Chandler Prentice

This figure of the modern occult scene first appeared in the early '70s, acting as an expert witness for the Chicago court in the case of the City of Chicago vs. Xander Drax. Drax was convicted of abducting and killing eight people, presumably for occult purposes, and Prentice served to explain the psychology and motives of ritual magic for the jury to understand how and why Drax committed the crimes. Despite Chandler's warning, the judge sent Drax to a mental institution. A week later Drax managed to properly kill another person, having his mystical fetishes smuggled into the jail by unsuspecting dupes. The occult geometry finished, Drax released a Daemon into the world and presumably under his control. Chandler was instrumental in helping Detective Marissa dePatri confront Drax, keeping her alive against Drax's mystical threats while she dispatched the physical ones. Drax was killed in a gun/spell battle on a bridge, and fell to his death in the water (though his body was never recovered). DePatri received a commendation, and Chandler was recognized as a useful specialist, though there has never been any official acknowledgment of his own powers.
    This was the beginning of Chandler's association with law enforcement organizations. He was given a degree of autonomy in pursuing kidnapping and missing persons cases, for which he has displayed a remarkable affinity. He worked with dePatri several times during his stay in Chicago, and there are rumors that they had a relationship (though Prentice has stated that they were more familiar than that). When DePatri was killed in a car accident in 1978, Chandler left Chicago and began wandering the country, solving crimes and tracking something or someone only he could see. He eventually ended up in Los Angeles in 1980, where he was seen with rock musician and known mystic Lazarus Murdoch. The two hit it off, and Prentice spent several years in the City of Angels. There he met and interacted with many other notable occult figures, and continued his calling—finding and rescuing the lost. Eventually he left, for personal reasons, and moved to Boston.
    There he presented his credentials to the Boston police, and helped with several cases similar to those in the past. He, along with many other mystics across the country, found threads of the upcoming Daemonwar, and moved to stop it, but to no avail. There are reports of a man matching his description seen at the edges of the fighting in Brooklyn, providing support and intelligence to the troops, but there are no actual records of his presence (Chandler does claim to have been there). Shortly after his return he was called upon by the Boston PD to provide support for the Revolution, Boston's fledgling variant team, who were trying to solve a string of occult murders. He helped them, and has become an almost unofficial member of their team, providing (as always) support intelligence, knowledge, and contacts within the occult community.
    While he has a certain degree of fame as a finder of missing persons, he is not much known outside the police and occult circles. Within the law enforcement community he is highly regarded, if seen as somewhat of a nut— despite massive evidence to the contrary, most people still have little belief in magic—but Prentice is someone whose abilities are all but invisible and have been proven time and again. This, along with his willingness to cooperate with the police free of charge (Chandler has an impressive investment portfolio, the advantage of having a sense for the future), make him the court of last resort for police agencies. Within the cccult community, he is a talented amateur, and has ties to the Illuminated Brotherhood, the Host and many other organizations. While he will never be great, he is not without skill, and has earned enough favors that he will not be casually eliminated or used as a pawn. Though he has no chance of shaping world events in the mystical community, he is usually aware of them.
    Chandler claims that he initially learned magic at the hands of Reverend Luther Kensington, who later revealed himself to be a 'talent scout' for the Coven. Through a strange set of circumstances he was able to escape their domination, but it had two very direct effects on his psyche: it awakened his interest in his own occult potential and made sure he would never pursue it fully. The pinnacles of magic require sacrifices in personal life, mindset and perhaps sanity that Chandler was simply willing to make. His powers currently aren't 1/4 what they could be if he had dedicated himself to them fully. His ties with Kensington are one of the great taints of his past, and he said he had to look long and hard to find other teacher, though he never stated who they were, how he met them or what the nature of their relationship was. Assumptions can be made that he was trained by the Illuminated Brotherhood, but which sect or master is unknown at this time.
    Chandler is now approaching his 44th birthday, and is a comely man of medium height and build with red hair. He refers to himself as being an Illuminator, and his magic is crafted with the fetishes of candles, flames and other lights. His powers are varied but minor, and he is nothing more than a mid Alpha if he were ranked as a variant. He is knowledgeable enough to know where his weaknesses lie, and he seldom engages in physical conflict. Chandler can apparently designate people as Familiars, enhancing their abilities and perceptions and linking them somehow, but this is not without risks.

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