Part III can be found here: Jed the Magician Part III: The Super Thuper Spiritual – SixtySkills
“Off to see the Peacedog”
The Peacedog, or maybe just Peacedog, was one part myth, one part living legend, one part a bag of dicks, and one part something otherworldly dangerous. The name implied something like “the dog of peace” or “peace’s dog.”
No one was exactly sure just how old he was. His appearance seemed to change quite a bit and even two people meeting him at the same time could describe him differently. Sometimes heavyset, sometimes thin, salt and pepper hair that could also be brown. Usually a full neatly trimmed beard. His age seemed to vary between early 40s and early fifties. And by vary, I mean sometimes he looked to be barely forty and other times he appeared to be in his fifties.
This indicated he was either working a serious glamour that surrounded him permanently or some kind of time distortion magic. Either way, he was the strongest known practitioner alive today and he was at least 90 years old.
He had students, all of whom had next level power. None of them would describe their personal training with him. How he chose them was unclear. But a few things about him were known very well in the serious magical community.
First, the eyes never changed. Piercing blue eyes on pale white skin. Apparently from a Slavic background although his language and mannerisms were definitely American.
Second, he had something to do with why the Clark administration eventually turned into the Davidson administration in Washington, DC. What his role in the death of a president, vice president, Secretary of State, Director of the CIA, Director of Homeland Security, the Chief of the Joint Staff, the Chief of the US Air Force and a bakers dozen of generals is unclear. A whole lot of people had to die to make the Secretary of Commerce president. However, he appeared to be the thing that caused it to happen about thirty-five years ago. Since then a kind of détente existed between the Peacedog and the US government.
If you know where to look, you can find the drone footage of a guided munition barreling out of the sky towards a lone individual sitting on a rock at the edge of a river somewhere in North Africa outside of Carthage. Yes, that Carthage. If you dial in the video really hard, you can see the Peacedog staring right into the camera.
Absolutely no one has any idea of what caused the US government to kill one of its own citizens in North Africa. Peacedog was a known patriot, apparently had served in the GWOT about twenty years earlier, although what he had done was a little unclear. Some said he had been an intelligence resource, others a special operator. The man himself would only reply that he “did his part and was not particularly brave or special.” He denied ever being a part of the IC or special operations.
What is known is that the Peacedog was seen walking with a limp and a cane down a street in northern Virginia about eight weeks later. The street footage shows him coming out a Chipotle of all things. I guess even unkillable demi-immortals want a burrito bowl every once in a awhile. Rasputin would have been proud.
Six weeks after that Jason R. Davidson was sworn in as president. Watching the media trip over their dicks trying to label this as a series of accidents was comedic to say the least. Whoever did the dirty on all of these people also made sure to kill their spouses, children and in some cases both stepchildren and grandchildren. Whole families were wiped out.
Only one set of bodies was ever recovered. The general in command of the Air Operations Center who directed the attack, and his entire immediate family were found in the desert about thirty miles outside of Tucson.
Video of the general’s abduction is available. It starts with a picture of the compound he was staying in. One of those nondescript tan brick buildings with no windows and a huge chain link fence surrounded by bomb barriers. Apparently, he was the last person killed in the chain of command hence his being in a fortified building. The video shows a hole open in the night air in front of the main gate of the building. A group of humanoid figures dressed like the knights of the round table pile out. They kill the guards, blow a hole in the front of the building with what looks like shaped charges and proceed to drag the general along with his entire family out of the building. They disappear into the hole in the air, and it closes behind them.
The remains of their bodies were found buried to their waists in the desert sand and covered in honey. Wild animals apparently ate them. About fifty meters away the imprint of a pair of men’s size 11 Red Wing construction boots and a pile of American Spirit Menthol cigarette filters were found. Peacedog was a known fan of both brands. When asked about it, he would deny any involvement in the kidnappings and killings. He’d only say that he had been “compelled to watch.”
I can’t imagine, what or who, would be capable of making that man do something he didn’t want to do. Either way, he never commented on the who, or what, behind the series of events.
Interactions with him were generally polite if people minded their manners and most did. He could teach some of the most profound techniques in magic in a matter of hours, or days, and most of the better-known practitioners had studied with him. No one who did study with him would say anything about who he was as a man or what being in his presence was like. The most anyone said is that he didn’t like being around drugs, or drug users, and that he generally went to bed early.
So that was what was commonly known. Jed himself had never been a student, but he had encountered Peacedog a few times over the years when working on a case. He was generally insightful, but the procedure for meeting him was always the same.
He had to road trip out to the mid-Atlantic. Go to a specific hill in western Maryland and drive up a single lane country road. A white house with a picket fence of all things stood next to the road. He would park his car, get out, walk up to the front door and knock.
That is if he didn’t get stopped first.
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Frequently an FBI agent in an unmarked car would be on the road stopping anyone who looked like they were going to meet with Peacedog. The agent changed every few years and about a decade ago one of them had shown him a case file on Peacedog in an effort to solicit information. They had strict instructions to never enter his house or impede his movements in any way. The agents that violated this generally didn’t last long assuming they survived in the first place. Those that did came back changed.
One of the most famous incidents resulted in an agent who would shout, “I am a bad boy,” drop his pants and stick his thumb in his anus anytime someone said the word “Kentucky.” He was medically retired from the FBI shortly afterwards and apparently the effect wore off three years to the day after he disappeared attempting to force his way into Peacedog’s house.
