Rifts and The Awakened
In Melbourne's hidden world, the term Rift refers to an ordinary person who has become a living embodiment of myth and legend. They are the gateway through which legendary powers enter the modern world—a rift in reality itself.
What is a Rift?
A Rift is a person who has awakened to their connection with a Mythos—a legendary archetype, mythical figure, or archetypal story. This Mythos doesn't replace who they are; it coexists with their ordinary identity, creating a constant tension between the legendary and the mundane.
You're still yourself—you still have your job, your relationships, your coffee order—but now you're also something more. You might be a barista who embodies the Goddess of Fate. A taxi driver who channels Hermes. A student who carries the curse of Cassandra. The mundane and the mythic inhabit the same body, the same life.
The Mythos-Logos Duality
Every Rift exists in the tension between two opposing forces:
Mythos: The Legend Within
Your Mythos is the legendary aspect of your being—the myth, archetype, or story that has found expression through you. It grants you supernatural powers, drives you toward mythic purposes, and connects you to something timeless and universal.
Mythos is:
- Powerful: Grants supernatural abilities beyond human limits
- Driven: Pushes you toward legendary actions and mythic purposes
- Timeless: Connected to stories that have existed for centuries or millennia
- Consuming: Wants to express itself fully, regardless of mundane consequences
Examples:
- The Phoenix (death and rebirth, fire and renewal)
- Orpheus (lost love, music that moves the world)
- The Spider (weaver of fate, patient predator)
- Nemesis (vengeance, balance, justice)
Logos: The Person You Were
Your Logos represents your mundane identity—your job, relationships, responsibilities, and the ordinary person you were before your Awakening. It's your anchor to the real world, the part of you that wants a normal life.
Logos is:
- Grounding: Keeps you connected to ordinary life and human relationships
- Limiting: Represents mundane concerns like rent, reputation, and mortality
- Personal: Your unique history, personality, and human connections
- Vulnerable: Can be damaged, lost, or destroyed by your Mythos
Examples:
- Barista at Neutral Grounds Café
- Detective with Melbourne Police
- University Professor of Marine Biology
- Single parent working two jobs
The Constant Struggle
Being a Rift means living in the tension between Mythos and Logos:
- Use too much power, and you risk losing yourself to your legend
- Ignore your Mythos, and it will find ways to express itself regardless
- Embrace your legend fully, and your ordinary life crumbles
- Cling to normalcy, and you waste your potential
This struggle defines every Rift's story. You can't be fully one or the other—you're always both, always in balance or falling out of it.
The Power Spectrum: Touched to Legendary
Not all Rifts are equally powerful or equally consumed by their legend. The balance between your Mythos and Logos Themes determines where you fall on the spectrum from barely Awakened to fully legendary.
Touched (Mostly Logos)
Touched individuals have just begun their Awakening. They possess one or two Mythos Themes but remain grounded by strong Logos. They're still primarily ordinary people who happen to have supernatural abilities.
Characteristics:
- 1 Mythos Theme, 3 Logos Themes
- Powers are weak, unreliable, or poorly understood
- Strong connection to mundane life and identity
- Can still pass as completely ordinary most of the time
- May not even realize they're a Rift yet
Example: A university student who occasionally has prophetic dreams but dismisses them as coincidence. They still attend classes, worry about exams, and have normal relationships. Their legend is whispering, not shouting.
Borderline (Balanced)
Borderline Rifts have achieved a precarious balance between legend and humanity. They're powerful enough to matter in the supernatural world but grounded enough to maintain their ordinary life. Most player characters exist in this state.
Characteristics:
- 2 Mythos Themes, 2 Logos Themes (roughly equal)
- Significant supernatural abilities they can consciously use
- Maintaining both their mundane and mythic identities
- Constantly struggling to preserve the balance
- Recognized by other Awakened as true Rifts
Example: Veronica Chase as a tabloid journalist whose rumours reshape reality. She's powerful but still goes to work, deals with her editor, and tries to maintain some semblance of a normal life whilst her legend pulls her toward mythic purposes.
Avatar (Mythos-Dominant)
Avatars have tipped heavily toward their Mythos. They possess more legendary Themes than mundane ones, making them formidable but increasingly alien to ordinary human concerns.
Characteristics:
- 3 Mythos Themes, 1 Logos Theme
- Immensely powerful supernatural abilities
- Struggling to maintain their last connection to humanity
- Mythos personality and drives bleed heavily into behaviour
- At risk of losing themselves entirely
Example: A Rift who embodies the Phoenix with only one remaining Logos Theme—"Father of Two Children." They wield devastating fire powers and have died and been reborn multiple times, but they cling desperately to their children as the last anchor to who they once were. When that final Theme fades or breaks, they'll cross the line entirely.
Legendary (Fully Transformed)
Legendary beings have completely embraced or been consumed by their Mythos. They possess only legendary Themes with no remaining Logos. They are no longer people pretending to be myths—they are myths walking in human form.
Characteristics:
- 4 Mythos Themes, 0 Logos Themes
- Overwhelming supernatural power
- No remaining mundane identity or human connections
- Think and act like the legend they embody
- Often ancient or utterly transformed
- May not remember being human
Example: An entity that was once a person but now embodies Death itself. They no longer remember their name, their family, or their human life. They simply are what they've become—inevitable, eternal, and completely inhuman despite wearing a mortal form.
The Awakening
Most people don't choose to become Rifts. The Awakening happens unexpectedly, often during moments of crisis, revelation, or extreme emotion:
Triggering Events
- Trauma: Near-death experiences, loss, violation
- Revelation: Discovering a truth that changes everything
- Destiny: The right person in the right place when a legend needs embodiment
- Resonance: Your life story mirrors a myth so closely that the myth awakens in you
- Inheritance: Some legends run in families or are passed down
The First Moments
Your Awakening might be:
- Sudden: Everything changes in an instant—you nearly die and return wrong
- Gradual: Strange things happen with increasing frequency until you can't deny it
- Violent: Power erupts from you uncontrolled, destroying what you knew
- Subtle: You've always been different; you're only now understanding why
What Changes
After Awakening:
- You see through the Mist: The supernatural becomes visible to you
- Powers manifest: Your Mythos grants abilities beyond human limits
- Others notice: Fellow Awakened recognize what you are
- Life complicates: Your ordinary life becomes harder to maintain
- You can't go back: Once Awakened, you can never truly be a Sleeper again
Living as a Rift
Being a Rift means navigating multiple challenges:
Power and Consequence
Your abilities are real and powerful, but using them has costs:
- Attention: Other supernatural beings notice power being used
- Fatigue: Even legendary strength has limits
- Evidence: Powers leave traces, create witnesses, cause damage
- Drift: The more you use your Mythos, the more it influences your identity
Identity and Balance
Maintaining your sense of self requires constant vigilance:
- Mythos Creep: Your legend's personality and drives bleed into your own
- Burnout: Suppressing your Mythos is exhausting and ultimately futile
- Relationships: How do you explain what you've become?
- Purpose: What does your legend want, and what do you want?
The Hidden World
You're now part of a secret society you never knew existed:
- Finding others: The Awakened recognize each other, form alliances, create territories
- Supernatural threats: Beings far older and more powerful than you walk Melbourne's streets
- Factional politics: Various groups compete for power, resources, and purpose
- Cases: Supernatural mysteries need solving; ordinary authorities can't help
Famous Rifts in Melbourne
While most Rifts keep their nature secret, some are known to the Awakened community:
- Francis Martin: Embodies the Spider, weaver of information and secrets
- Eleanor Blackwood: Channels the Sea Witch, making binding contracts
- River: Living embodiment of Lethe, the river of forgetfulness
- Veronica Chase: Manifests Fama/Pheme, the goddess of rumour and gossip
Each Rift's story is unique, but all share the fundamental tension: they're legends walking amongst mortals, trying to maintain the illusion of normality whilst supernatural forces pull them toward mythic destinies.
The Path Forward
Being a Rift means accepting several truths:
- You are both: Legend and person, Mythos and Logos, neither one nor the other
- Balance is temporary: The equilibrium shifts constantly; you'll never "solve" it
- Power has costs: Every use of your abilities risks pulling you further from humanity
- Community exists: You're not alone; others walk this path
- Choice remains: Despite your legend, you still decide who you become
Welcome to the hidden world. The Mist has parted for you, and you can never close your eyes again.