Owner: Isri Fallon
Location: Eastern face of the Hughes Tower, near the north end of Precinct 13, Street through Dusk levels, Metamor City
Known Residents/Staff: Kate Kitaen (resident), Sylvia (hostess, succubus), Chen (maid, succubus), Jessica (hostess, tiefling), Damien (head groundskeeper, incubus), Lug (custodian, lutin), Millie (cook, tiefling), Breialyn (resident, deceased)
Outside Description
The building to which Skarig led him [Janus] was an apartment complex built on the eastern face of Hughes Tower. The apartments were dressed in simple brown stone, with ornamental columns flanking the doors and carved lintels above the small, rectangular windows. They stretched at least thirty stories up the side of the 'scraper, well past the first layer of skyways overhead. The planters in front of the building housed a variety of shade-tolerant plants, all of which appeared healthy and well-tended. It was an old-fashioned building, hearkening back to designs from a hundred years ago, but everything seemed to be in surprisingly good repair.
Skarig pointed to a set of stairs leading up to a pair of heavy wooden doors, which obviously marked the main entrance to the complex at Street level. "The girl goes in there to hide," he said.
The Sentinel
Interior Descriptions
The lobby and lounge areas maintained the retro feel of building. Cherry-wood wainscoting and rich, red-and-gold wallpaper complemented the wooden floors and imitation Kelewair rugs. Large fans hung from the coffered ceilings with lights suspended beneath them, and the furniture was upholstered in deep red fabric of obvious quality. Mirrors, paintings and old photographs hung on the walls in elaborate frames with gold inlay. Bookshelves in the lounge stretched from floor to ceiling, all of them filled with titles that must have spanned at least two hundred years of history. Beyond the lobby, a broad staircase of polished wood swept up to the second level, the steps covered in red carpet. A large L-shaped counter served as the front desk, and it wasn't even shielded with bulletproof glass.
Janus didn't know what to think. He couldn't believe that a place like this had survived for this long at Street level without falling into disrepair or being destroyed in a bout of gang violence. Yet his aura sight told him that this was not a glamour; everything here was just what it appeared to be.
The Sentinel
…
The drawing room was on the twenty-first floor of the apartment complex, which was also the floor that had access to the first skyway. Ms Fallon had decorated it along much the same lines as the lounge downstairs, with hundreds of books and design cues from the late 19th century. In this inner sanctum, though, the succubus had allowed a little of her sexual nature to express itself. Tasteful nudes from a dozen cultures took the place of the portraits and still-life paintings Janus had seen downstairs. Soft, thick rugs covered the floors, and the overstuffed couches looked comfortable and inviting. The scent of jasmine hung faintly in the air.
The Sentinel
…
Everything was immaculately kept and extraordinarily well-maintained. The place was old, and in many ways it showed: the water pressure was low, it was hard to keep warm in winter, the air conditioning was anemic in summer, and the staff worked constantly on renovations and repairs. But Serenity Arms was a place that was loved and respected, both by the tenants and by the staff.
Things Unseen
…
Inside the building was decorated in the warm, lush style of about eighty years ago. The carpets were deep red, the wainscoting was made of cherrywood, and wooden ceiling fans hung overhead in most of the rooms. Libraries full of old books could be found at every fifth story and were open for the residents’ use. Parlors held antique furniture, all in beautiful condition, and fireplaces that could produce very satisfactory gas-powered flames during the winter. Kate’s own apartment had a gorgeous four-poster canopy bed that was well over a hundred years old, and easily big enough to sleep three people comfortably.
Things Unseen
The Nightly Supper
Isri Fallon, the proprietress of Serenity Arms, was an amateur chef and a culinary enthusiast. Some might call her a “foodie,” but that failed to convey both the extent of her knowledge and the depth of her passion on the subject. Ms Fallon loved food: loved eating it, learning about it, making it, and especially serving it to others. She had a nurturing instinct that many people found astonishing, and could often be seen ushering in waifs from the Street to warm them up with a bowl of soup and a few slices of freshly-baked bread. Every night she and her staff served supper, promptly at six o’clock, and any of her tenants were welcome to join them. Donations to the food budget were gently encouraged, for those who could afford them, but Ms Fallon never turned anyone away as long as there was more to eat. The dining hall was enormous, and there was always room at the table — and if there wasn’t, one of the staff would get up to make room.
The Serenity Arms nightly supper was one of the most generous, caring, and human things that Kate had ever seen anyone do, anywhere. It was made all the more amazing by the fact that neither Ms Fallon nor any of her staff were, in fact, human.
Things Unseen
A Haven on the Street
"Shut the hell up, Janus. Ms Fallon has done more to clean up her corner of the Street than any of your kind ever did. There's a reason those swoopies didn't follow Ashley inside here."
Janus raised his eyebrows. "Are you saying she commits violence against mortals, as well? You're making her look better by the minute."
Kitaen put a finger in the middle of his chest. "Don't. You. Dare."
The Sentinel
…
And what's gonna happen to her territory when the gangers find out that Ms Fallon's behind bars? You know what she does to keep the peace down there. That's my home, Janus. If you screw it up for the sake of this pissing match, you're gonna regret it.
Kate to Janus, Broken Angel
Isri is a succubus of long years and even battle experience. It's never been stated just how she does it, but she is able to protect her building and a territory around it from the usual gang activity of the Street.
She ran into Ms Fallon in the hall as she passed the door to the landlady’s parlor. The succubus was coming back from a patrol of her territory, and was almost unrecognizable: a hundred and ninety centimeters tall, dressed in black-and-red leather armor with the holy symbol of Suspira emblazoned across the chest. Ms Fallon had told Kate once that she inherited the armor from her mother, who had served with special forces in the Dreamlands War. She carried a sword in a scabbard over one shoulder; like the armor, it thrummed with arcane power at the edge of Kate’s perceptions. Dried blood and ichor in various colors spattered the arms, legs and torso of the armor.
“Busy night?” Kate asked.
The grim look on Ms Fallon’s face spoke volumes. “A minor border dispute with a new nest of hunters,” she said. “We reached an understanding.”
Things Unseen
Among things that she is able to ensure, is that other fiends do not feed on her territory, unless it is without consent of the mortal being fed upon.
There is one known case of Isri using her powers on an deva named Breialyn and killing the outsider. Isri did this in defense of her territory (Breialyn was luring daedra and killing them by stealing their Essence) and as a way to release the deva from torment (Isri had tried to help the deva who was wounded and depleated of Essence, but had unknowingly poisoned Breialyn's remaining Essence instead by feeding the deva her own).1
Known Staff Members
- Isri Fallon
- Ms. Fallon, as she is known to her tenants, is a succubus and the founder of Serenity Arms. She bought the apartment complex in the early 1920s, when it was a dilapidated husk that had been sitting abandoned for about ten years. With the help of a few of her children and grandchildren, as well as some other allies and a small army of contractors, Ms Fallon lovingly restored the facility and refurbished it in the style of that period. With the exception of adding air conditioning in the 1960s, replacing the plumbing in the 1970s and renovating the kitchens in the 1980s, she has kept it essentially unchanged ever since.
- Sylvia
- Succubus. Most often appearing as a blonde, blue-eyed woman in her late twenties or early thirties. The oldest of Ms Fallon's staff after Isri herself, Sylvia served under her in a medical unit during the Dreamlands War. Sylvia figured out that Isri was going to desert from the war shortly before Isri made her move; rather than turning her in to their superior officer, Sylvia went with her, and the two have been companions and confidantes ever since. Sylvia was somewhat traumatized by her experiences in the war and has developed a hard, calloused edge in order to cope with it. She isn't as physically powerful as Ms Fallon, but she can hold her own in a melee and has made a point of becoming skilled with modern firearms. She serves most often as the hostess for the Street-level portion of the complex, where she can do double-duty as the first line of defense.
- Chen
- Succubus. Most often appearing as a slender Hanese woman in her early twenties, with almond eyes and fair skin. One of Ms Fallon's great-grandchildren, Chen has been with the Serenity Arms staff for only a few years, and she is about as old as she appears to be. She grew up in eastern Quenardya and had no relationship with Ms Fallon during her childhood, so she usually addresses Ms Fallon as "Mistress" rather than "Grandmother." She was sent to Ms Fallon shortly after she manifested as a succubus, in the hope that Isri would teach her how to control her powers and her infernal appetites. Isri is a little stern with her at times, but has developed a genuine fondness for the girl. Chen works as a maid and occasionally runs other errands as Ms Fallon deems appropriate.
- Jessica
- Tiefling. Mid-thirties, with dark brown skin, short curly black hair, short black horns, a spade-shaped tail, and brilliant yellow eyes with red flecks. Jessica is the hostess for the Dusk-level entrance to Serenity Arms, but this is only a cover for her true function as the apartment's arcane defenses specialist. A master-level Abjurer, Jessica casts and maintains the protective wards that shield Serenity Arms and its tenants from supernatural attack, hostile magic, and scrying. A smart, practical and forthright woman, she is proud of her work and unfazed by those who would look down on her for her heritage.
- Damien
- Incubus. Most often appears as a handsome, early-30s brown-skinned man of indeterminate ancestry. Damien is the head groundskeeper for the complex, responsible for keeping the outer fascias of the building and the Dusk-level landscaping in good shape. He also works with Lug to handle interior repairs to the electricity, heating and plumbing — which, given the age of the place, ensures him plenty of job security. Damien is a shameless charmer, and not every tenant who asks him to come up and "fix her pipes" is actually interested in the faucets.
- Millie
- Tiefling. mid-twenties, with fair skin, ample curves, auburn hair, short ivory-colored horns, red eyes, a serpent-like tail, and freckles. Millie is the primary cook at Serenity Arms, having recently replaced one of Ms Fallon's grandchildren who went off to open her own restaurant. She is a bit timid, having grown up in one of the less urbanized provinces and received a fair share of hectoring for her fiendish appearance (though thankfully not from her immediate family). She has a kind and gentle heart and is well-liked by the residents. Though she is in charge of the kitchen most of the time, she never hesitates to turn things over to Ms Fallon when the succubus has time to cook.
- Lug
- [[[org:lutins|Lutin]]. Mid-forties, with sparse gray hair, wrinkles, and mottled spots of darker green on his pale green skin. Lug has been Ms Fallon's custodian since she took him in off the Street when he was a teenager. Most would consider him a simple man, but he's stoutly dependable, unswervingly loyal, has seemingly inexhaustible endurance, and is very, very good at his job. He speaks with the heavy accent of the lutin working class2 which most of the residents find charming, if occasionally incomprehensible.
Author's Notes
The Serenity Arms is more than an apartment complex. Isri takes a vested interest in her tenants, patrols her territory to keep everyone safe, and provides meals to make sure that no one goes hungry.3
Sources
The Sentinel, Broken Angel, Things Unseen
