/or lyrics. They were known for taking good songs and making them great, or at least good in a whole new way.

For an example of a song covered like Refinery might, see Jack Off Jill's version of the DeVinyls' "I Touch Myself".

Songs that refinery might have covered can be listed on this day in this blog.

Here are a couple of starters from The Indigo Girls:

"Closer to Fine"

Well darkness has a hunger that’s insatiable
And lightness has a call that’s hard to hear
I wrap my fear around me like a blanket
I sailed my ship of safety till I sank it
I’m crawling on your shores

"Prince of Darkness"

My place is of the sun and this place is of the dark
And I do not feel the romance I do not catch the spark
My place is of the sun and this place is of the dark
(by grace, my sight grows stronger)
And I do not feel the romance I will not be
(and I will not be a pawn for the prince of darkness any longer)

As the 25th is devoted to Riel's band, Refinery, the 24th will be devoted to Jonas' production company, Silveray.

Yes, it's true: Silveray is basically a device for me to shoehorn disparate ideas that I like into the only modern setting I have for the Ohida world. But I think it serves the story, as well, so there. Silveray is a porn company that Jonas is trying to take legit, so some Silveray entries will be rated adults only. Consider yourself officially warned!

Silveray's most famous and lucrative production (the one that created the industrial credit Jonas needed to obtain the Hero license) was the full-length film Stellar-Y, A Second Beginning. The film is high-production value send-off of Star Wars, and it was so successful (showing at some indie theaters, even) that it nearly earned Silveray a lawsuit from Lucasfilm, in addition to 7 Avvies.

Story is as follows (still under development, Not Internally Consistant):

Characters:

Darth Vader: Dark Vain (Lady Vain)
Emperor: The Empress
Storm Troopers: White Thighs
Obi-Wan: Bella Ben-Wa
Luke: Mark
Leia: Jade (Princess Jane)
Han: Lola
Chewbacca: Pussy
C3PO: MI2-6E
R2D2: 8-NE1


Scenes:

-Long Shot of a robed figure in the wilderness.

Bella:
"The first time I saw him, I couldn't believe it. I had been looking for him, but it had been so long since I'd seen one ... a boy, that is. I don't know how he survived - the planet had been beamed again just last year. But there he was, and about to be eaten alive by a pack of sex-hungry mongrels. They'd probably found him the same way I had - by smell."

-Sillhouettes of a pack of wildernesswomen backing Mark into a corner with his robots broken on the ground.
-Closeup of masked wildernesswomen licking their chops.
-Robed figure slays the wildernesswomen wih her laserwhip. She looks over the unconsious Mark, in particular his cock.

"Good. They hadn't gotten their teeth in him yet. But who could blame them for trying? He smelled delicious."

She hesitatingly flicks her tongue over his skin, and he stirs.
"Hello, boy"
"My name is Mark, not boy."
"But a boy is what you are."
"Okay."

"He was all boy, which meant he wasn't very smart. He could get us both killed. So I hid him under my robe and took him back to my retreat."
(She's naked under her robe).

Back at her place, Bella asks Mark what he was doing out in the wilderness by himself. He says he was looking for Miss Ben-Wa. He wanted to have his deformity removed. His droids had told him she was the only witch doctor for a hundred leagues who might do an operation under the table.

Bella tells him she wouldn't do that.

He says that he's 18 now - a woman. He can do whatever he wants, and his moms can't stop him. His deformity is so hard on them. His two mothers never wanted him to leave the farm, because they were afraid of what other women might do to him. Maybe she can give him breasts, too (he stuffs).

Bella explains to him that he is not a woman, but he is not a girl, either. He's a boy. She shows him what boys and girls can do together.

He apologizes for calling her a witch doctor, and she says she is a doctor, and a witch. She asks him if he knows about the "Double Y's". Sure, everyone does - that's the state religion. The Empress is the High Priestess. It used to be a respectable cult - the Cult of the Clit. The believed in the pleasure of the woman - there needed to be a balance. But some members of the cult, the Empress, in particular, carried balance too far and tried to eliminate all men. They did, in fact. But in those old days, the cult had certain powers. They called it the Intuition. And they taught them to use these: vibrators. But the vibrators are laserwhips in disguise. Mark: could I ever learn the Intuition, and be a witch like you? No, silly - you're a boy. But there will be plenty for you to do.

But his new robots had something for Bella, so he was out trying to find her. They watch 8-NE1's holoprojection of Jade saying that the robot contains the entire catalogue of heterosexual positions, and they need to be taken to the harem on Enduron. Jade is begging Bella to do it because there is no-one else she can trust, and Lady Vain has boarded her ship.

Bella says that Jack may be the last male in the universe - no-one knows for sure, but he may also be the perfect male. She can take him to Enduron, where he can join the Resistance.


They go to the city, where they earn a ride on Lola and Pussy's ship by promising new, never before seen hetero-porn. Lola got in debt when she dumped her cargo of hetero during an Imperial boarding, but with this payoff, she could come out on top.

White-thighs come into the bar and "board" the foursome because they look suspicious, and Jack's cock gets hard (it does that at the slightest arousal), so Bella slays the troopers with her whip when they discover the truth. (Her whip is hidden as a vibrator). Lola also sees the truth, and thinks she might be able to kidnap Jack if she can get him away from Bella. Pussy agrees.

(White thighs wear half helmets with mirrored visors and red, red lipstick, thigh-high boots, long gloves, and big, black dildos. Jack disguises himself as a white-thigh in full armor by wearing a cock-bearing black suit, and is asked - aren't you a bit limp for a white-thigh?)

On board the ship, Bella teaches Jack more positions and finds out what amazing stamina he has, including almost unlimited multiple orgasms. Pussy and the robots play chess, and Jack asks what they're playing for - the answer is, "the next go at you." Lola says, "let the kitty win."

Almost immediately upon leaving the planet, they are caught in the thighs of Dark Vain's ship. They find Jade on the ship and escape when Dark Vain kills Bella (Bella gives Jack her vibratorwhip and takes some head for the road). This is Lola's big opportunity to kidnap Jack, but she is now convinced (to Pussy's dismay) to complete the deal and drop off Jack for the porn.


When they get to Enduron, the Resistance finds out Lady Vain's ship is not far behind, and they're going to raze the planet. The Resistance sends up ships to dock with the fuel hole between the Destroyer's thighs. Jack wants to fly, but they say it's too dangerous. Lady Vain comes down to the planet to kidnap Jack, but Lola swoops in to rescue him. Jack flies the ship up - he's the only one who can properly dock with the hole to release the plasma charge.

The End

Character concepts for the Silveray film, Stellar X: The Purple People Eaters (or "White Thighs"), and the wicked Dark Vain.

The Hero of Ohio is a major independent comic book license (something like Hellboy) to which Jonas has somehow managed to acquire the film rights.

Click here for some deviantartwork.

The basic storyline follows David Zu Masters, Millionaire Boy Scout, who made good by marrying Bethany Jones, who is very well known as the superhero vigilante, Tiggrr. Now, Bethany is not a secret alter ego - she is quite recognizable for her full bodysuit of tiger-stripe tattoos, which she takes no pains to hide. And she is not strictly a vigilante, as she is a deputized member of the Arlington PD, the FBI, and the Coast Guard (tigers do like to swim!). She is heavily marketed, sponsored, and advertised. Tiggrr dolls are found both at Toys 'R' Us and more adult-oriented stores.

But Tiggrr has some new competition on the super-hero front from a masked, unnamed "Hero", who has powers reserved for comic book characters alone. And Tiggrr does not handle competition gracefully. Of course, this "Hero" is none other than David, who could not expose his secret to anyone, least of all his wife, for fear of losing the woman he loves most.

David's powers are the boon of an artificially intelligent symbiote he accidentally ingested (the symbiote was developed by his company as a supplement for Tiggrr's Combat Gearrr, but was ultimately rejected when it was shown to be dangerously unstable. The symbiote is essentially a telekinete and telepath, and projects the image of David's "Hero" suit into the minds of the people around him, but that is the least of its abilities - it can render him invisible, allow him to "fly" (more accurately, levitate or bounce), become superstrong, etc. The suit cannot communicate with him directly, beyond putting images in David's head, and it can manipulate his body like a puppet if he does not keep it beaten into submission. It has a mischeivious and sometimes dangerous sense of humor. David discovers deep into his story that it is actually the by-product of research into an alien crash in the 1940's - the artificial intelligence is an alien mind that was saved by the pilot before the crash as a survival mechanism!

Many people are worried about what Silveray will do to the Hero license, given the company's prediliction for porn, but Jonas has every intention of producing a family-friendly summer blockbuster.

Saul, Riel's dhampir son, is raised by Katherin to sieze power in the aftermath of Lilith's ejection from Gohira. Saul takes Riel's hospitality, ingratiates himself (it easy to take advantage of Riel after Melody is released), then betrays him and takes his name and organization to sieze power for himself and Katherin.

(Saul tells Riel he's his son, and they verify his DNA. The doctor (Emmett) confirms his ancestry, but also lets Riel know he's vampire. Saul tells Riel that Katherin is dead, and Saul is looking to make things right - Riel believes him too easily.)

It is in this context that Riel learns to let go. "This too must pass."

As Riel comes to realize that his real adversary is Lillith, he also comes to understand her intentions. She stole the Keys of Adam, the keys that bind and loose the powers of heaven, the keys that lock the barrier between Coera and the rest of the universe. Though Lil stole the keys, she was never able to find the lock, and every sortee she makes to Coera involves an attempt to find this lock.

Riel has long known Eva, his mother, but in this chapter he sees Adam, who charges him with finding and using this key. Riel asks what the key and the lock look like, but Adam does not tell him, instead Adam explains that he has already been shown them, and the memories are hidden away. When he sees them, he will remember.

Riel is able to steal the keys from Lillith, and in the final chapter, he unlocks the gate. In flow the angels of Heaven who Descend, and unbeknownst to many, their first act is to find the keys and relock the gate behind them, before any of Lillith's allies can find their way in.

When the Angels leave, they leave the gate open and leave humanity to guard it themselves.

Liliana, as Riel comes to learn of Lil in her contemporary incarnation, is a youthful, tightly voluptuous, Peruvian lady barely more than 4 feet tall. She organizes her nation from the cover of the South American jungle and is able to travel throughout most of the world without attracting notice.

As part of Riel's plans to use the Keys to unlock the Boundary, he must steal the Keys from Lil.

In the process of stealing them, he learns her plan for them - she plans to let Baod in, so he can swallow the Earth and reclaim his heart - once Coera is again a part of him, he will be unstoppable. Lil tells him this - she tells him she has contacts outside the Boundary, and they have told her of the prophecy of destruction coming from within the Boundary - she knows this to mean that Baod will emerge from the broken boundary as a devastator.

But Lil tempts Riel - she has the keys, and believes she knows where the locks are (the pyramids, all of them, are built over the ley lines that mark the locks, but only one of them is the correct lock (this one is Mayan)) but she has not yet used it. She believes that she might be able to take Coera instead, and unlike Baod, she would not digest Coera and the Life on it - she would keep them intact as an engine inside her - one that would give her the strength to turn the tables on Baod. The consumption of Coera is a given - Baod's cause, by all accounts, can do nothing but succeed, given time. But should Riel aid Lil, he could prevent the extinction of humanity. Lil is of Coera - she is its Queen, and would not see it destroyed. To Baod, the Life on Coera is a nuisance and would be brushed aside.

The context of this discussion is Lils cantina, and she had changed her form to a 30-foot demoness to gain his attention (the floor erupts in fire, the walls and ceiling crumble, and she stomps 5-foot hooves on the ground around him. "Is this what you expected of the Queen of Hell?!!" (Riel had been surprised to find her a 4.5 foot Mexican native). Lil makes her offer to him while he is in her mouth - it is an oasis from the molten air around him. If he does not accept her offer, she will crunch him up, but if he accepts, perhaps she'll let him go.) With Riel in her mouth, Lil asks if being inside her is not pleasant? She said there are other ways to be inside her, and with Coera in her belly, Riel could experience them all. Cain had some taste of this pleasure, before he lost his senses. Adam also had it, and has had it more recently than Eva would like to believe.

When Lil-cum-Maria Liliana (she thinks it's a great joke that she took on Eva's name) spits Riel out, the room is returned to how it was before, the floor, the walls, the ceiling are untouched, and the people outside are clueless. But so that Riel will understand that it was not just a hallucination, Lil kisses Riel, and burns his tongue, rendering him mute.

--Update--

More on Lil's conversation with Riel:

Expository Monologue - Lil tells Riel of the three minds of mankind - The Appetitive, the Passionate, and the Reasoned (called the id, ego, and superego by some). These facets of the mind are in fact the contributions of the three parents of humanity: Adam (the reasoned), Lil (the passionate), and Baod (the appetitive). One might argue that Eva has replaced Lil as the passionate mother, but it easy to see how many people retain the self-serving emotions as dominant over the altruisitic emotions. None are without the influence of Baod (through Coera). Everyone has Two mothers and a Father. Adam returned as the second Adam to experience this tripartate mind, but being a son of the Eva-Maria, he did not get the full taste of being human - to share in the inheritance of Lil. Of course, if Riel knew better he would argue that Lil's motherhood had been removed from the earth several apocalypses ago, which is at least partly true.

Lil notes that it is amusing to see that mankind has largely rejected the matriarchal pattern of the rest of the universe, in spite of its two mothers - Lil was the original ruler of mankind, and Adam her helpmate (how would a philosopher-warrior ever make a good king - they are much better as pets kept on a tight leash). But when Lil was deposed, undermined and betrayed by Adam, he became the defacto ruler, and Eva, as his offspring of type, became his subordinate helpmate.

During his training at Duckworks, Riel is visited frequently by Eva (as he learns to battle, he begins to remind her of Adam). Riel learns several things about Lil during that period.

Riel learns that the crescent is the sign of Lil (being the symbol of the moon, of course). Riel asks if she has some responsibility for Islam, and Eva says no, that was only a coincidence, though an unfortunate one, as Islam will occasionally attract the attention of Lil or her minions for that reason.

Riel also learns that the most dangerous time is not a full moon, but a new moon, when Lil's dark face is turned to the Earth. Lil, as a trickster, has two faces, and the face turned to Patar-Ori is sweetness and light. But beware the dark side.

While Riel spends his five years at Duckworks, the political landscape changes. The Middle East declines to near third world status as oil joins coal as an out-of-favor fuel source, and OPEC can no longer control the price of a barrel. Oil drilling exploration is no longer cost efficient. There are some "Oasises" in Dubai, the UAE, etc., but for the most part the Middle East becomes more like Sudan and Ethiopia.

As Lilith's Get comes out from behind the puppeteer's screen and develop their own political force, largely allied with the governments of North America, who still use oil fuel, Lillith is able to control large parts of Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and the old USSR. She raises old Babylon (her old site of power) and even ressurects the hanging gardens. Babylon is enfused with a new life and culture, and it becomes the center of East-West commerce. Mecca is none too pleased, and the War of the Crescents drives Islam into the recesses of South East Asia, Indonesia, and Africa. Muslim and Jew become brothers as they unite against a new, common enemy.

Riel's final years at Duckworks, which involve live missions around the world, are largely oriented around the War of the Crescents as it flares through the Indian Sub-continent and South-East Asia.

Though Riel never marries, he does have relationships throughout his career. Along the way he fathers several children, though he only knows of two. One is a daughter by the administrator's daughter at Duckworks. Her daughter has a daughter shortly after Heaven Descends - this is Tal, the heroine of the story.

After Jack breaks with Kathryn and learns that Melody is truly lost, he floats, lost, for a few weeks before falling in with Jonas. After earning Jonas' trust, he is shown the "business" - Silveray, the basements, the underground, and the apartments. At one of the apartments, they find Jacqueline, an unsuccessful starlet of Silveray, breaking her contract on the neck of one of her underground contracts.

("He wasn't very productive, anyway. You won't miss him, boss.")

After Jonas is done chastizing her, Riel makes a comment about the lack of supervision being the problem.

"Sounds like you have a new volunteer guardian, Jackie. Riel, you have a new pet." Jonas glanced over at Jacqui. "Or maybe the other way around."

For the next few months, Jacqui plays the role that Kathryn was supposed to - she escorts Riel into cliques, she watches his back, and she feeds him information. He, in return, provides the services he did for Kathryn - food. Unlike Kathryn, who kept the potency of his flesh a closely guarded (horded) secret, Jacqui is not so tight-lipped. She invites friends over for Jack-parties. She begins over-indulging, and like a drunk or an addict, becomes obsessed. She becomes obsessed, and careless, and before Jack and Jonas leave for Duckworks, she is killed in a retaliatory strike from vamps she helped to targed.

Jonas' one-man agency (federally mandated, not federally funded) is called NCMI.

"What does that mean?"
"Numinal Contingency Management. It was originally Numinal Crises Management, but we thought "Crises" might draw too much attention to what was supposed to be a line item."
"Doesn't Numinal imply ghosts, too? And religion? Sounds like more than your 'tightly focussed' operation."
"Well, I figure it's no problem if we don't manage all of the Contingencies. Have you heard of a government agency that handles everything it's supposed to? But a broad brush-stroke there might keep another agency from sidling up too close to what I'm doing. I already have enough to worry about dealing with Lorelei and Emmett."
"So what does the "I" stand for?"
"IRB."
"You have an acronym in an acronym? I didn't know you could do that. ...What does that stand for."
"Independent Resource Bureau. It stands for Autonymous. As long as we managed the contingencies and keep the numinals quiet, nobody asks any questions."

(The Cause is Greater, book I)

While Katherin is Riel's matron, she owns him, as Keralai owned David during his slavery. She feeds from him and uses him for her own ends.

One of her more dastardly plans was to sire a son by Riel - she hires a prostitute and makes sure she conceives, vamps her, births her child, then slays the mother. Katherin raises the vampire child, Paul, during her sabbatical, and uses his power to bid against Riel during the upheaval.

While Jonas is the only PNI field agent, there is a home agent in each garage to manage the cars, the infrastructure, and the Underground contacts.

The Underground is a loosely-structured assortment of homeless people whose job it is, among whatever other things they feel like doing, to count things. Counting cops, counting cabs, counting men with yellow ties - whatever their contacts tell them to count. A good half the underground is insane, but their data is as useful as anyone else's - the contacts pay them for their tallies and whatever else they scribble on their pads. The data is collated and filtered, and then... eh?

Later in his career, the Underground becomes the fast-food chain of the Jonas hotel. His rescue girls find that a homeless person, after a bath and shave, is an easy choice for a quick meal, and if they go too far and kill, or even swallow the soul, well... no-one comes looking.

Riel finds out about the Underground while homeless himself, or faking it on a stakeout, and comes back to Jonas from another angle. Jonas is a little embarrassed at being found out, but it is his opportunity to invite Riel into his confidence.

Melody Lilly, Jack Riel's girlfriend, is more his rebellion girlfriend than a true love. It is true that he loves her, but he probably believes it is more serious than it is. She is not from a wealthy or influential family (which does not please his parents, though they try not to mention it), she is much smarter than him, and she is a little kinkier than him - a little outside of his realm of comfortable. They are both students at Pittsbury Uni, and she picked up on him at one of his "Refinery" gigs.

She lives in the dorms with 3 roommates (though there are four girls in the room when the bloodsuckers strike, allowing for the police to believe that one of the burnt corpses is Melody's), and she has known one of them biblically. She is not really a "good" person at heart, in that it is easy for the vamps to truly and irrevokably sway her to their cause. That Riel does not recognize that she is unsavable is evidence of how poorly he knows her. She is also a bit of an amateur thief, and does not mind causing pain to others if it makes her life better.

After she is turned, her last true act of kindness is sparing Riel when they hit her family after the funeral. She truly enjoys her new power, and thrills in the hunt. She is able to evade death for so long both because of her intelligence, and because she is able to play Riel for mercy long enough to escape his deadliality.

Riel's adoptive parents are deep into politics - his mother was very active in Doctors without Borders, and his father was Mayor of Pittsbury, has been in the private sector leading a non-profit, and is considering a run for senator.

When Riel goes vigilante, it casts his father's campaigns in a negative light, and they keep trying to reel him back in. His parent's connections help to keep him out of jail.

It isn't until Riel's parents are taken hostage, then killed when he submits himself that his connections to them truly cease.

Riel, before the hunting, before Melody was turned and his life was turned upside down, was a music student at Pittsbury State U. He was a fair musician and a good composer (for a college student), and was in his junior year. His long-term aspirations were to be a successful film scorer. He played guitar in a 3-person coverband called Refinery, which mostly turned classic rock, hymns, folk, and pop into Hard Rock/Electronica standards.

Riel was a fan of comic books. His favorite series was The Hero of Ohio, which is on par with Spiderman, Batman, or Superman for popularity. Riel has a poster of Bethani Jones on his wall, and in the background of the first two parts of Riel's story, that movie is being made. When the first story is opening and Riel is coming over to pick Melody up, it is for a Halloween party, and Melody is dressing up like Tiggrr, Riel like the Hero.

Jack also was largely a motorcyclist, and his adopted parents bought him a old Triumph, which he never quite got around to restoring.

Jonas Ciad is in many ways Jack Riel's counterpart, or some kind of mix between Riel and the Batman. He was orphaned at a young age (nothing sinister - just a boating accident), and a large fortune fell on his shoulders. His father was sole owner, CEO, and President of the fast food chain, "Kung Fu Chicken". After his parents death the chain slipped into disrepair and fell out of favor, but Jonas hired a new board to handle things, and with him at the helm the chain was revamped and became very successful again. Jonas completed his MBA by age 20, and was on the cover of BusinessWeek several times.

Then Jonas handed the reigns of the company to the board, and withdrew into the shadows; he had become a regular in the club scenes along the Eastern Seaboard, and he essentially retired to party full time.

That was Jonas' introduction to the numinal. It was a movie cliche, but vampires' main business affair were clubs, raves, and e-rings - a lot could go unnoticed. Vampires would typically be the most normal-seeming in the group. Jonas took notice after the death of a friend that no-one cared about (it was written off as an overdose), and he exacted some revenge. In his words to Riel, "I single-handedly made the DC club scene boring."

Jonas now has mini-bases around the world in the basements of various Kung Fu Chickens. Each site has an all-black supercharged Police Interceptor (police lights are hidden behind the tint in the windows), and a magnetic decal with a very federal-looking PNI (Parnormal/Numinal Intelligence) shield. Sitting next to each interceptor is a Crown Vic taxi, for when he wants to "blend". He has built up relationships with a number of law enforcement officials around the country, who all think he is a black-ops fed and assist him as such. He has even had a several million-dollar PNI line item added to the Justice Department budget, though the money is apparently going to the pet projects of the senators he bribed.

Jonas maintains a professional appearance, but is no starched-collar crime hunter. He still runs with the same crowd, has the same vices, and several of his friends are vampire stooges that either he saved from their evil ways, or they seduced him into not caring (it depends on who you ask).

----

Though Jonas has remained outside the day-to-day operations of Kung-Fu Chicken, he has parlayed his wealth into other ventures - he owns rental property around the country, mostly in the form of multi-unit apart complexes, and he has started a production company called SilveRay that to date has only produced porn (he's trying to take it more mainstream and win the option for "The Hero of Ohio" license). Both of these ventures allow aid him in his vampire control efforts - those vampires he manages to covert/save/have duped him, he can put up in empty units to get them back on their feet/use as safe houses/keep them under house arrest. His production company/strip bars have a talent base almost exclusively of the same group of vampires, which keeps them busy and paid, and can also introduce them to acceptable channels of bloodletting.