History (before Salem) for:

Amy "Echo" Yegreff

Anuket Acca gasps as she is suddenly lifted by her chair, it flying off as she falls roughly on her stomach on the ground. She quickly stands up and walks back to the table, brushing herself off"Well that was odd."

My name is Jacob Frost. Or at least, that's the name I'm going to give you. Entering Salem's local bar "Moonlight Magick" is always an adventure. Pathetic mortals jabber with others about their stupid lives. Like any of it matters. Even entering to a flying chair and a disgraced looking woman didn't seem so out of place as much as it just reminded me of how stupid humans could be. Something though, the other girl with the wings, Echo, she caught my attention that evening. Sure she was a bit slow and a tad too trusting, but she seemed to be talking about something important, so I thought it would only be proper if I listened in.

Jean-Rene wanders over to Echo's table. Thorougly ignoring Anuket. Pity her spine didn't shatter... Bah.

Echo Yegreff motions for Rinkle to take a seat. "I'm sorry for that scene...."

Jean-Rene sits graciously. "It's fine... You alright?"

Anuket Acca glares at Echo. "Fine Echo, is that how it is gonna happen huh? So be it you ass, and I liked you too, so fuck you too." she storms out, dropping money on the table for the food and drink.

The girl's anger didn't bother me, but it did arouse my curiousity. Slightly. I wondered what Echo had done to make her so mad.

Echo Yegreff looks back really confused and then turns to face forward again, now looking hurt. "I don't understand her....." she sighs. "I don't know....see, this is why I don't want to be a person anymore.....stupid drama...."

Jean-Rene looked over at the waiter, mouthing off "Coffee" pleadingly to him. "Sweet Christ, that woman has issues... Eh. Don't let a few witless fools ruin living for you." He nods. So many fools needed to be taught lessons in this town.

Echo Yegreff sighs. "It's not just her.....it's just a combination of everything....."

I was surprised Echo hadn't noticed me, but she seemed to be sticking to her own thoughts, and that was fine since I just wanted to listen to her anyway.

Jean-Rene nods gravely, looking around. "Would you feel comfortable to speak of it in this place?"

Echo Yegreff shrugs some. "It doesn't matter anymore." She took a spoonful of her soup that remained and looked at Jean-Rene seriously. "You want to hear my story?"

Jean-Rene nods. "It'd be an honour."

"Okay, here goes.....When I was real young, I had a happy family. Me, mommy and father. I was a good kid and we were rich, I lived in a nice house. Dad made a good living, I was happy....But then mommy got sick. Really really sick.....and she had to go into the hospital. Father got angry sometimes, started throwing things, hitting walls, having fits....He blamed me for her health, said that it was my fault mommy got so sick. He told me I couldn't see her anymore, because it would just make her worse....."

Jean-Rene frowned, a bit confused. But he listened on.

Echo Yegreff takes in a deep, steadying breath before continuing. "Mommy got a little better and got to come home.....but still Father wouldn't let me see her. I snuck into her room once, she was so heavily medicated that she just slept most of the day anyway.....so I decided to take a nap with her and slept at the foot of the bed so I wouldn't be in her way. Father found me there.....and he took me to my room.....at first it was just yelling....but soon enough father started taking his anger out on me. Said that if I wanted so badly to be with my mother he'd be happy to put me in the hospital with her."

Jean-Rene's brow furrowed... He ordered a drink.

Mortals....what is it with them and their drinks? They think it can solve any problem, make all the pain go away. Stupid mortals.

"Mom ended up going back to the hospital not long after dad started hitting me....whenever anyone came over, we were the perfect family again, father and daughter just surviving and worried over mother....no one knew the truth. From the time I was eight and until I was twelve, my father never let me out of the house. He always kept me in my room or at least somewhere he could see me.....I was his prize, because I looked so much like my mother. Ever wondered why my nickname is Echo? He used to tell me I was an echo of her....a somewhat faded and softer version of her.....You can probably see where this is going. When I hit thirteen and puberty kicked in....well....father tried to do something he shouldn't have....as a result, I awoke to reality. I can't really remember what exactly happened, but I can see my dad coming at me and telling me to....to....get....out of my clothes.....and then he's on the floor with a look of horror."

Jean-Rene poured in about a shot's worth of brandy in his coffee. He paused. "He wha..." He supressed his unseelie nature, thinking to himself... The man would DARE do as such to a dreamer? A child no less? He listened on.

There are reasons that I see myself above others, especially when you hear stories like this. Mothers dying before their children are grown, fathers who are nothing but deadbeats. When you live for as long as my kind, it stops bothering you and becomes just one more reason to forget your own humanity. Damn mortals.

Echo Yegreff frowns. "He tried to...I guess you'd say he tried to molest me. He failed. The next morning some van came and took me away from the house. The sun was so bright that morning it hurt my eyes. I thought I was finally fucking free....boy was I wrong. Dear old daddy sent me off to the funny farm. He put me into an institution for the mentally insane. My father didn't know I was a mage, hell I didn't even know it. After so long of that, I started to believe I really was insane....that damn white room....it's draining just to think of it. But I got lucky. The Technocracy..." she pauses. "You know who they are, yes?"

Jean-Rene coughs, nodding a bit at that. "A bit, mind telling me a bit about them then?"

"The Technocracy are like.....ever see the Matrix?"

Jean-Rene's gut was actually twisting into a rage taught knot... Of course he knew of the sons of order... "I... Think so, is that the one that's like all those children's cartoons with the flying men with the dragon balls? I heard a student put it as dragon balls meets Jesus."

"Sort of, yeah. Well, mages are the Neos of reality and the technocrats are the Agent Smiths. The Technocracy will do one of three things to a mage. One, they will gilgul you, which -does- leave you insane and is terribly painful. Two, they will kill you. Three, they will kill your will and make you work for them, either through experimentation or as one of their operatives...."

Jean-Rene huhs. "So, which of the Neos are the Jesuses?" He asks.

"Neos period are the Jesuses. In the movies, the guy Neo gives up his life, but just in the first, he 'awakens' to reality and these agents try to hunt him down. Got it?"

Jean-Rene continues. "Be easy if Neo was a Jesus. He could just turn all of them agents into leppers..."

"Maybe, but that's not how the story goes. Understand the analogoy though?"

Jean-Rene laughs. "Then strike 'em blind! Heh." He nods. He liked his better though.

"Good. Now, where was I...oh yeah, how I met my mentor.....I'm not allowed to share his name so we'll call him Ritz. Ritz was in the institution too. He recognized what I was and decided that he was going to get me out of there before the technocrats could get to me. But first he taught me what it was to be a mage, specifically, a Euthanatos. I can't go into the details, because it's kinda...well, personal, but know that he trained me and with his help I escaped. Ritz is probably dead for helping me....but he knew the risks....." She was lost in her own memories.

"Euthanatos... That sounds like... Euthanasia?" My, was he witty.

"That was when I was fourteen.....Ritz had given me some contacts for when I got out." She nods to Jean-Rene. "Euth- is a latin root, I believe, for death. Both deal with death." She now continues her story. "I met up with a group of Euthanatos and learned some fighting skills and finished my schooling through high school. I was happy....sort of. I never really fitted in, but it was good enough. Unfortunatly....that didn't last much past the time I was sixteen. See, I didn't know it, but dad found out what I was. And he wasn't happy. He sent Technocracy, corrupt cops, and even just bounty hunters after me. Made up lies about me killing and looting...."

Jean-Rene choked. "You're father has problems... I kinda figure you pulled through though..." After all, she was sitting there.

"I had to constantly be on the move. It near drove me insane. My only friend at the time was a man named Michael.....father saw the end to him in one of our skirmishes....and it was sort of my fault. I lost control with my magic...did something that lead to his death, but it wasn't like I meant to kill him. Eventually I got here....and Sam killed my father.....but my Mother had died before then.....and that pretty much ends it. That's why I'm fucked up. The Technocracy still wants me....because my escape led to another of their deaths.....Oh, and for my wings apparantly. Sons of bitches want to clone the process or something." She sighs.

The story had ended, and with it, my patience. I made my way out of the bar, I knew enough about the girl now to satisfy my curiousity and to assure I had a weapon against her should she ever try to go against me. There might have been more to the tale, but I was hungry and it was getting late....