Chronicle and Character Creation

Summary.

Description: John (Dorgraff) is his mid to late 30s; Caucasian; slightly taller than average height; slim, bony build; starting to get that receding hairline a little bit.

Background. Originally from midwest, John grew up in a regular, full family, with multiple siblings (3 sisters). It was a bit overwhelming at times, being a quieter one in a family of rambunctious loudmouths, but it was a happy childhood. Not wanting to get stuck in the place he grew up in, he moved all the way to Texas for college, settling at UTSA. After finishing with a degree in Economics, he joined the workforce, entering Credicorps as a low-level office drone. He managed to get promoted to a mid-tier manager, but never advanced further (nor had any interest in it).

Personality. John is a quiet, calm and collected type. He listens more than he talks. He offers his opinion when he feels it is needed, but otherwise follows the status quo, unwilling and uninterested in challenging it. In group settings he mostly falls behind the most charismatic leader, unless there is someone with more sound ideas. What he really enjoys are the quiet times, when the time seems to stay still. His awakening really traumatized him and since then he became much more gloomy and contemplative. The guilt and fear are looming over, affecting both his sleep and waking hours.

Awakening basics. Invited by his cubicle-mate, a girl by the name of Latisha, on whom he had a pretty strong crush on, to a meeting of group with dubious name "HAPPINESS! NOW!", he inadvertently joined a small new-age cult. It began pretty simple, but soon the rituals and ideas performed by their leader became more and more involved. He never believed in the whole occult nonsense, but he didn't want to leave Tish alone there (and, thought loath to admit it, simply wanted to spend time with her). The final ritual is when his awakening happened. The memories of the event are hazy, but what he does remember vividly is being covered head-to-toe in guts, blood and god knows what else. He seemed to be the only survivor of this event.

Goals and dreams. He truly believes that whatever "awoke" him has left its mark on him. It's like this invisible slimy hand that caresses his back that he can't shake. He tries to learn more about magic in hopes to get rid of the feeling. The idea that there was no monster or magic at the ritual and that it was him who killed everyone in the cult group due to violent awakening is incomprehensible. He believes that there is an unseen force, an unspeakable horror who brought him over to this world of supernatural, because he needs it to be true, otherwise he is simply a murderer, one who lost control and killed a girl he really liked.

Habits and hobbies. He took to smoking again after his awakening. He is pretty thorough and keeps a bunch of notes, both handwritten and digital. For hobbies, he enjoys reading, music and most of all walk in nature, especially near water, which always had a calm effect on him. He even wanted to get a boating license and a boat, but was always putting it off.

Sheet explanations.
His Wonder, the lighter, is a gift from one of his hermetic teachers.
The Demesne realm is also something that came from his hermetic teacher - as his sleep became worse and worse, plagued by nightmares each night and affecting his studies, he was advised to try and take control of his dreams. Little by little this small corner of his psyche grew, becoming his own dream-fortress. It looks like the office that the "HAPPINESS! NOW!" rented and inside are all the people who were in the group with him, acting like his confidants and advisors.
Natural Channel Merit is something others noted, which he completely attributes to his awakening beliefs. "Touched by the Other to be a gate of some kind".
Similarly with his heightened sensitivity to supernatural phenomenons (Awareness 5) - "it is the taint of the Abyss that lets me feel it all so keenly".

I think this is all. Feel free to ask any question, or provide corrections.