Alchemy - Mortals

Mortals - humankind - the race that is the foundation for all of the others. Some would say that, not being magi, shifter or vampire means they are weak and frail. Don't be fooled - especially when in the capitol of the most powerful country in the world.

Ambassadors, congressmen/women, senators, representatives - embassy staff, consulate staff, police, FBI, Pentagon staff, active duty and retired military, White House staff, State Department staff and the list goes on and on. DC has more powerbroker job positions than any other spot in the world. Bar none.

Most Mortals are unaware of the existence of the Preternatural world. This means that shifters, vampires and magi tend to try and -not- attract a lot of public attention. Once known as a preter - someone will lose their security clearances and special licenses nine times out of ten. There are some who will openly call themselves magi, but people tend to look at them the same way they look at someone calling themselves a 'witch'. "Oh - you're one of those 'new age' freak types. Got it."

One branch of the FBI works with a small department of the DC Police on those cases that apply to the Preternatural community. Derisively known as the 'Spook Squad' the FBI's "Alternative Crime" branch tries to not attract too much notice. They let the DC "Alternative Crime" squad be the front men - or fall men - as the case may be.

Some Mortals are aware.

For some of these mortals, every day, they wake up believing they're at the bottom of the food chain. Some of them give in to their sense of inferiority and become food for the vampires, assistants for the magi, or caregivers and sycophants for the shifters.

Some try and fight back, form organizations such as Humans Against Preters and Freaks - sarcastically known as "Halfassed" based on the "HAPAF" acronym.

Yet, there are others that form much more secretive organizations with which to deal with those things that are just...not...like them.