Hello again, Kultists. Over the past several years, I’ve shared Jessy’s Story with the internet, and after a long (long) hiatus the time has come to finish this. Whether you’re a returning reader or someone just joining, I want to offer a quick summary of the story so far and some of its principal characters. One week from now, May 5th 2024, Session 15 will go live, and each session will thereafter be posted in three week intervals until the story concludes in August. I hope you will enjoy the ride. All hell is about to break loose.
Characters
Jessy Button – Our questionable protagonist. Jessy, whose real name is Jessica Buckle, is an influencer and scammer turned cultist. She moved from rural Saskatchewan to the metropolis of Toronto to escape her previous life and exploit her way to fame and fortune. Jessy is a ruthless opportunist who seeks control over her own life, preferably at the expense of others. She seeks to understand the magical ring she inherited from her mother, and the power it holds.
Tan – Tan is an enigmatic businessman who leads the cult of Dehu and Mil in the heart of Toronto. The goat-headed twin god of love and conflict has attracted an impressive secret following of the rich and powerful, and Tan is their charismatic and iron-fisted shepherd. He has elevated Jessy to a powerful position within the cult, though whether that’s his decision or her manipulation is up for debate.
Artyom – Tan calls him a razide. The tall, stiff man acts like a Russian human smuggler and slave trader, but beneath this facade lurks a twisted visage of barbed wire and rusted nails, concealed beneath a stained white plastic mask. Jessy is mesmerized by his presence and promises, but the razide has demands of her too. He opposes Tan’s goals and Jessy keeps her connection to him secret.
Angela – Jessy’s grandmother. Angela makes herself known through a haunting presence, overwhelming hallucinations, and attacks from beyond the grave. She wants Jessy’s magical ring, which she claims is hers, and is willing to breach the barrier of death to get it. Jessy never met the woman in life. Angela is a cruel old hag who mocks and derides Jessy any chance she gets.
James – There are many servants and workers at Tan’s three-story condominium, and James is the incredible cook who up until recently has been preparing people’s meals there. Jessy’s stay at Tan’s apartment has left him a shadow of his former self.
Carolina – Another one of Tan’s favored servants. She is deeply embedded in the cult of Dehu and Mil, and despite her sweet and inoffensive demeanor Carolina is fanatic in her devotion to love, conflict, and blood. She is also an incorrigible sleuth.
Daisy – Tan’s youngest toy and servant. She has somehow become swept up in the cult, which uses and abuses her freely. Jessy sees her as a nuisance, while Daisy views Jessy as a direct competitor for Tan’s attention.
Ellis O’Donovan – A sergeant in the Toronto Police Service. This petite, middle-aged cop has her bulging, milky-white eyes on Jessy. Just under the surface lurks a behemoth creature whose disgust with Jessy is evident and violent.
Simon – An acquaintance of Jessy, introduced to her by Artyom. He seeks enlightenment through torture, and appreciates how unscrupulous Jessy is in providing it.
Carl – Other than Tan, Carl Hunt is Jessy’s primary sugar daddy. She dresses in his daughter’s clothes and sends him the sweetest texts and pictures, then rakes in the desperate degenerate’s riches.
Arc 1 (Sessions 1 – 9)
Jessy meets Tan at a party and is immediately charmed by him. He clearly has grand plans, and Jessy wants to be near him. She follows the money and is additionally introduced to Artyom, who she seeks further contact with. Artyom guides her to the joy of torture, and offers an alternative to “the goat fucker” Tan’s futile ambitions.
Dangers from below Toronto threaten Jessy and seek her ring, even breaking into her apartment. In her dreams she comes to face down Wilma, a magician who appears an ageless beauty in dreams but whose physical form is decrepit and half-dead. A harrowing journey through the Underworld, guided by the half-mad vagrant Honey, takes Jessy to the dream magician’s lair. Jessy will not give anyone the ring no matter the offer or threat. She kills Wilma, but nearly dies in the process.
Session 9
Jessy wakes up at a hospital after a strange flashback or dream involving her mother. Her ring is gone. Messages from her online fandom and many boyfriends, all of them deceived, ask about her sudden disappearance and pray for her safety. Even Tan has been harassed by police asking about her. The law is eventually brought to the hospital room, with Ellis O’Donovan harshly interrogating Jessy as though she is the one at fault for her near-death experience. Through long and grueling questioning, Jessy is forced to explain her entire experience to the police.
Session 10
No alcohol. No strenuous activity. Take your pills. Jessy is allowed to leave the hospital, and she moves in with Tan. His luxurious apartment is tended to by servants both sweet and sour, and Jessy claims one of its several bedrooms for herself. She conceals her contact with Artyom, but otherwise tells him what happened and frightens him with the mention of the otherworldly police officer. When she starts to feel better, Jessy hunts down Honey and asks about her ring. He has it, but he does not want it and gladly hands it back to Jessy with a warning that her mother didn’t want her to have the ring.
Session 11
Carl Hunt, ever the blind goon, has bought Jessy her own place to stay. She doesn’t move in, but instead stays with Tan and his employees. She explores the corners and cupboards of the condo, revealing ritual implements and perverse toys. Despite her bandaged body and cracked skull, she eagerly seeks Tan’s affection and the two share their violent passions on a bed of needles. Jessy has a euphoric vision of Tan raised to the skies by a pyramid of writhing people rising from timeless, churning machinery. She tortures James in his sleep attempting to gain insights from the Twin God, but instead summons herself back into Artyom’s presence. He makes a demand from her, that she perform the same rite to call on him in two weeks time.
Session 12
James is not okay. Daisy and Carolina try to manage the man’s breakdown while they all wait for Tan to come home. Jessy has placed a permanent brand with her knife on James’ chest, and Tan demands an explanation. She weasels her way out of telling the truth, once more hiding from Tan her connection to Artyom. Later in the week, a celebration with Tan’s entire flock takes place. Jessy is overcome by horrid sensations and visions, and struggles to keep it together. During a nude ritual whipping of a willing submissive, Jessy comes face to face with her grandmother Angela who leaps out of distorted reality to try and claim Jessy’s ring for herself. Her subsequent panic attack and delirium is dismissed by the rest of the flock as a side effect of her devotion to the Twins.
Session 13
Jessy visits the hospital for a checkup on her many injuries, where she experiences panic-inducing hallucinations of her grandmother. She flees the hospital and seeks comfort and guidance from Carolina. To atone for her misdeeds, Jessy allows Carolina to shave her body completely and keep the hair. Tan shares with Jessy the next step in his plan: to summon a creature from the beyond which will take their congregation to new heights. Jessy, of course, will be his Twin for the ritual. She is given Tan’s research material for the ritual. At long last, she sees her old contact Andi and learns more about the ring’s origins at Granger Fine Jewelry, at which point she also runs into Simon. She books a date with him for another round of blissful torture. After the meeting, she is commanded by an anonymous message to seek out a specific office in downtown Toronto.
Session 14
Jessy meets Sol, who asks her questions and makes her offers while sharing little real information aside from a connection to Ellis O’Donovan. The man lives and breathes Toronto’s economic machinery, and seeks to stop Tan’s subversions before disaster strikes and destroys the city itself. Jessy makes a sacrifice to Sol and is given strange golden coins which have the power to disrupt the summoning ritual Tan is planning. Jessy will go along with Sol’s plan, promised easy riches and whatever power she asks for. Some time later, she visits a dementia-ridden old lady who Jessy has tricked into thinking is her grandmother. The visit turns dangerous as Jessy’s real grandmother appears, possesses the old lady, and briefly steals the ring from Jessy. Chaos ensues.
I would be a fool not to give credit to my artist, who you can find on Instagram and Facebook. She also has a personal website with more projects and contact information.
Beyond Elysium 