Editing Tradition Politics (section)

==THE COUNCIL OF THE NINE==
Once, the Traditions had a dream of unity, in which all mages would work together to achieve Ascension and restore the Mythic Ages to humanity. At the pinnacle of this dream stood the Council of Nine, a collection of the wisest and most powerful mages of each Tradition who would oversee everyone’s efforts and provide a neutral ground for the exchange of ideas and settling of grievances. Sheltered in a Realm known simply as Horizon, the Council met for several centuries, weathering the worst times on Earth and encouraging the bursts of creativity and invention that kept magic alive as the Technocratic Union spread across the globe. As the Hermetics and their numerologists well know, nine is a number that represents the highest synthesis of power. 

Destiny can be cruel, however,for a combination of political infighting and a crippling invasion have recently brought the Council crashing down. Nothing has been heard from Horizon since the Avatar Storm began and the Gauntlet strengthened. Even many Masters on Earth disappeared or fled to seek refuge from a world that balked at their magical presence. 

As a result, the Traditions are left without much of their senior leadership, and the mages of Earth have begun adjusting to the reality of those changes. Some hotheads have responded by pointing fingers and laying blame, which has only increased the tension between Traditions. Other mages are searching desperately for some way of contacting the surviving Councilors. Many of those mages who remain have simply given up in disgust or despair, thinking that this is just one more sign that the Technocracy has finally triumphed after all. 

Many, but not all. 

A few dedicated souls still strive to keep the Council’sdream of unity alive. They work in ways large and small to foster fellowship and cooperation between the Traditions and to douse the divisive flames that threaten to consume what remains of the grand design. Theirs is perhaps the most difficult and least certain path of all those that lie before the Awakened, but those who follow it draw from a deep well of strength indeed. Sometimes it seems that they alone remember what the Traditions ultimately stand for: 

Hope.