Tradition Politics

TRADITION POLITICS

Life is like high school, only with money.

-Frank Zappa

Many young mages assume that enlightenment will bring about tolerance, understanding and an end to the kind of petty politics that runs rampant in the mundane world. Unfortunately, such isn’t usually the case. Mages are as famous for their egos as their abilities, and feuds can last decades or even centuries as one group of mages tries to assert its dominance or its paradigm over another. Even within a Tradition, various cliques and factions vie for recognition and control of resources. Mages who don’t mind what they say or who they say it to can quickly find themselves outcasts.

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.

FACTIONS

As individualistic as many mages are, it’s no surprise that different camps and cliques within each Tradition have long struggled to establish their own interpretation of how to uphold the Tradition’s goals. What’s more, the modern age of division and isolation has opened many of these old wounds once again and created more than a few new schisms.

An Apprentice who follows one mentor may find himself snubbed by others of his Tradition, and he not have the slightest clue as to why until much later on in his training. Likewise, those who fail to espouse the “correct”doctrine may find themselves unable to gain access to Chantries, Nodes, mentors, libraries or other Tradition resources, depending on who controls these assets and how they feel about a character’s metaphysical viewpoint. Some Traditions are more lenient than others when it comes to tolerating members of other factions, but !, most mages have an opinion on the matter of factional alliance, even if they don’t choose to act on it. As some seasoned faction players say, choosing not to be on a team is really a team of its own, and no one gets to just sit on the sidelines.

Storytelling disputes between factions is perhaps the ultimate exploration of delicate alliances, double entendres and the well-timed snub. Since outright battle is strictly frowned upon by all Traditions (although it does still happen occasionally), and harsh penalties follow those who shed the blood of fellow Tradition members, mages of differing factions must wage their wars subtly and kill each other with a thousand tiny cuts. Since most Tradition members appear to embrace the same philosophies on the surface, the slightest difference in metaphysical phrasing can carry immense political and social consequences. A rejected invitation can become a declaration of war, and a remark that was meant as merely a passing comment can earn a character powerful allies... or lasting enemies. Turn the paranoia factor up, make the characters feel they must look into the motives of their fellow Tradition members at every turn, and make all contact with others of their kind seem significant