The Mist

The Mist is an invisible, metaphysical fog that permeates Melbourne and hides the supernatural from ordinary eyes. It's not a physical phenomenon you can see or touch—it's a veil between the mundane and the mythic, a collective delusion that keeps most people blind to the impossible happening right in front of them.

How The Mist Works

The Mist operates on perception and belief. When something supernatural occurs—a woman transforms into living water, a man's shadow moves independently, flames dance without burning—the Mist immediately begins rewriting the narrative in the minds of those who witness it. It doesn't erase the event; it recontextualises it, making observers rationalise what they saw into something mundane and explainable.

Rationalisation Patterns

The Mist works through rationalisation, not erasure:

Visual tricks: "It must have been the lighting, shadows playing tricks"
Mundane explanations: "Probably a street magician or special effects"
Memory alteration: "I thought I saw that, but it couldn't have happened"
Selective blindness: Looking away at the crucial moment, "coincidentally" missing the impossible
Social pressure: "Everyone else seems fine with it, so I must be wrong"

Example: A witness sees a man struck by lightning, blackened and smoking, then standing up moments later completely unharmed. The Mist might make them think: "He must have just been knocked down nearby, not actually hit. The scorch marks were already on the pavement. I was confused by the flash."

Who The Mist Affects

Sleepers

Sleepers are ordinary people upon whom the Mist works perfectly. They are the vast majority of Melbourne's population. Even when confronted with undeniable supernatural events, their minds will twist and rationalize until the impossible becomes merely improbable, then finally mundane.

Sleepers can witness a werewolf transformation and remember it as "a large dog" or "a man in a really good costume." They'll forget crucial details, misremember the sequence of events, and ultimately accept whatever explanation lets them continue their normal lives.

The Awakened

Those who have broken through the Mist's veil are called the Awakened. They can see the supernatural for what it truly is—both in others and in themselves. Once Awakened, you can never truly return to being a Sleeper. You know too much. You've seen beyond the veil.

The Awakened include:

Rifts: People who embody legends and myths
Avatars: People who channel legendary powers
Touched: Those who've glimpsed the supernatural but aren't fully Awakened
Aware: Ordinary humans who know the truth but have no supernatural connection

The Mist and Evidence

The Mist doesn't directly affect physical evidence—photographs, videos, forensic traces all exist—but it powerfully influences how people interpret that evidence:

Photographs of impossible events look "doctored" or "coincidentally timed"
Video footage seems like "special effects" or "viral marketing"
Physical damage must have "another explanation" that makes sense
Witnesses contradict each other, misremember, or dismiss their own eyes

The Mist is strongest when people view evidence later, removed from the immediate experience. A Sleeper who filmed a woman turning into water might review the footage and think, "This must be edited. I don't remember it looking like this. My phone must have glitched."

The Mist and Awareness

The Mist's hold can weaken under certain circumstances:

Repeated exposure: Seeing the supernatural multiple times can crack the Mist's grip
Personal connection: Harder to rationalize when it's your daughter who vanished
Undeniable evidence: Being personally harmed by something impossible
Strong will: Some people are naturally resistant to the Mist's rationalizations
Desperation: People seeking answers sometimes push through the veil

But even then, the Mist fights back. It's easier to accept comforting lies than terrifying truths.

The Mist and Rifts

For Rifts and other Awakened, the Mist is both protection and prison:

Protection: Allows supernatural beings to operate without causing mass panic
Isolation: Makes it harder to find others like yourself
Gaslighting: Makes you question your own experiences and sanity
Alibi: Provides cover for supernatural actions—witnesses won't remember the truth

Some Rifts actively use the Mist, relying on it to cover their actions. Others fight against it, trying to reveal the truth to specific people. But the Mist is persistent, and convincing Sleepers of the supernatural is an uphill battle.

The Mist and Technology

Modern technology presents unique challenges to the Mist:

Smartphones everywhere: Constant recording, instant sharing
Social media: Viral spread of "impossible" footage
Facial recognition: Harder to disappear when cameras track you
Data aggregation: Patterns emerge when you compile enough "impossible" events

Yet the Mist adapts. The same technology that could expose the supernatural instead creates:

Information overload: So much content that nothing seems real
Deepfake culture: Everything looks fake, so nothing is trusted
Conspiracy fatigue: People dismiss truth as "just another conspiracy theory"
Selective attention: Algorithms show you what you expect to see

The Mist evolves with the times. In Melbourne's modern age, it thrives on skepticism, information overload, and the assumption that anything online is probably fake.

Why The Mist Exists

The origin of the Mist is unknown and debated among the Awakened:

Some believe it's a natural phenomenon, reality's immune system protecting ordinary minds
Others think it was created by powerful entities to hide their activities
A few argue it's a collective human delusion, our shared unwillingness to face the impossible
Some claim it's weakening, that the age of smartphones and surveillance is eroding its power

What is certain is that the Mist is real, it's powerful, and it shapes how supernatural Melbourne operates. Understanding the Mist is key to understanding your place in this hidden world.

Living with The Mist

For the Awakened, the Mist creates constant tension:

Can't convince loved ones of what you've become or what threatens them
Can't seek help from authorities who will rationalize away your problems
Can't trust your own memories from before your Awakening
Can operate freely knowing Sleepers will rationalize away your actions

The Mist is Melbourne's open secret—the supernatural is everywhere, hidden in plain sight, and most people will never know. Those who do know walk a lonely path, forever separated from the mundane world they once knew, forever seeing what others refuse to believe.