Nazareth Awakened - Chapter 02: Wives of Solomon

[GlassEye]

Harper, Thyrsus mage

[section]

Harper laughs at Chance's joke but looks at Faye. He's clearly got something on his mind.

"So," he begins. "If the Mysterium is concerned with magical research what special interest do the other parties have? The Silver Ladders, Guardians, and, uh, I don't think I heard the other one."

He noticeably accepts the idea of the four of them as a cabal without a second thought.

​

[/section]

 

[TillForPie]

"The Guardians of the Veil are the self-appointed," self-appointed is the same term she used last time she described the Guardians to Harper, "protectors of the Mysteries. The true nature of magic. If Mystagogues are libertarian, Guardians are liberal curtain-twitchers." She apparently couldn't resist including a snipe at the Guardians. "The Silver Ladder is the most political of the orders. They're after a strong centralized government, something a lot of mages aren't going to take lying down. You'd think they and the Guardians would get along, but of course the Guardians feel they should be free to act without Council oversight." She gives a rueful smirk and shakes her head.

"Last up is the Adamantine Arrow. They're the awakened military. They're supposed to be keeping us safe from..." Faye considers a moment. "Everything. But things are apparently calmer now than they were centuries ago, so they're the smallest of the Orders in Arizona. Most of them live up north near Flagstaff." Flagstaff is a small city about three times the size of Nazareth in northern Arizona - it's in one of the few places in the state that sees occasional snow. "They've got a compound up there."

"Those are the four Orders. The Diamond."

 

[Shayuri]

"Maybe we should found another one," Chance chuckles. "Then we can have a pentagram." She wiggles her fingers. "It's spookier, right? All occulty... The Order of Hermits, who just want to be left alone?"

She shrugs and stretches her arms, working some of the tension out of her shoulders.

"I won't lie, I'm pretty curious about how all this works. I mean, you're making it sound like there's a lot of wizards out there, with their own little world inside the world. How much...influence do magi have over 'sleeper' business?" She pronounces sleeper with a tone that clearly indicate the air-quotes, even though her hands don't make the gesture.

 

[Rubberneck]

Law leans against a bookshelf and soaks it all, somewhat pleased that his idea was actually a good one. Now he's learning about the magi "political parties" which he is also thrilled about. Not so much that he forgets that they are trying to encroach on his stomping grounds. A few of the parties sound interesting to him, however the group is so different how could they decide on a single one.

"So I'm guessing we have to pick a party to form a Cabal? How does that work exactly? We as a group are all different. Different interests, different talents. Do we all fall under the same one or can we keep up our diversities?"

 

[TillForPie]

"I won't lie, I'm pretty curious about how all this works. I mean, you're making it sound like there's a lot of wizards out there, with their own little world inside the world. How much...influence do magi have over 'sleeper' business?"

Faye shrugs. "I'm not really sure." She doesn't seem comfortable admitting that. Though apparently capable of joining the Mysterium, as a sleepwalker Faye still seems to only exist on the fringe of awakened society. "Penrose only interferes with sleeper business when he has to, but when he does there's little stopping him. The Council doesn't make it its business to protect the unawakened."

Law leans against a bookshelf and soaks it all, somewhat pleased that his idea was actually a good one. Now he's learning about the magi "political parties" which he is also thrilled about. Not so much that he forgets that they are trying to encroach on his stomping grounds. A few of the parties sound interesting to him, however the group is so different how could they decide on a single one.

"So I'm guessing we have to pick a party to form a Cabal? How does that work exactly? We as a group are all different. Different interests, different talents. Do we all fall under the same one or can we keep up our diversities?"

She shakes her head. "Nobody has to join an Order. It's common to join the Order of your mentor but it's not a requirement. It sounds like none of the members of the cabal approved for Nazareth are Diamond mages." Penrose and Faye had referred to them as Free Council a few minutes ago - perhaps that's the term for independent mages.

 

[Mosier]

Agnasci is very interested in this conversation, the first ever of its type. He holds a small flicker of resentment over the fact that Penrose didn't mention any of it until it was basically beating them over the head, but after a moment of consideration he can see Penrose's point of view. Penrose hated the politics of it, and probably thought he was 'protecting' them from this part of Awakening. What Penrose must not have realized is that politics is what Agnasci does best.

"So Penrose will introduce us as a cabal. If I understand this all correctly, it seems like there won't be a reasonable argument against us. They'll have to let us keep at least one of the hallows, and why not even more?"

He knows the comment wasn't particularly helpful, but there's not much else he feels like Faye can answer for him.

"Last night you mentioned something about a lesson," he says, changing the subject a bit over-eagerly. Anticipation is clearly written on his face. "Do you figure he cancelled it over that punk kid crashing the party?"

 

[Rubberneck]

"It's cool we are allowed to join an order if we want or not if we don't. I'm not going to lie. I figured they would demand some sort of servitude or something."

Once Agnasci brings up the lesson, Law waits for Faye's response.

 

[GlassEye]

Harper, Thyrsus mage

[section]

Harper snorts at Agnasci's comment.

"I wouldn't count on the wizards being reasonable. They're still human, after all." He doesn't say anything further as he is wondering about the lesson as well.

​

[/section]

 

[Shayuri]

"If we choose different 'orders' can we still...I don't know, hang out with each other?" Chance abruptly asks, giving voice to a gnawing little insecurity. "I mean, I want to meet new folks too and all, but I'm used to y'all...it'd be a real bummer to have to start all over again."

 

[Rubberneck]

Law shrugs is shoulders,

"I'm staying in Nazareth no matter what. So you're stuck with me."