2003: The Samhain at Heaven & Earth

“We thought we could ignore it. But the Dreaming had other plans.”
— Excerpt from Slouching Toward Bedlam, by Merrin Kindlight

In the autumn of 2003, mere months after the conclusion of the Smoke and Snow, Cleveland’s Kithain found themselves once again gripped by an arcane disturbance — this time not wrought by Sidhe ambition, but by something much older, and much hungrier.

On Samhain night, at the once-popular nightclub Heaven & Earth on the east bank of the Flats, something went very wrong upstairs in the so-called "Heaven" lounge.

What began as an ordinary — if decadent — costume party for mortal revelers soon spiraled into panic, screaming, and erratic manifestations. Witnesses described:

• Blood writing appearing and vanishing on mirrored surfaces
• A burning symbol that hovered in mid-air and disoriented anyone who looked at it directly
• Unplaceable chanting that played beneath the club’s music, heard only in the gaps between beats

Faith-based demon hunters and shadowy Prodigals well-versed in Hermetic rites converged on the site within the hour. The Kithain community, having no direct stake in the unfolding events, attempted to keep their distance.

But the Dreaming had other ideas.

From somewhere within the emotional tumult, a clutch of cù sìth — fae hounds of ill omen and death — were loosed upon the surrounding city blocks. No one could determine if they were born from the fear itself, or awakened by it.

The aftermath:

• At least four Dreamers were permanently broken, their connection to creativity and joy shattered.
• Two well-known Kithain were driven into Bedlam, and remained under constant observation.
• A third, a Troll knight of quiet repute, vanished entirely — his sword later recovered near the river, encrusted with what appeared to be crystallized Glamour.
• Heaven & Earth closed within a few short years, citing financial irregularities and legal entanglements. The building has since changed hands multiple times, but no new club has taken root in the space.

Legacy:

• Some say the event was ritually engineered by a rogue circle of Prodigals attempting to anchor a spiritual gate.
• Others believe that a particularly malevolent chimera, or perhaps a Dreaming-born demon, was bound within the club and unsealed during a moment of wild Bacchanal.
• The cù sìth outbreak is officially blamed on proximity to the River’s Dreaming, but the truth remains elusive.
• The Samhain at Heaven & Earth became a stark reminder that the Dreaming is not always cleanly divided from the mortal world — and that the Kithain, even in periods of relative peace, are never truly safe when Glamour, Banality, and belief collide. To this day, many Kithain in Forest City County refuse to attend any party held in the Flats on Samhain night.