The Venetian Chronicles: Cordelia Harper

The Venetian Chronicles: Cordelia Harper

Yuuko: (fumbling with the camera before mounting it on a tripod. Before adjusting the focus on the camera and Clearing her throat) this is Council envoy Yuuko Shirakawa, agent of the dragon, and historian for the archives in Dublin Ireland. As part of the Chronicles initiative, I am interviewing active agents from the 21st century so that future generations may better understand the context in which events are taking place. This session is being recorded on 09/05/2017 in Greenfield Ireland, at the Green residence.

Yuuko: Could you please state your full name, date of birth, affiliation and rank.

Cordelia: Um... hi? Do I have to start like that? Okay, okay.  I'm, er... sorry... I'm, er, my full name is Cordelia Harper, date of birth November 11 1994. I'm an enlistee with the - with the Knightly Order of the Templars.

Yukko: Can you tell us about your family?

Cordelia: My family? I... I'm a single child. Only child, sorry. My parents are both deceased, and, and - does extended family count? Um, my relatives all live outside the UK. Some in the US, others in various parts of Asia. Yup.

Yuuko: Where did you grow up?

Cordelia: London. Ah, various parts of. We moved around a bit.

Yuuko: How would you describe your childhood?

Cordelia: Um... like any other? I mean, I went to school, and went to church, and all. Mum and Dad were very, very good to me. They kept me on the straight and narrow. That's all there is to say about it, I think.

Yuuko: How were you first introduced to the secret world?

Cordelia: Oh. Er, when the bee found me. One evening, at home - I'd just gotten back from work. It was a... well, it was the biggest shock of my life. I remember strange fires, and - and strange voices. Everywhere. I was panicking. Running. I was freaking out so bad. I thought I was possessed, or going to die. I don't know how I made it all the way to the Tube, let alone that... that maintenance tunnel. Gaia must have been guiding me. But there was where I saw the secret world for the first time. I saw men calling up demons, and Templars shooting at them, and - and the rest is history.

Yuuko: Did you have any contact (either directly or indirectly) with your society before your powers awakened?

Cordelia: None at all. I thought the Order was just another institution or other, you know? That is, the few times I ever heard them crop up in conversation.

Yuuko: Can you tell us what a normal day looks like for you?

Cordelia: A normal day or a 'normal' day? Eheh... well, assuming I'm not in the field, I stick to my, er, pre-Bee routine. I still hold a mundane office job, so I go to that, and I try my very, very best to pretend like it's still all I have. Same thing in the evenings. If I'm on leave and putting on the Templar hat, then, well, totally different. A 'normal' day then would involve whatever my Section Commander wants me to do - short field trip, or weapons practice, or lectures, like that. If he's got nothing for me, I might check out what other secret worlders are up to, try to stay in the general loop. Oh, and I still go to church, either way.

Yuuko: Has your work for your society ever brought you into contact with anyone who would be considered historically significant (world leaders, celebrities, scientist and engineers.)

Cordelia: I feel... I feel that covers a lot of ground? Because every single person fighting the secret war - that's the war against the real enemy, not the capitalized 'Secret War' bickering between the societies - is making a difference, and making a mark on history. Whether they're remembered or not. Just my opinion, of course, but... you don't have to be a great leader or inventor to be historically significant? So in that sense, yes, I've come into contact with plenty of historically significant individuals.

Yuuko: Have you ever seen an event reported in the media and known that it was a lie and if so can you tell us what really happened?

Cordelia: Yes. The incident that got me recruited by the Order. BBC spun it as a drug raid that went sideways. What it really was was a Templar operation against... some sort of End Times cult? Trying to open a gateway to Hell in the Tube system. The Met didn't even head out there until after the Templars were gone. Taking me with them, of course. All I did was grab a pistol one of them had dropped, and shoot. Out of pure panic. Apparently that and my bee was a good enough résumé.

Yuuko: What was the last event you can remember that shook both the secret world and the mundane equally?

Cordelia: Er, I would say Tokyo, but that was way before my time in the secret world. Since I joined the Templars, I haven't noticed anything remotely comparable. But maybe that's just me. I don't pay a lot of attention to current affairs. I tend to hear about them from other secret worlders.

Yuuko: Have you ever participated in an event considered historically important to the mundane world and if so was it on behalf of your society?

Cordelia: Does the... does the Filth incursion in Agartha count? The 'Flappy' crisis? You arranged amenities there for us. You saw what would have happened if the World Tree had fallen. I fought there as a Templar, even did it in my dress reds. So my answer is yes.

Yuuko: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us agent Harper.

Cordelia: No, thank you for doing this, Ms Shirakawa. I'm glad the Council is paying attention to things like this, and I hope it helps somebody someday.

-End of file-