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CHAPTER ONE - Introduction
New York is not as you know. It is filled with mystic secrets. Sometimes you just have to look closer. The collectors of these magicks are a group named “the Gramercy Occult Society”. This society has a vast collection of New York’s history, defining the connection between the waking world and the Unsleeping City. The majority of this history is tied to the two patrons of magic, the two Vox. The Vox Populi: an individual with divine connection to the city and the beings that inhabit it. The Vox Phantasma: an opposition with a direct connection to the fantastical magic of the Unsleeping City.(1) Together they are the Vox, the balance of voices. According to the records, the only time that there have been both sides of the Vox in New York was when Kingston Brown and Peter Conlan crossed paths in 2019. However, through my research I have found a serious gap in the Society's knowledge. Which, since the start of my professional academic research, has been greatly debated by many of our members. However, Magi Esther Sinclair has recently stated “If you can prove that Kingston and Pete weren’t the first two Vox to be in New York at the same time, I will give you $50.”(2) Originally I just intended to read a couple of books and write up a small paper that I would give to her in order to prove my point. However, the information I uncovered has proven my point tenfold. To the point where I changed the bet to a double or nothing. Now, I plan to write a full thesis just to rub it in her face.
Throughout this thesis, I will analyse the historical accounts of different Vox written by Alejandro Ortiz, Hulio Garcia, Isabella Johnson, and Thomas Monsoon, as well as extracts from the extensive autobiographical accounts of Kelly O’Brien and the limited accounts written by Murphy O'Brien. It is important to say that neither Kelly nor Murphy ever considered themselves a Vox, but the evidence I have collected would define them as our modern perception of the Vox Populi and the Vox Phantasma. Overall, there has been a very segregated relationship between the Vox as stated by Garcia in his accounts of Vox 1950-2000, “In all of my meetings with the Great Dragon of Bleecker Street, he has never considered the Vox to be friends. There have been many occasions where he had to mediate meetings between them. He recalled a point where he had to prematurely end the life of Vox Phantasma River Smith, due to a disagreement that put the entire city in danger.” With this ideology littering the history of the Vox, it is understandable to take Sinclair’s stance. Yet, this blinding ideology has rejected what might be the most important story in this history of the Vox: the story of Kelly and Murphy O’Brien, the first Vox of New York City.
1. It is still debated whether or not the Vox Phantasma is the voice of the Unsleeping City or simply the person with the strongest connection to the magic of that world. However, for the purposes of this thesis, I will consider them to be both.
2. What is key to note is that Sinclair previously stated, “Of course I’ve read through our history. Your grandfather trusted this place to me.” This is important because I’m right and because I’m right she obviously hasn’t read through our history.
CHAPTER TWO - Separation of Vox
It is common knowledge that the circumstances of both Vox being in New York at the same time is incredibly unlikely. All major reports are fairly recent with the incident Kingston Brown and Peter Conlan was an absolute anomaly. This is where my research coincides with common knowledge. I was quite close with both Brown and Conlan, I still consider both of them to be friends. Any person new to the society may look to these two and think the relationship between the Vox has been smooth sailing. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Wars have been fought, enemies devoured and monsters born due to the adversity of the Vox. During the First World War, the city saw its first instance of a New York without a single Vox in it for a prolonged period of time. Luther Young, a Vox Phantasma chosen by Nod left the city to fight in World War One. However, during this time, Andrew Miller had suddenly been chosen as the Vox Populi. This mix up was strange, but there is no concurrent proof that Miller and Young were in New York at the same time. Miller travelled to the Sixth Borough in order to assassinate Nod and leave magic out of the city of New York. Whilst Young, was fighting in the war and unable to protect the magic of the Unsleeping City. Miller used the distraction of war to benefit himself, this instance has been greatly criticized by people both for and against the connection to Nod. Still, war has always coincided with some sort of Vox connection. Neither survived and neither actually met.
The leading theory in separation of the Vox actually came from my grandfather, Alejandro Ortiz. His theory was largely based on the obligation that the Vox Phantasma has in caring for the bridges between the worlds and the protection of magic. The Phantasma must attend to their magical duties constantly, so interacting with the Vox Populi is at the bottom of their priority list. Hence, when Peter Conlan connected with Kingston Brown, it was largely down to Pete’s lack of knowledge when it came to protecting magic. However, since that event, the two are seen together a lot, helping each other out on different issues throughout the city. Thus, I believe there is more than duty that pulls the Vox apart. I believe it is an old connection that is a natural separation, hence why there was a lot of standoffishness between Conlan and Brown when they first started.
While researching for this thesis, I stopped looking in our records and started looking more towards the general history of New York City. I especially looked at large changes that might have affected the Unsleeping City and its connection to the Vox. In all my research, I found one clear parallel. Change does not come to New York from the inside, but from outside factors. And it is in a history of immigration throughout New York’s history that I found some of the more magical events took place. I believe that the magic of New York is like a river. If left alone, it will stay still. But add even the smallest external factors and ripples will expand throughout the city. Thus, people who live in New York struggle to make ripples. But those who arrive in New York from far away make the most incredible ripples and bring change that the city never knew it needed.
This is where I present the story of Murphy and Kelly O’Brien, Irish immigrants that caused one of the first ripples in New York City. And, I believe, the true reason the Vox are often naturally separated. Building on my father's theorem, that the magic takes more active work than the population does. I also believe that the magic actively holds grasp over the Vox Phantasma, keeping them away from New York City. To introduce my findings, I would like to present a record from Kelly O’Brien’s diary from her first day in New York City, 1846:
“I ain’t from a backwater town like Ballybay or Castleblayney, I’m from Belfast. So, I thought New York was gonna be the same. A place that hustles and bustles, but also a place where you can relax. I thought I’d be ready for New York. I was so wrong. My brother and I got off the boat this morning and couldn’t believe what we were seeing. Buildings as far as the eye can see, hundreds of people walking the streets, carriages with some of the largest horses I’d ever seen. America is an independent country now, and Ireland isn’t. So, it feels good to come to a place where you can feel free. Maybe when the English finally leave Ireland, Belfast might be like this as well. But for now, the energy of New York gives us so much more than we were expecting.”(3)
Unbeknownst to Kelly, stepping foot into New York changed the course of the Unsleeping city. I think this “energy” she refers to is the first connection that a human being has actually had to the sixth borough. Yet, this isn’t very definitive since everyone who steps foot into New York describes it as “having a different energy”. Kelly’s brother, Murphy, had a different first day. This is an extract from a letter to his father, written within his first week.
“I can’t tell if I hate New York or if New York hates me. Either way, this town is nothing but rot and stench. I do wish to return home soon, but I look to Kelly and see her joy at every little moment. I don’t think I could drag her out of this city if I tried. I start at a publishing firm at Princeton College. The lead editor’s name is Enoch Solomon, a strange man. I’m sure you’d like him, Father. Please give mother our love and tell her that we will thrive out here, just as she said. My work is stable and frivolous. I will be creating new and wonderful things that will change the world. The people of New York are not ready for me. The stink will be clean. The streets will be busy. And the world will know exactly what I did. When you come to New York, father, you will see what I did.”(4)
These were the early days of New York, before the magic had reached its full potential. Yet, I still understand what Murphy means by “rot and stench”. These seemingly unimportant twins came to New York as many did around this time, with dreams in their pockets. These dreams may be the thing that bought them into the limelight of magic in this realm.
You may recognize the name Enoch Solomon, his name is spread throughout the Gramercy Occult Society and yet not a lot is known about him. The murder of Enoch Solomon is what lead to the first true conflict between the waking world and the unsleeping city. To understand the stories of Kelly and Murphy O’Brien, you must understand the murder of Enoch Solomon.
3. O’Brien, Kelly. “The First Days Of New New York. Notes and Letters of Irish Immigrants in the mid-1800s” Edited by Edward Northampton, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (1935), pp 14-15
4. O’Brien, Murphy “The First Days Of New New York. Notes and Letters of Irish Immigrants in the mid-1800s” Edited by Edward Northampton, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (1935), pp 21
CHAPTER THREE - Enoch Solomon
Enoch Solomon was a Satyr who came from Faerie, one of the very few magic beings who attempted to make a life for themselves in the waking world. Other famous examples would be Nod, The Great Dragon of Bleecker Street and most recently, Rowan Berry. Nod and The Great Dragon had been known to travel across the realms, yet it was very uncommon for non-deities to travel like they did. But Ms. Berry was famous for breaking rules. There is no evidence as to when Miss Berry actually left Faerie, when I asked her for a comment she said “Never ask a fairy her age!” and walked off in a tiff. Yet, there is more evidence for the reasons behind Enoch Solomon’s departure. Mr. Solomon was an inventor: he would create magic objects for the Faerie court and was considered a great asset. I feel his thoughts on the subject are summed up in Samuel Brown’s eulogy;
“Brilliant but odd. Best and worst way I could describe Enoch. Without his mind, the progress that has been made wouldn’t be possible. A mind taken too young, and a brilliance taken without warning. By spending but an hour with Enoch, you would be immersed in his ability to create. His prowess in science was truly unrivalled. And he will not be forgotten.”(5)
Brown went on to create the first internal combustion engine, paving a way for the modern day car. The engine in its early stages was named the Enoch Engine. Of course, Mr. Solomon was using his overarching knowledge of magical artifacts to advance waking technology. This is commonplace nowadays, but was quite controversial in the early 1800s. I went back to Miss Berry to get more information about him, and she had this to say:
“Enoch Solomon, what a darling of a man! I met him on a political visit to Faerie in 1803. Such a charming man, and a rebel. Really went against the grain. I initially met him when I was Vivian Hugh, doing Italian opera in a national touring company. The company wanted to travel the world and I needed permission to leave America from the Fey Council. Something about America only just gaining independence and it wasn’t the time for “art”. Of course they said no, but Enoch made a special little gizmo for me that allowed me to hide my magic and sneak out of the country. He really was a bit of brilliance. I returned around forty years later, my name then was…. I believe it was… Yes! Dahlia Flowers. The 1840s. The times were a bit drab, but New York was still the place to be. We were doing Shakespeare revivals, wonderful man William...”
She then proceeded to talk about her friend, William Shakespeare, for twenty-three minutes. However, she eventually got back to Mr. Solomon.
“... Either way, I was playing Lady MacBeth how Willy had always wanted to cast it but “society” at the time would never allow it. But as I was doing my final monologue I looked out and saw Enoch sitting in the third row. I panicked, if anyone said his goat legs, we’d be done for. But the show goes on. And when he stood up to clap, I saw… human legs! He refined the magic hiding… thing so that he could walk around freely. Well, he walked a little funny but he looked completely human. He was working on waking world tech, I never asked what but he was having fun. Said I inspired him to leave Faerie, and that once he develops his technology further he would be able to have any member of the non-waking world travel freely. I have always looked very human, Nod is very good at hiding and that big ol’ dragon is a wonderful shapeshifter. His new way of doing things would mean anyone from the unsleeping city would be able to make anyone come to New York. It’s a real shame he passed before that happened.”(6)
After I inquired further about Mr. Solomon’s death, Miss Berry got quiet. I have known her for two of her lifetimes, and I have never seen her “get quiet”. It was like something hit her, something she hadn’t felt in a while… But I didn’t pry because this is a piece of academia and not a wishy washy piece of fiction. From a technological basis, the clear path was that Mr. Solomon left Faerie in the 1840s and then passed in the summer of 1860, before the civil war began. The death was ruled as a murder under “mysterious circumstances” and the death had no clear culprit. No one had any clear motive to kill Enoch Solomon, he had no enemies and what he was doing was progressing society further than it had gone before. However, the investigators at the time didn’t understand what else Mr. Solomon was working on. His technology to hide magic in plain sight would mean that New York was about to become a lot more mystical. When Enoch left Faerie, he brough a key thing with him. The mist. Faries would use this to give themseleves human like forms and have a constant preserve of beauty. Enoch was able to re-engineer this Mist in order to naturally cover what was considered magical. And what started as only him, eventually became the mist we know today. It's what protects the magic of New York from prying eyes! Enoch is considered a hero amongust the Society. But his death has always baffled researchers. As he developed the mist, he covered his tracks by claiming to work on a new version of the car engine. One that would turn gasoline into energy. And his company that he founded was co-founded by his business partners, Samuel Brown and Brian O'Murphy. It is within Mr. Solomon’s death, we see the first direct connection to magic that Murphy O'Brien has. However, the first direct link between the O'Briens and magic would be the Astor Place Riot.
6. Rowan Berry, in interview with Ana Ortiz (September 16th, 2020)
7. Edwards, Rupert “Inventor Found Dead” The New York Times 20th August 1860, p.21
CHAPTER FOUR - The Astor Place Riot
Magic has been intertwined with the history of New York since its founding. From sudden bursts of magical energy to smaller and more subtle events. Yet, reports of this magic were never made by the Gramercy Occult Society (GCO) directly. Most of them are purely theoretical since the documentation and official reporting of this magic did not start till the late 1920s when Josefina Gatsby entered New York as the Vox Phantasma and started to clean things up. After the departure of Emma Lazarus in the late 1870s, it was rare to ever see a Vox Phantasma within the city of New York. We knew they existed but they would never actively travel to New York.
So, the magical reports of the GCO fell into the initial hands of Ms. Gatsby. From then on, great wizards built the society through learned magic and holding extensive reports on every magic incident. However, incidents that occured before the takeover of Miss Gatsby do remain a mystery to a lot of the records of the GCO. My grandfather spent a lot of his time studying the past in order to avoid repeating it, something that I proudly continue doing today.
With a lack of past incidents, the Society has had to consider major incidents in New York’s past as magical and try to work backwards. For example, in the early 1800s, yellow fever was killing hundreds of New Yorkers. But in 1822, the disease slowly came to a stop. This has been linked to Nod’s first known appearance in the city of New York. Making the assumption that their links to dreams caused many New Yorkers at the time to become sleep deprived and thus their immune systems became incredibly compromised. Nod’s arrival allowed sleep to be safer and deeper, hence Nod is considered to have saved New York at the time. (8)
When we see major events we try to attribute them to magic. I look at the deadly Astor Place Riot of 1849, where 31 rioters were killed and 120 injured. I wanted to try and identify what magical influences might have affected it, and from our records, I see nothing. I refuse to believe that. So, I returned to our theatrical expert; Miss Berry.
“Now that was a party! The Americans were so obsessed with their theatre and more importantly, me! As well as this wonderful pair of actors, McGready and Forrest. They were “best friends'' but they played up this big rivalry. And when I say “best friends'' they were two peas in a pod but that didn’t jive as much back then. So, they kept up this false rivalry. But America latched onto this because they had only recently become independent and Americans are so stubborn with their patriotism. Dahlia Flowers was one of the few of my lifetimes where I actually kept up a New Yorker accent for the whole lifetime. I had this wonderful Irish friend at the time, and when the riot kicked off. She was right at the center of it.”
At this moment I tried to press further about this Irish friend, and to my surprise;
“I don’t remember her name, but she was short and funny. Wanted to be an actor more than anything. She came from a small town in Ireland or something. So many of them do.”
This was most likely Kelly O’Brien. By placing Kelly at the center of the riot and further linking a magical bias to the fight may prove that she was the first instance of a Vox Phantasma. I asked if there was anything magical about the woman.
“Darling, everyone in New York is a little bit magical. But if there was something that stood out about her, I would’ve remembered her name.” (9)
The reason I pressed further into Miss Berry’s account of her previous life, Dahlia Flowers, is directly linked to Kelly O’Brien’s account of the 1849 Astor Place Riot.
“I had not been in New York for long. It was approaching the second year of my brother and I living in the city. And I have never seen something as deadly as what happened at Astor Place today. The last two years of my life have been the strangest I’ve lived. But I had my first paying job on stage, at Astor Place. Lady MacDuff was not the lead role by any means, but it was mine. But it was all about McGready. And he was English. The English always came and ruined everything for me. No matter where I was. They ruined Ireland and suddenly, they were ruining New York. I was angry. And afraid. And the people were angry too. So, I ran out and I asked them to join me. Then, they were rioting. And the world shaped around me. And I was scared but I felt power like I never had before. I was an actress and I was a good one! Why shouldn’t they see me?”
My most direct link to any Vox Phantasma is Peter Conlan. When he was awakened as a Vox, it came from a moment of stress and intensity. Due to the Vox’s connection to the dreams of everyone in New York, it would be incredibly easy for someone with these powers to pray on the desires of a crowd and take them under control. Miss O’Brien continues by saying;
“I often keep to myself, but being at the center of attention was so freeing that it changed something. Something about the world around me, something about New York changed. I had never felt so alive and so scared in the same moment. It was a thrill and a terror. Light and dark. I don’t know if what I did was worth it. But after MacBeth was cancelled due to concern for the actors’ safety, I was offered another job in a production of Hamlet. Yes, tragedy occured but if we don’t benefit from it then there was no point in it happening in the first place.”(10)
I could tell why Miss Berry liked her. The power of the Vox is easy to fall into, you have the minds of thousands at your fingertips and not being understanding of this power can force one to indulge in a darker side of the power. My grandfather was initially scared of the possibility that a new Vox Phantasma would arrive in New York. Modern technology and culture had always grown with the Vox Populi, therefore the Vox Populi would always be understanding of the New York around him. Due to the rare appearance of a Phantasma, the power that they hold is volatile. Pete’s powers manifested through wild magic, bursts of completely uncontrollable magical energy. According to records, Josefina Gatsby’s powers came in the form of entertainment much akin to the power of Misty Moore/Rowan Berry. Looking at the records of Emma Lazarus, her power developed as she travelled the world becoming one with nature much like Kugrash, a very brave and powerful druid who saved New York in 2019. Whilst there isn’t a lot of evidence of Ms. Lazarus using her powers, her mark still resonates throughout New York in Central Park. Particularly in the fountain named “Bethesda Fountain'', a project that she led. Atop the statue is the living statue, “The Angel of the Waters”. It is theorized that a lot of Lazarus’ power went into bringing the statue to life as a protective bastion of New York.
“The Angel of the Waters, also known as ‘Em’, is a staple of New York and Central Park. There is a magical energy described by people who have not even been inoculated into the Unsleeping City. And at the bottom of the statue is Emma Lazarus, the name of her creator. Em doesn’t reference her creator a lot, knowing very little about her. But to create a creature as powerful as she is, this would only match the justiciton of the Vox Phantasma.”(12)
So, what is my leading theory on Kelly O’Brien. I believe her power is largely linked to her emotion and her lack of control over them. The Vox Phantasma does not need New York in order to become a Vox, where the Vox Populi cannot be a Vox without it.This was my grandfather’s leading ideology when it came to the rarity of Vox Phantasma. A Vox Phantasma can leave New York with ease whereas a Vox Populi naturally finds it impossible to leave. Kelly O’Brien’s powers seemed to first manifest during this riot, in a time where there wasn’t really a mist to cover the magic of the unsleeping city. If this was a magical incident, it was subtle, which contradicts the idea that her emotions create magical outbursts. But this made me realise something: Enoch Solomon came to see that production of MacBeth. The Satyr that went on to literally invent the mist to hide the unsleeping city — if anyone could hide magic, it would be him. His very presence makes disputes to my theory harder to comprehend. Still, this is not definitive proof. The only way to get definitive proof is from people who were there. Which, in most pieces of academia, would be impossible if I wasn’t friends with multiple immortals.
As an academic, getting your hands on a primary source really is the greatest feeling. But as a magical academic, most sources are primary. This is largely due to the fact a lot of us are divinatory and can see both the past, present, and future, as well as housing multiple beings that have lived for hundreds of years. We are not immune to secondary sources, however, a lot of connections within the unsleeping city have been created by those who came before us. But to find a paper or book in our records without primary sources is very ill-researched indeed. So, we need to take in some more first hand accounts of the Astor Place Riots besides Rowan Berry. The first person I went to was Willy, Brick Golem of Williamsburg.
“There are so many fights and riots throughout my life in New York. They destroy buildings like they are nothing. But I do not mind, they express themselves and we always rebuild. But the fight at Astor Place was not riot. It was battle. Back then, Golems could never walk the streets of New York. But there was something that awoke in me, I felt like the magic had been changed. And I could move freely. I had no inhibitions. Just the pure drive to exist. I heard the screams of the people of New York and everything they wanted. I felt this and for some reason I felt rage. Rage that moved throughout the brickwork. The people of New York felt rage that day and the sun turned dark. No one left the Astor Place Riot better than before, it was pure destruction. Death and fire.”
This intrigued me, because the ability of previous Vox Phantasma extends to the humans of New York but magical creatures are often unaffected by the mental use of a Vox Phantasma’s power. Especially a Golem, a creature immune to mental arcana. Yet, the feeling described by Kelly O’Brien, “pure rage”, is reflected in Willy’s account of the events. I asked what he thought this meant for New York;
“When something is wrong in New York, I am normally first to know. When the riot broke out, it did not feel wrong. It felt like a new beginning, I have never felt like I felt when the riot started. The other elementals of New York have told me that they felt like living beings that day. We were alive before, but not like we are now. We watched over New York, we were New York. But that day we became something more. I believe that is a good thing.” (13)
If my theory is correct, then Kelly would be the first Vox Phantasma in New York City. If she awoke the elementals of New York, then she would be powerful enough to match the powers of other known Vox Phantasma. However, there were many people who happened to be at this riot, including magical beings such as Enoch Solomon and Dahlia Flowers (Rowan Berry). There was more I needed to examine before I could make a more definitive sentence. I continued with Willy to try to identify any defining factors about the riot that might help to identify the epicenter of it. Willy simply stated; “The fire. It was everywhere.” After this interview, I started to collate information about the fires that happened at the riot and tried to piece together what caused each one. However, I found myself struggling to such an extent that I had to bring in an expert.
Ricky Matsui is a New York firefighter, member of the Dream Team and more commonly known as “Mr. March” in the Firefighter Annual Charity Calendar 2018. I wanted to sit down with him and get his take on the fires that broke out during the Astor Place riots. If they correlated with what constitutes a “normal” fire. Here’s what he had to say;
“Firstly, just want to say, so cool you’re doing this. Really digging the whole “work” thing, Esther told me all about it and think you’re doing a great job. Secondly, no way these are natural fires. This kind of fire is not spread naturally, if you look at the pattern. It’s like they erupted from a central point. Fire is not a joke and these were made by someone!”
I inquired further, asking the question ‘What would a person have to do to start a fire like this?’ He responded that, “It’s pretty easy to do with a bomb.” I asked if they had bombs like that in the late 1800s, he responded:
“Woah, this is a really good photo for the olden times. (14) I guess they wouldn’t but I’m not an expert in starting fires, mostly stopping them. But it’s not incredibly likely that a bomb of this range and pattern would’ve been possible. A bomb of this pattern is barely possible today. When I used to work on the fire force I…. ”
He took a pause here for a full minute. Ricky had recently left the firefighters, to focus on himself but even the mention of his old job will freeze him for a moment. He then continued;
“When I was… doing the … fire fighting... there were a lot of familiar patterns. We needed to learn them so we knew what we were dealing with. It was something my friend John was really good at. But fires originated from explosives is one that we all had to know. I would call this an explosion but I wouldn’t think that one would have this spread, even today. It’s super weird, dude.” (15)
To analyse this, the fire seen at the Astor Place riot is defined as an explosion but most likely that explosives of this calibre weren’t possible. My conclusion drawn from this is that the fires had to be magical. Ricky’s perspective did give me some solid ground for my theory. If Kelly were the person that created these fires, this makes her a viable candidate for a Vox Phantasma. But that’s only half of the problem, I must further prove that Murphy is the Vox Populi.
8. “Yellow Fever Attacks New York, 1822". EyeWitness to History. Archived from the original on 2007-06-07. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
9. Rowan Berry, in interview with Ana Ortiz (September 20th, 2020)
10. O’Brien, Kelly. “Actors of the Astor Place Riot; Letters and Notes from the Theatre 1845-1860” Edited by Grace Shaw, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (1975), pp 57
11. Sinclair, Esther, “The Battle Of Dream; Transgressions of the Dream Team in the Unsleeping City”. New York; Gramercy Occult Society (2020).
12. Ortiz, Alejandro, “The Vox Of New York City” New York; Gramercy Occult Society (2009), pp. 132.
13. Willy, Brick Golem of Williamsburg, in interview with Ana Ortiz (September 20th, 2020)
Chapter Five - The Power Of The Vox Populi
My analysis is largely based around these twins and their ability to use magic. That alone doesn’t make them a pair of Voxus, it just makes them early magic users in New York City. Throughout this chapter my personal writings will be limited, as I believe the letters and biographical accounts of Murphy O’Brien speak for themselves. So, I will start with a letter he writes to his father.
“Father, I do not know how but I have fallen in love. It has taken me like a sudden summer wind and I have fallen hard. Her name is Elizabeth Blackwell, a woman from the university. She has consumed my every waking moment, I cannot help but think of her. I went to my partner, Enoch, to try to understand why this is happening. He called her enthralling, “intriguing to even the least academic mind.” Which is the most Enoch thing he could say. Still, her whit and manor [sic] is rivalled by nothing on God's green Earth. I intend to marry her and need your approval. Please travel here as soon as you can, Kelly misses you and Mother dearly and you simply must meet Elizabeth.” (16)
Elizabeth Blackwell was an incredibly accomplished doctor in the city of New York, the first woman to graduate with a medical degree from New York medical school. There are no records of her marriage with Murphy or any person, she remained unmarried her whole life. Yet, in all of Murphy’s writing, he is so determined for her hand. Still, this is not the only instance where Murphy talks about what he wants as if he already has it. He writes in his personal journal;
“Passion is a fool's game. Through mental prowess and perseverance, one can achieve all without passion. Since my work began under Enoch, I am more than just a tinkerer’s assistant, I am an engineer. And we are building something that no man will ever understand. We are moving past the horse-drawn carriage of yesterday and towards the combustion engine. Towards the future. With Enoch’s determination and my mind, truly nothing can stop us.” (17)
It wasn’t for another forty years that the Enoch engine was completed yet Murphy writes as if he is mere months away. The Vox Populi has always been the voice of the people. During this time of immigation and misfortune, New York City was filled with dreamers. The ambition and drive of New York in the mid-1800s is well represented by the falsehoods of Murphy O’Brien. The American Dream was fresh and exciting still to all people who set their sights on the city. When the Dream manifested itself last year, it was to benefit the corporate machinations of billionaires like Robert Moses. The American Dream only benefits those who start with their foot in the door, therefore, Murphy O’Brien represented those who were in a different building entirely. I believe this is why he became somewhat of a… celebrity. He went to balls, was invited to dinner with government officials and was given booths at any theatre in the city.
“Dear Father. Tonight is the eve of my engagement. And you have given me nothing. You are not here. It is what I must live with, what you have put me through. I took our name and I elevated it higher than any Irish backend you could put me into. Your lack of admiration for what I have done means nothing to me now. I am to become the most powerful man in New York City. My machinery and my power is unrivaled. You will see.” (18)
This engagement was never registered with any governing bodies. Murphy was never married and neither was Elizabeth. As well as this, there are no written responses from Connol O’Brien to any letters sent by the O’Brien twins, I am of the belief that once they left they were not welcome back. This independence may be what inspired the creation of the Vox Populi. But to further investigate, I needed to understand how a Vox Populi is chosen.
Kingston Brown has been the Vox Populi since he was 30 years old. He was introduced to the unsleeping city through the Great Dragon of Bleecker Street. I sat down with Kingston in order to understand what makes someone a Vox Populi. Here’s what he had to say:
“Well, I wasn’t born as a Vox Populi. I was just a kid from Harlem. But in the 60s, a lot of people were just kids from Harlem or the Bronx or Queens. We were a generation of kids who… I guess we made New York our own. That’s what the Dragon told me. He said I was ‘A New Yorker’. Back then, I just thought that meant it was because I was like everyone else. But the more I live here, the more I understand that being a New Yorker isn’t about knowing every borough or being able to catch a cab in rush hour. Being a New Yorker is understanding the city, and loving the city. And that, to the dragon, is what I represented.” (19)
The Great Dragon of Bleecker Street has appeared in many different forms over the years. He has never truly made a large and public appearance with the exception of the 1924 umbral acana explosion. Which was so well covered up, New York now considers it the start of the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade. Either way, I needed to look further into someone within Murphy’s writing that could be identified as the Great Dragon. I believe, after a lot of reading, I now know who that is:
“The people of this city have ideals that are larger and any building. When I first moved here I was enthralled by the way the city moved and now I see the city’s pace at that of a slug. Filled with mucus and hatred. When I came here, I was so filled with joy. I was no more than a child. Then Kelly started to grow distant, obsessed with her theatre and…. well, what some called witchcraft, I called Kelly. We were past the days of idiocy but they really don’t like her. Still, I move forward without jest or angst but with a morbid drive to prove that voice wrong. The voice who does not know me, but acted as if he did. This voice that thought he was so much more that a stupid, overbearing nothing. Telling me of grandeur and “the power of the city”. A lie he spun to make me feel more important than I am.” (20)
I believe that the voice that Murphy is referring to may be the Dragon. This is the only time that he refers to a voice within himself. This could be chalked up to Murphy just having an inner voice telling him what to do, but his reference to it seems more pertinent. On top of this, Magic was pretty much non-existent in the minds of non-magical beings at the time. So, if the Dragon were to truly reveal themselves, it might cause pure chaos. This wouldn’t be the first time the Dragon revealed themselves telepathically. When Kingston Brown was first contacted by the Dragon, he was called to by a voice. He followed the voice to find the Dragon hidden away.
All of this information has been limited in terms of directly linking the O’Brien’s so directly with magic. The final letter that I discovered is as follows;
“Father, I write this as a final note to you. I never have expected a reply before this and I don’t know why I’d expect one now. I just need you to know that, after everything, I am wrong. I have lost. Elizabeth has decided to leave me. And Kelly has betrayed me. She has stopped me at every possible moment. She has decimated my very being. She has dishonoured the family name. She has done everything to spite me and to bring herself power. But I will ruin her. I will take all that I have to destroy what she thinks she has. Her delusion has made her blind to the ones by her side. And Father, when you read of her demise, know that I did it for my name… and not yours.” (21)
Throughout the writings of the twins, they rarely mention one another. The only time they do reference the other they make a snarky remark or a rude comment. It wasn’t until this extract that I believed there was something more than a simple sibling rivalry.
The problem is, this is it. The evidence points in the direction that, whilst Kelly O’Brien might have possessed magic, the twins weren’t the Vox of the time. They should’ve left a stronger impression. The known Vox are closer to celebrity status within the Gramercy Occult Society. I don’t understand why they just don’t stand out. The main reason they came into my initial purview is due to the fact that there was a total lack of magical beings within New York before Kelly.
There is more to this. There must be. And there’s only one thing that keeps me going. The physical evidence points to the O’Brien’s being manipulative, power-hungry individuals who would do anything to get what they wanted. The key difference between them is that Kelly’s magic is more recognizable. Her magic is incredibly destructive. She seems to be able to channel the dreams into fire that was unseen within the time. A fire that, according to Ricky Matsui, supasses even technological fires of today. With this, I know that Kelly’s power could rival the Vox of today. Knowing that she was this insurmountable… Why did Murphy believe that he could defeat her?
I am making assumptions that Murphy knew of Kelly’s power. That he knew what she was capable of, which isn’t fully apparent in his writing. It could be that he didn’t know and he was hoping for the best with very little knowledge of the situation, but that goes against all I seem to know about Murphy. He must’ve known. The final chance I have is to go to the source of the power itself… I have to speak to Nod.
16. O’Brien, Murphy “New Inventions in a Time of Turmoil. Notes and Creations by New York Engineers 1800-1890.” Edited by Carlos Hernández, New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1947), pp 120
17. Ibid. pp 112
18. Ibid. pp 132
19. Kingston Brown, in interview with Ana Ortiz (October 1st, 2020)
20. O’Brien, Murphy “New Inventions in a Time of Turmoil. Notes and Creations by New York Engineers 1800-1890.” Edited by Carlos Hernández, New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1947), pp 130
21. Ibid pp 201
Chapter Five - Connecting the Vox.
As I mentioned earlier, primary sources are such a key detail when it comes to writing about historical accounts and my unique advantage is having connections with living beings alive during my research. Rowan Berry was one of these people. The other would be the Gray Baby of the Sixth Borough, Nod. However, Nod is an incredibly difficult being to get in contact with. Over the last month, I have been working with the Vox Phantasma (Peter Cononlan) so that I can get in contact with Nod. Within this chapter I will discuss what I achieved within this… and what went wrong.
The connection between the two Vox has been a highly debated topic throughout the history of the Gramercy Occult Society. Why is it that the Vox Populi is more common than their Phantasma counterpart? What has been keeping them separate for so long? Why is it that Pete and Kingston had such a stronger connection than any predecessors? All these questions were localised in one library of information that is Nod. But getting to Nod is not an easy task, Since my transition into vampirism, travelling through mystical boroughs has proven extremely difficult. For years, vampire’s were not allowed into the land of Nod due to them being… nothing but threats. Since the dream team took down a lot of the evil vampire’s last year, this is no longer the case. But a lot of the magical defenses are still up. Therefore, Pete had to take me personally through the dreaming world. This was a difficult journey filled with a lot of uncomfortable looks from inhabitants. However, when we finally arrived at Nod’s residence, I found myself at ease.
I did not want this to be an interrogation, my fear was to put vampire’s in a bad light in the eye’s of Nod. But they seemed very calm in my presence. I began the interview with asking a fluffer question, I needed to know why Pete and Kingston had such a strong connection. They had this to say;
“My choice in Pete was not one for New York, but one for Nod itself. The dreaming world had been broken for a long time and we needed a new Vox Phantasma to help us connect back to the people of New York. I was aware of Kingston Brown, I knew the dragon had chosen him years ago. But I knew that I could not wait any longer. I needed a Phantasma. The choice was not easy, I cycled through thousands of people in the city. But without question, Pete was the soul that needed dreams to be real more than anything else. And he proved himself tenfold. I do not believe that it was my doing that connected Kingston and Pete, in fact they found themselves connected before I held any influence over the waking world.”
Pete joined the conversion;
“At first, I didn’t like Kingston honestly. He was a nice guy, but I always felt like he was trying to kill me. It’s weird for a doctor to give those vibes but that’s just how he felt.”
“Not exactly.” Nod retook the conversation. “It is natural for the Vox Populi to dislike the dreams of New Yorkers. They’ve proven incredibly dangerous towards the people of the city for years. I believe that Kingston’s love and need to protect the population of New York overtook this, however. It didn’t matter how much Kingston feared the power that Pete possessed. The fact that Pete was a New Yorker won him over.”
I asked Nod, “You mentioned that the dreams of New York have proven dangerous to the people of the city. Can you elaborate on that?” As they began their answer, they froze and looked at me. Their stare pierced my soul. It was a moment that I had no control over. I was scared, hopeful and melancholy all at the same time. They simply stated… “So, you know about the O'Briens.” I panicked, thinking I had overstepped. But there was always some energy that Nod possessed that calmed me. They placed a hand on Pete’s shoulder and asked him to leave. He nodded and said he had some gardening to do, apparently that’s his new thing. From Nod’s expression, I knew that they were just going to talk for a while. So, I imagined a tape recorder… and one appeared. I asked Pete to get it for me later. This is a transcript of what Nod explained;
“There are no bad guys in this story. No monsters. Just people who were given far too much power. The Great Dragon of Bleecker Street and I never planned for it to happen. I argue that I made my first mistake, the day I met Kelly O’Brien.
She was a spry young woman, desperate to be an actress. Very kind eyes and a smile that beamed a thousand miles. And she wasn’t a native New Yorker. Her and her brother had traveled from Ireland. They both were true dreamers like New York had never seen, but Kelly was far beyond what her brother was. Kelly’s dreams were so big that they were all I could focus on. But I saw her dreams dying, I saw New York beating her dreams out of her. So, when she was walking home intoxicated, I found a bridge for her. And I allowed her into Nod. She was scared at first but she found her way to me. I thought I could shape her to build bridges to New York and allow my people to travel there and integrate with the city. This was naive, I was only fourteen thousand years old, but it was a bad move nonetheless.
She took her power and used it to advance herself within the field of theatre. She began manipulating people’s thoughts and making them believe that she was the greatest actress they’d ever seen. Around the same time, the Dragon had chosen Murphy O’Brien as the voice of the people. I will never understand why he did this. But I will argue that Murphy represented the people of New York. Nasty, money-hungry men who only wanted to live in the highest society. New York now is a much nicer place.
I could deal with the two of them using their magic for personal gain, I tried to stop it but they had grown past their creators. The day I knew it had to stop was the riot. It was an abuse of power to the highest extent. Murphy had fallen in love, a woman named Elizabeth. She was an odd woman, very smart but somehow very foolish. She never loved Murphy. But she always acted as if she did. Murphy had come to see a show with Elizabeth, he knew that his sister was in it. And she knew that he was bringing Elizabeth. But she couldn't stand them together. So, she lost all her inhibition. She used all of her power of manipulation to cause the people of New York to attack the Vox Populi.
Kelly was in love with Elizabeth. Her love was based on impulse and her emotions were overflowing. When she saw them together, she must have lost herself. Suddenly, war began in New York because of them both. They took control of the people and their will. The O’Brien’s did not stop.
The war that broke out was a war of all people, a riot in the streets. Kelly sprouted fires stronger than the dragons and Murphy created so much darkness that New York was covered in shadow. Those with the ability to understand and comprehend magic were incredibly limited. But one person tried to stop them. Enoch Solomon was a personal friend of mine. He did all he could to convince Murphy that his war is useless and detrimental to their work. But that did nothing. Enoch was found dead a few days later.
This was the first time I ever got to sit down with the Dragon. A being of Faerie and a friend of mine has been most likely killed by our mistakes. We had to take ownership for this. The Dragon stated that he truly felt powerless against them, much like I felt. To compare the mid-1800s Vox powers to what we had today, their power far succeeds what Pete and Kingston could ever imagine. The dreams of New York were filled with spite and anger and the people were much the same. Hatred is more powerful than love. It’s a rough sentiment that breaks my heart. But hatred is more of a punch, it is strong and it hits hard… but it can only last for a dull moment.
They exhausted the people of New York, to a point where they completely lost their influence over them. As well as this, real war was coming. They would never keep the control that they once had. But in a final effort, they used all their hatred and projected it into each other. This destroyed them. But it left a lasting effect on the minds of the Vox. Something that supersedes my magic as well as the dragons. No matter who we chose, the Vox would be enemies. They always seemed to hate each other. It became a battle as soon as we chose one.”
I was taken aback. The story I wanted, everything I needed was right in front of me. Yet, there was something so desperately wrong. Nod talked about battles between Vox, I pushed further and they revealed what I had wished they didn’t.
“Hundreds of them. Every Phantasma that I desperately needed in New York. Killed by the Populi. The only ones that survived killed the other first. It was innate. It was brutal. And it got to a point where if I chose another one, it would just be murder. All the famous Phantasma throughout history were lucky enough to avoid a Populi. It was just a chance. I couldn’t do what the Dragon could. I couldn’t doom a person with the power of the Vox. It was a monstrous thing to do. But we would’ve starved here. Without a connection to the city, we are nothing. Without the dreams of New York there is no New York. So, I gave all my strength to Pete. I gave it to him so that he could kill Kingston if he had too. But then, the magic was broken. I do not understand why. But Peter survived where all of his predecessors did not. He is not the most powerful being I have shared my magic with… he is simply the kindest.”
It does not always feel good to be right. There have been many times that a Vox Populi and Vox Phantasma has existed in New York at the same time. It just seems that more often than not, the Populi will destroy the Phantasma before they get a chance to fully come into their own. I needed to know why Nod was telling me this.
“Because you have a story to tell. And what is a dream but a story waiting to happen.”
I didn’t know if I should be angry. Was it my place to be angry? I had not been affected by this personally, but as a citizen of New York and a magical being of the unsleeping city, I should be mad. Mad at the O’Brien’s for abusing the power that this city gives you. Yet, I sit back and wonder if that’s all that we’ve ever done. Enoch Solomon was a satyr who wanted nothing more than to live in New York and he used magic in order to benefit himself. Does that make him wrong? People come to New York even without the magic and they use it’s power without even thinking? I am spiraling over this. I can’t think straight anymore. This isn’t even an essay, it’s a stream of unwarrentend consciousness that is building up to nothing. No conclusions, no happy endings. All we get is “Magic bad, people bad, we all lose in the end.”
And worst of all, my grandfather was wrong. And I proved him wrong! I made it so his life work was completely overwritten. That his work didn’t matter. Nod hid this from him. With this knowledge, Alejandro would’ve been able to fully understand what it meant to be a Vox. This never should’ve fallen onto my shoulders. I’m not enough for it. Nod trusted me with this information like they were torturing me.
The magic of New York city shouldn’t belong to us. We can’t control it. Pete is meant to be the most powerful magic user in New York and he can’t even fully control it. All it seems to have done is corrupt and ruin. My grandfather was so full of hope when he met the new Vox that he truly thought we could move onto a new magical world. But still, they fought. And who's to say that pure hatred cultivated by the O’Brien’s won’t infest Pete and Kingston? Kingston is meant to be one of the kindest and most loving people in all of New York and yet his first instinct was to get rid of Pete in 2018. From the get go.
What happens when the next Vox are chosen? They won’t have the hearts and minds of Kingston and Pete. What if they lose themselves to the power as those before did? Will we be prepared? I know that if even one of the Vox today turned against the Gramercy Occult Society with the full extent of their power, we wouldn’t be able to fully defend ourselves. We wouldn’t be prepared for a fully fledged war in New York. Still, without the Vox Populi could New York survive at all? I just… I don’t know and I can’t ratify it. I can’t do anything about it. I feel so completely lost within the information and unable to rationalize my research. I feel I just made things worse.
Chapter Six - Contractions (THE END)
With this evidence and these stories, I present what I believe to be the first Vox of New York City. And these Vox were in New York City at the same time. Yet, I break from my academia to say that I sometimes wish I was wrong. I have loved writing this and discovering and uncovering Kelly and Murphy’s stories and still I am unhappy with the results. There’s a simple answer to this. It contradicts my grandfather's life work. The last paper he started was about the magic of two Vox in New York City at the same time. His paper was groundbreaking within the Gramercy Occult Society, using past knowledge to prove his theories of how Vox are made in the first place. I don’t know how to react to this. I loved his work. I would listen to him as he talked openly about his work and research. He was so invested in a world that he brought us into.
After writing the previous chapter I took a break, I needed to talk to some people to try to get my head straight. I couldn’t record the conversations as they weren’t in official academic circumstances, but if you’ve read this far into my work then maybe this will help you as it’s just helped me. Kingston was walking around, he said something about getting some new people inoculated past the mist. He saw I’d been crying, and came over to sit with me. Didn’t really ask what was wrong at first, just sat with me. From what I know about Vox, their powers always vary. Kingston has this innate ability to make you feel like everything is okay. Murphy didn’t have this power, in fact I feel his power was the opposite. Murphy made people uneasy, he did this not to save the city but to make it his own. I feel that the intentions of the first Vox Populi has met its antithesis in Kingston.
Around twenty-five years ago, the Great Dragon of Bleecker Street passed on. Kingston told me that when the Dragon passed he felt like he had lost his purpose. A being that gave him all of this power and then disappeared. It was the first time he thought about leaving New York, this is when he first got coffee with my grandfather. They talked over previous experiences they had with the Dragon, and Alejandro told him about their years of disagreements. Kingston said it felt nice that Alejandro was able to make the Dragon seem more… human. It made the city seem real again. And that’s what Kingston proceeded to do for me, just told me about the arguments he would have with my grandfather. Whether it was about theological Vox debates or whether or not Alejandro should be smoking Juuls at his age. He made me laugh. But it also made me realise something. My grandfather would constantly listen to me disagree with him, my sister and I would sit in his office for hours and just talk about where he’s wrong. Not out of maliciousness but out of love for his work.
So, I went back to my sister because I realised I needed to hear her voice on this piece. She sat and read over it three times before saying anything (This means she liked it). She then spent the next four hours giving me notes, which have now been amended within the piece so I credit her heavily with making a lot of this paper viable. When I asked if I was contradicting Abuelo’s work she said “Of course, that’s exactly what he would’ve wanted.” It made sense. By contradicting, I’m continuing. It’s not harming what he did, it’s building upon it. It’s exactly what he would’ve wanted. Also, Ricky took me for ice cream. That was nice.
My initial goal with this paper was to prove Esther wrong — which I did by the way and she owes me $50 —- but I discovered that this paper meant more to me. If you’re reading this paper, you’re most likely new to everything. Kingston said that the new people coming in soon wanted to read up on the Vox as he didn’t quite know how to explain it and that there wasn’t really a point in asking Pete either. So, if you’ve reached this part you must understand that being a Vox is possibly one of the most powerful humans in all of New York at any given time. That might be a scary thing to behold and a scarier thing to be, yet, with this power you can protect the people of New York from a world they can’t comprehend. It is a thankless, monster of a task that no one asks for. But times aren’t as they used to be, the Vox aren’t enemies anymore. As well as this, you have one of the largest and most advanced magical societies with over one hundred years of research supporting it. You have nothing to be scared of.