The Order of the Concrete Fist is a group of monks in New York who work to protect the city from things that would encroach from the dream realm. It was founded early in the history of New York, with roots going back to ancient masters and the Shaolin Temple. The forms they practice were developed for the role that New York plays in the magical cosmology of America and the rest of the world.
Location[]
The order is located in the Monastery of the Midnight Sun, far above Staten Island. It can be entered through a fire escape on the side of a building just across from Spaghetti's Bakery, that extends up into the clouds for people who have been inducted into the Unsleeping City. The Monastery itself is too high up to be considered to be on Staten Island because of zoning laws.
The Monastery itself is a huge building made of what looks like gum-covered sidewalk, where the monks are able to walk on the walls and ceiling. In the Monastery there is an incredible yin and yang symbol with a golden half specked with grime and soot, and a purple half made of star magic, which represents the dreaming and the waking world.
Members[]
Jackson Wei[]
The head monk of the order. He meets Sofia in a drug store and spars with her before bringing her to the Monastery and inducting her.
Dale Lee[]
A former member before his death. He was slated to become the next Chosen, but when he went to find the spirits who would give him the power, they were nowhere to be found.
Sofia Lee[]
The Chosen One and First Fist of the Order. She was inducted by Jackson and became the Chosen after finding herself at the top of the Empire State Building.
Method Man[]
Jackson's best and greatest student.
Nadia Chandrasekhar[]
Works at the library at the Monastery. Close friends with Sofia.
Cindy Wong[]
A member of the order. Dale asks how they are on his date with Sofia.
Solomon Ojukwu[]
A member of the order. Dale asks how they are on his date with Sofia.
Tony Simos[]
A recently returned member of the order.
History[]
"It Is What It Is"[]
There are several mantras of the order, the most significant of them being, “it is what it is”. The order represents the fact that things are not always what you want them to be, serving as a reminder that the dreams and illusions that a lot of America is built on are often delusional and can fade away, and in the end things are what they are, and it is what it is.
The Chosen One[]
There were stories from the founding of the order about a day when something would come through from the other side, and the order would fall unless the chosen one appeared.
Dale Lee found the place where the spirits congregated, at the top of the Empire State Building. He went to the top, where they were supposed to impart spirit of the chosen one but found nothing there. He was not able to figure out the riddle in time while he was alive, but was able to get a message to Sofia that "When you get to the top, I know what it'll seem like but there is someone there. There is someone there". In Hall of Heroes, when Sofie climbs to the top of the Empire State Building, she realizes that the spirit of New York is that people can make things happen for themselves, and that the only person there is her. She chooses herself as the Chosen One, and gains the power to replenish Ki Points when she takes damage and gain a boost to AC when the Vox Phantasma and Vox Populi both have spells active on her.
The Library of the Monastery[]
The Order of the Concrete Fist has many scrolls and texts collected. Mostly practical information, such as descriptions of creatures from Nod, the Sixth Borough, as well as various survival guides and less heavy tomes. One such scroll, called Forms of the Greater Dreaming, depicts a diagram of Nod with pressure points and information that would be key to defeating them. The library is headed by Nadia Chandrasekhar.
