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1. #1Mage, Awakened, Witch, True Mage, Daedalean, Doloresselective

   Keys: Dolores, True Mage, Mage, Witch, Awakened, Daedalean

   Mages are one of the supernatural races. Every human being has a single spark of supernatural potential. Most people, known as Sleepers, don't know they have this, don't care and want to get on with their lives as if it didn't exist. Some people though, figure out what that spark is. That spark is very important, because sometimes that potential activates and the normal everyday, average mortal Awakens. It might mean magical enlightenment, the finding of the perfect bit of blotter acid, or the realization of a theory that had been bothering you for years. Mages are individuals with the power to warp reality, who know the power they possess and use it to the best of their ability. Order of Reason calls mages (their own) Daedaleans, others - Witches or Dolorés and brutally hunts them down.

2. #2Magic, Enlightened Art, Ars Praeclarusselective

   Keys: Ars Praeclarus, Magic, Enlightened Art

   Magic is the art and science of reworking reality through force of Awakened will and knowledge. Dynamic mages reshape reality itself and, manipulating the Nine Pillars of Creation, they are theoretically capable of anything. Unfortunately, as payment for their near-infinite capabilities, they're subject to Paradox, a punishment handed down from reality for working against its rules. Order of Reason calls it Enlightened Art or Ars Praeclarus. It is brilliant both in the sense of the bright light of the sun that illuminates everything, and in the sense that those who practice it are geniuses.

3. #3Sleeperselective

   Keys: Sleeper

   A Sleeper is a mortal who is not aware of magic in the world and their own inner power.

4. #4Ascensionselective

   Keys: Ascension

   Ascension is the process by which a Mage achieves ultimate power over reality, transcending the bounds of their earthly limits.

5. #5Scourgeselective

   Keys: Scourge

   Some believe that Scourge whipping is from God, and is a punishment for presuming to alter Creation; others see it as the snapping of mystick threads, or the whims of angry Pagan gods. A magician's deeds come back to help or haunt him. This is one of the costs of magick: to feel the kiss of Hell and the wrath of Heaven. Magick itself is neutral, but it is shaped by human intentions. Those intentions - good or ill - dog the magus and his Arts. Hence, the consequences of ill fortune bear the mage's own seal on them. That which you do will come back to you. The only uncertainties are timing and form.

6. #6Paradigmselective

   Keys: Paradigm

   A paradigm is the way in which a mage understands magic and incorporates it into their broader interpretation of reality. While all mages are willworkers, bringing about effects by imposing their will on the Tapestry, it is hubris to imagine that an Awakened mage may simply think of something and have it occur. The power of the Consensus must be overcome, and one mage's mind is rarely enough to break the rules of modern belief. Instead, each mage comes to an understanding of magic through the rituals and trappings of a particular style of magic, which focuses their will and resonates through the Tapestry, tapping into beliefs still held by a significant proportion of Sleepers.

7. #7Umbraselective

   Keys: Umbra

   The Umbra is a realm existing alongside and yet separate from the material world.

8. #8Sphere, Artsselective

   Keys: Sphere, Arts

   A Sphere is a well-rounded knowledge of nine different yet interrelated elements of reality, Earthly metaphysics.

9. #9Correspondenceselective

   Keys: Correspondence

   Correspondence is one of nine Spheres of magic. Correspondence magic allows powers such as teleportation, seeing into distant areas, levitation, and flying. By bending space or bypassing it entirely, a mage can travel rapidly, fly or teleport from place to place. Divining locations allows the mage to see far-away places or direct magic over distances. Distance forms no barrier to a master of Correspondence. Indeed, distance and even space do not exist to the student of this Sphere.

10. #10Entropyselective

    Keys: Entropy

    Entropy is one of nine Spheres of magic. Entropy concerns itself mainly with the study of order, chaos, luck, and destiny. From this Sphere comes the study of order and randomness, and thus, the study of totally random creation and destruction. All things dissolve eventually into haphazard components, and similar events form from disjointed, unconnected patterns. Determinism and chaos are equal partners to the student. The mage can spot chance on the move, recognizing points where probability quirks in odd directions. An Entropy-schooled mage can manipulate random factors, observe and influence flaws within a system, induce or remove corruption, and otherwise exert their Will through the inexorable process of mortality

11. #11Forcesselective

    Keys: Forces

    Forces is one of nine Spheres of magic. Forces is the Sphere of energetic Patterns, among them heat, light, vibration, radiation and gravity. In effect, Forces are constructs of Quintessence in motion. Forces is prone to heavy Paradox, thanks to its universal and often blatant altering of reality.

12. #12Quintessenceselective

    Keys: Quintessence

    Quintessence is the raw material of reality. It is what flows through the patterns of reality and what makes magic possible. The primal force, quintessence can not truly be divided, measured, or contained.

13. #13Lifeselective

    Keys: Life

    Life is one of nine Spheres of magic. Life governs those Patterns that grow, evolve and eventually change. This Sphere embraces everything that has living cells within itself, even if that object is technically dead. Preserved blood and organs, still-living plants, live-culture cheese, and so forth contain Life, but corpses, cotton fibers, withered organs, or cut wood become Matter.

14. #14Matterselective

    Keys: Matter

    Matter is one of nine Spheres of magic. Matter is the Pattern Sphere that purviews all inorganic Patterns that hold Quintessence. Representing the base of the physical world, Matter governs the elements from the periodic table in all their physical conditions. You can transform matter into other matter, change the properties of matter or simply create matter from nothing.

15. #15Mindselective

    Keys: Mind

    Mind is one of nine Spheres of magic. Since human beings perceive reality through a complex interplay of consciousness, the Mind Sphere affects how a being sees the world around it. The Mind magician can use thought to communicate, control, and wipe away the inaccuracies and errors of human misjudgment for the peaceful serenity of total concentration. All thought is open to the mage: From the refined sensibilities of human philosophy to the feral instincts of animals. Any thinking process can be comprehended and manipulated with sufficient skill.

16. #16Primeselective

    Keys: Prime

    Prime is one of nine Spheres of magic. Prime is the Sphere of magic that governs the raw energy of reality - Quintessence. A mage who uses Prime can sense magic of other magi, use the power of the universe to create effects out of nothingness, and can store Quintessence past their Avatar background rating. With Prime, magi can create, destroy or reshape the universal energies. A mage can further enchant objects and living creatures with magical energy, fight back the effects of Paradox, use countermagic, and make the changes they exact on the world permanent.

17. #17Spiritselective

    Keys: Spirit

    Spirit is one of nine Spheres of magic. Spirit is the Sphere of the ephemeral stuff that is the building block of the three Umbrae, the realms between the pureness of unbridled Prime and the Patterned World of flesh. Spirit is a homogeneous whole, a sort of conceptual energy given a special form that can mirror or mimic the more mundane Patterns of elements. Spirit is also needed to communicate or suborn Spirits, the inhabitants of these strange realms. These entities are bound by strange rules and customs mage would do very well to learn, and they can be powerful allies or relentless foes.

18. #18Timeselective

    Keys: Time

    Time is one of nine Spheres of magic. Temporal magic. At low levels you can perceive time accurately, then you can do more interesting stuff like sensing the past and trying to sense the right future between all the possible futures, controlling the flow of time on targets. Time travel is possible for Masters but remains a dangerous and inexact field of study.

19. #19Daemonselective

    Keys: Daemon

    The Daemon is the portion of an individual's soul which is the source of an Awakened mage's ability to perform magic, and which grants the possibility of Ascension. Mages experience the Daemon as a separate personality which is connected to the mage's soul, and which drives the mage toward Ascension. It will often speak to the mage, usually as a "voice in the head", or via dreams.

20. #20Traditions, council, Council of Nine Mystic Traditionsselective

    Keys: council, Council of Nine Mystic Traditions, Traditions

    A Tradition is a group of mystically-oriented mages allied with the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions. That is, they believe in magic and understand that they manipulate magic to create desired effects. This contrasts with scientifically-oriented mages, who believe that they use Enlightened Science rather than magic, and this Science is manipulated to create desired effects. Each Tradition claims a seat on the Council of Nine, representing one of the Spheres of magic. That Sphere is that Tradition's specialty. It was established in 1466 CE.

21. #21Ahl-i-Batin, Batiniselective

    Keys: Ahl-i-Batin, Batini

    The Ahl-i-Batin, or Batini, are a group of Arabian mages that practices mainly magic with a strong focus on subtlety. They hold the Seat of Correspondence and are founding members of the Council of Nine. The Ahl-i-Batin were the first ones to postulate the existence of the Tenth Sphere, which they called Unity. The Doctrine of Unity has its ultimate basis in the absolute monotheism of the Ahl-i-Batin. This belief, of course, sees a public manifestation in Islam, which rejects even Christian Trinitarianism as incompatible with a belief in only one God.

22. #22Akashic Brotherhoodselective

    Keys: Akashic Brotherhood

    The Akashic Brotherhood is a Tradition of mages masters of mind, body, and spirit pursuing the arts of personal discipline. They believe that mind, body and spirit are all part of the larger whole of the person, just like at the same time that person is part of the whole of the universe. In other words, conflict, is an illusion, and the same can be said of identity and dispute, so when mind and body harmonize, the soul follow them. By honing their bodies, these mages make a temple for the mind that ultimately brings the comprehension of the spirit. The Brotherhood uses simple tools — exercise, meditation, practice and study — to refine the simple man into a brother of knowledge.

23. #23Euthanatoi, Euthanatosselective

    Keys: Euthanatoi, Euthanatos

    The Euthanatoi are a Tradition of mages intimately devoted to the forces of death, rebirth, destiny, and karma in the world. They represent a collection of thanatotic cultists, necromancers, priests of fate, assassins, scholars, gamblers and healers. Euthanatos mages embrace the role of death in the world as that which cleanses and makes way for future growth. Most believe in the reincarnation of souls, meaning death in one life is not to be feared and in fact may be crucial to one's spiritual development. Most controversially, many Euthanatos see it as their duty to push this cycle forward, removing sources of disease, corruption, and misery from the world in order to quicken the turn of the Wheel of Ages. This means judging when a person's moral degradation has grown too harmful to themselves or others to be allowed to continue, and when it is appropriate to deliver the Good Death.

24. #24Celestial Choirselective

    Keys: Celestial Choir

    The Celestial Choir is a Tradition of mages united by their efforts to touch the Divine as well as their belief in the One and Prime from which all things originate. Closely tied to the God of Abrahamic faiths (although its beliefs actually originate from the Ancient Egyptian monotheistic god Aten), the One represents the source of all Creation and all Creation is believed to be a part of the One. Humans in particular carry shards of the divine within them, though it is known by many names: the divine flame, the soul, the Avatar. It is this connection which the Chorus Celestial believes enables them to clearly hear the One's song and to shape Creation. While their faith is essentially monotheistic, it is accepted that the Divine has many facets and can be expressed through any number of names, religions, and creeds.

25. #25Dream-speakersselective

    Keys: Dream-speakers

    Dream-speakers are a Tradition of mages consisting of individuals who practice shamanism, communing with spirits as part of their magic and existing as intermediaries between the Mortal World and the Spirit World. The most important part of shamanic magic is placing oneself in the correct state of mind to be able to perceive and influence the boundary separating the Spirit and Material World. Just about anything that helps a mage reach this ecstatic state of consciousness can serve as a focus, including drugs, exercise, music and dance, or simple meditation.

26. #26Order of Hermesselective

    Keys: Order of Hermes

    The Order of Hermes is one of the pillars of the Traditions. Hermetic philosophy is complex and many-layered. At the heart, the Hermetics profess the drive to perfection. This drive manifests through trials, tests, self-discovery, and the rejoining of fragmented patterns like disparate languages or mathematical conundrums. The Order of Hermes is, without a doubt, the most hierarchical of the Traditions.

27. #27Seers of Chronosselective

    Keys: Seers of Chronos

    The Seers of Chronos were one of the founding Traditions of the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions. The central philosophical paradigm of the Seers is the Hindu philosophy known as Sahaja, which is a Sanskrit word meaning "[passionate] nature". The Seers of Chronos use drugs, sexual orgies, and ritual flagellation as their ritual tools, inducing trance-like states to do their magics. They also frequently employ divination aides such as tarot decks, bones, dice, crystal balls and pendulums.

28. #28Verbenaselective

    Keys: Verbena

    The Verbena is a Tradition of mages dedicated to preserving the ancient crafts and wisdom passed down over the ages by witches and warlocks, druids and druidesses, shamans, mystics, and priests and priestesses of the Old Gods. Regardless of their many differing faiths and customs, the Verbena share many principles in common. This includes a deep respect for the Earth and the natural order, a holistic view of people and the world as intrinsically intertwined, and the belief that power and understanding can be found by embracing life in all its passions and pains.

29. #29Solificatiselective

    Keys: Solificati

    The Solificati are a group of mages notable for being founding members of both the Order of Reason and the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions. Their time among both factions, combined, only amounts to 15 years. Magic is a symbol for self-refinement. While it bestows great powers, those trinkets are nothing compared to the spiritual process. Everything in Creation is part of the process (the stars, the minerals, the spirits, the beasts), and is a reflection of a cosmic truth; every item has a higher state. The world is organic, caked with baseness that, when smelted away, reveals Divinity. That smelting presents the greatest challenge; it requires wisdom, education, intuition and outer elements.

30. #30Maraudselective

    Keys: Maraud

    Maraud are insane mages whose Daemons have been warped by their mental instability. Within the bubble of alternate reality that surrounds them, their hallucinations and bizarre rules are real; objects and creatures that come into contact with the bubble are transformed to fit in with its rules. They return to normal once the Maraud moves on, without any evidence of what happened, though the effects of conscious magic remain. The external Quiet of a Maraud protects them from Paradox; their alternate reality supports their paradigm, so the vulgar magic they use does not violate the rules of that reality. That does not mean they do not attract Paradox, only that most of the backlash is deflected onto other Awakened beings outside the Maraud's bubble. Maraud are usually killed on spot.

31. #31Nephandi, Nephandusselective

    Keys: Nephandus, Nephandi

    The Nephandi, Nephandus as singular, are a sect of fallen mages. Evil agents of Entropy who worship either insane demons or creatures of the Abyss, they seek to cause not Ascension but Descent, encouraging humanity to give into the darkest excesses of their worst impulses and thus transform reality itself into a literal Hell, terraforming the universe as a whole into a place their dark masters can exist so that they may take possession of it. Becoming a Nephandus basically involves twisting up your soul badly enough to corrupt your Avatar. This has to be done willingly - a Mage cannot be forced into turning Nephandi, since the process almost always insta-kills unwilling Mages. There are Nephandi that are born with an Avatar from a former life, called Widderslainte. No reliable process to de-corrupt an inverted Avatar has ever been found the only way to prevent it from polluting others is to obliterate it completely.

32. #32Order of Reasonselective

    Keys: Order of Reason

    The Order of Reason, founded in 1325 CE, was a group dedicated to the protection of humanity from the depredations of the supernatural – specifically the Order of Hermes. Their main goal is to destroy supernatural creatures and bring magic to the masses in easy and accessible way - science.

33. #33Artificersselective

    Keys: Artificers

    The Artificers are one of the Conventions of the Order of Reason. They are tinkerers and mathematicians, working to create tangible constructs from their science that can be used by everyone. For the most part, Artificers disregard the usual ranks; respect is given for merit, not title. Within their various guilds, High Artisans recognize a bewildering array of degrees; in practical application, however, they divide their Convention into Apprentices, Artisans, Masters, Grand Artisans and Epitomes - titles granted by personal accomplishments.

34. #34Cabal of Pure Thought, Gabrielitesselective

    Keys: Cabal of Pure Thought, Gabrielites

    The Cabal of Pure Thought was a faction that helped founding the Order of Reason. Pious and devout, if not exactly tolerant, the Cabal saw themselves as adherents of the Archangel Gabriel to unite mankind under Christianity. The Gabrielites interpret the Avatar as a spark of God's Sacred Fire, an intense communion with the Lord that can only be severed by joining with the Adversary. Their magickal style was heavily centered around prayers and similar spiritual duties. The Cabal had a special enmity with the Choeur Céleste, whom they viewed as traitors before the One God by allying with pagans and heathens.

35. #35Celestial Mastersselective

    Keys: Celestial Masters

    Celestial Masters are one of the Conventions of the Order of Reason. They were astrologists and travelers with the dreams to find what lies beyond the heavens. To these magi, the sun, planets and stars are enigmatic hosts who reveal troubling truths. Examining the skies is only part of the plan; the Masters want to visit them — to walk in through God's gate and request a personal audience.

36. #36Craftmasonsselective

    Keys: Craftmasons

    The Craftmasons were the spiritual forerunners of the Order of Reason and later founding members of the organization. Originally a band of rogue Hermetics, they advocated the physical over the mystical, seeking to aid the Sleepers and mundanes that suffered under the rule of unjust wizards. Schooled in sacred geometry and esoteric lore, the Craftmasons understood the relationships between mathematics, the elements, Divinity, and the human soul. Their Arts, channeled through architecture and invention, take advantage of Shallowings and Nodes, focusing mystick power to auspicious locations.

37. #37High Guildselective

    Keys: High Guild

    The High Guild, also referred to as Grand Financiers, are one of the Conventions of the Order of Reason. Specialists in trade and monetary exchange, the High Guild works to increase the reach of the order. Trade is more than an exchange of goods — it is a communion between brothers. Through it, both sides are enriched. Granted, brothers fight occasionally, but that's to be expected. On a deeper level, wealth is a manifestation of the soul; trade grants brothers influence over one another, just as a True Name confers power. The more wealth you accumulate, the greater your power over others.

38. #38Hippocratic Circleselective

    Keys: Hippocratic Circle

    The Hippocratic Circle was one of the Conventions of the Order of Reason. Drawing on a tradition that stretched back to Ancient Greece, the Hippocratic Circle was focused on unraveling the mysteries of the human body. As a carpenter works in wood or a stonecutter in marble, the Cosian works in plants, flesh and blood. Divinity nestles within the natural world. What we cannot catalogue, we can create with secrets uncovered within God's puzzle, Our world is God incarnate — a miracle, not a prison. Founded in Pagan practices and ungodly research, the Hippocratic Arts delve into the patterns of life, decipher those patterns and turn them to greater ends. Herbs, potions, artificial limbs and surgical tools make up the Cosian's "kit." With such wonders, she can cure plagues, heal infections and create homunculi, living plains, wondrous creatures and longevity potions.

39. #39Void Seekersselective

    Keys: Void Seekers

    The Void Seekers were one of the Conventions of the Order of Reason. Charged with traveling the boundaries of the world, the Void Seekers were explorators first, seeking to find the still uncharted places within the world. Each new thing or place is a challenge set before man by God. Without those brave enough to dare the darkness, humanity would tremble at its hearth, too frightened to prosper, too poor to survive. They are the builders of the Empire of Man.

40. #40Ksirafaiselective

    Keys: Ksirafai

    Ksirafai are the secret convention of the Order of Reason. Officially, this group does not exist. The Ksirafai have no Guild Hall and do not appear on the rolls or documents of the Order. A "Convention" in the loosest sense, these Magi police the shadows, using infiltration, rumor, seduction and assassination to advance the agenda of Reason. Following the conventional "wisdom" of the time (which supposes that women are craftier and more manipulative than men) a fair number of Ksirafai are female. Well dressed and disguised, eloquent, versed in any number of languages, and learned in the arts and sciences, these spies infiltrate universities, churches and Covenants. Once in place, they watch, makes notes and spread Daedalean ideas. If necessary, they murder their targets with silent skill, then disappear before the bodies can be found, if they ever are.

41. #41Horizonselective

    Keys: Horizon

    The Horizon is the barrier that separates regions of the Umbra from one another.

42. #42Lions of Zionselective

    Keys: Lions of Zion

    The Lions of Zion (originally known as the Lavin Knesset Yisroel) are an ancient and venerable Craft that focuses on Kabbalah as a tool for using magic. Tightly bound to Judaism and Jewish communities, the Lions of Zion abstain from the Ascension War in order to focus on protecting their people.

43. #43Ars Cupiditaeselective

    Keys: Ars Cupiditae

    Ars Cupiditae or "The Art of Desire" is a blend of rhetoric, mind games, fitness, metaphysics and economic theory magic practiced by the Order of Reason.

44. #44Convention of the White Towerselective

    Keys: Convention of the White Tower

    The Convention of the White Tower was the meeting at which the Order of Reason was founded in 1325 CE.

45. #45Decadentiselective

    Keys: Decadenti

    The Decadenti are an infernal cult of Italian sophisticates who enact in Black Masses and demon summoning for fun. Most decadenti are artists, scholars or spoiled nobles; a few belong to the rising merchant classes, and occasionally acquire occult "treasures" from faraway lands. Rebelling against the hidebound Church and Crown, these wealthy hedonists offer large sums of money to anyone who can show them something they haven't already seen. Magickally, these Infernalists are a mixed bag. Few of them have real mystick power, although many can boast extravagant Investments or diabolical allies. The style of magick decadenti practice varies from coven to coven.

46. #46Scourgelingselective

    Keys: Scourgeling

    These spirits, the most obvious agents of the Scourge, are poetic justice incarnate. Some are clearly demonic; others seem to be angels. Some remain invisible to mortal eyes, while others seem as mortal as a milkmaid. All of them are beings of frightening power. The magus who crosses swords with a Scourgeling will be lucky if he lives to regret the act.

47. #47Inner Circleselective

    Keys: Inner Circle

    The Inner Circle is the ruling council of the Order of Reason. They meet every 15 years in the White Tower of Languedoc.

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