That is not to say that the Church does not use magic - they have Relics and Sacraments. These are not the same as the Mystic Codes and Magic Crests of Magus - instead they are expressions of Faith. These miracles manifest through an unknowable agency which has undeniable expression in the power of the Church. These enable the Executors of the Church to fight on an equal or even superior level than most Magus. They have no interest in magical research but they have no need to research - the faith of humanity continues to produce Sacraments and Relics. Most of their time is spent fighting rogue Magus, disowned by the Mage’s Association, or Demons - beings born of humanity’s sins.
The previous truce between the Church and the Mage's Association has recently been broken, leading to open war between the two due to a rogue Atlas Magus leading an army to Rome to stop the election of the new Pope. The resulting split in the Church means that there are two Popes - one based in Rome, the other in Avignon. The majority of the Church’s mundane followers have followed the Pope in Rome. Magus have generally allied with the Church in Avignon. Significant accusations have been made to the Church in Avignon claiming that they are involved in heresy and the worship of demons.
Structure of the Church
Church in Rome:
Pope Pius X:
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The Pope in Rome is the recently-elected Pope Pius X, who became Pope under controversial circumstances. The Conclave was incomplete and the election was barely completed as Rome was under attack of an army controlled by a rogue Magus. The cardinals were massacred, resulting in a complete replacement with a new set of the upper echelons of the Church. This has resulted in the split in the Church with a different Pope in Avignon, as well as a unprecedented amount of personal control by Pope Pius X over the remainder of the Church.
There are many rumours surrounding Pope Pius X. Some allege that the Atlas Institute has predicted that they will wipe out the majority of the Magus in the world or even most of humanity. Some, especially the Church in Avignon, claim that they are a Demon masquerading as a human. Some say that they were one of the Seven Sins, the elite Executors who are meant to be forbidden from interfering with the mundane running of the Church. Still others claim that they are a Magus, infiltrating the Church.
Two things are clear. Firstly, they have declared their absolute animosity against Magus. The current war declared against the Mage’s Association is the main expression of this but they are entirely uninterested in the services of Magus. Secondly, they possess powers of incredible strength and variety. All assassination attempts, and there have been many, have failed. So far.
The Curia:
The Pope does not rule Rome as a dictator - contrary to many perceptions, there is a complex network of senior officials, committees and bureaucrats - most of whom are also cardinals or italian nobles. It is a nightmarish, Byzantine web in which factional disputes are more important than the word of the Pope and even the most dominating political forces have stumbled against it. While much of the Curia is made up of cardinals, most of whom owe their position to Pope Pius X, there are legions of bureaucrats who impede, scheme and conspire against all progress.
The Pope has issued clear instructions that there is to be no engagement by the Church with Magus - only war. This instruction has only filtered through to the very highest levels of the Church - the Curia still has many thousands of minor exceptions and independent diocese who are not subject to that kind of command. If the Pope wanted to spend a decade sorting it out, they could potentially enforce conformity. Since they do not, there are many opportunities for Magus to join the lower ranks and avoid the purges of heretics. To join requires a relatively clean record, no incredible heresies, as well as someone in the Church in the Curia as a contact who can find one of the many loopholes for you. The only other organisation which cannot be tolerated by any of the Curia is the Church in Avignon - membership or even great favour there puts you beyond the pale.
The advantages of being a member of the Curia are especially strong at this time. They do not advertise the identities of Magus who choose to cooperate with them but they have the reach necessary to prevent all attacks against your atelier. Furthermore, they provide members with agents of the Church, tokens which can be used to sabotage the efforts of the summit to defeat the Church in Rome. Wrongdoing against the Church is, of course, frowned upon and will eventually result in expulsion with the associated directed attacks from the Church to lead the lost lamb back to the fold.
Charles Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell is a Magus living in Ireland who, unusually, is not a member of the Mage’s Association at all. He lives mostly in the sphere of mundane politics where he is a member of parliament for Ireland acting in opposition to the British Empire as well as their agents, Clocktower. He has recently established a new political party for doing this, the Home Rule League which he leads.
Normally he would have been taken care of by one of the Lords of Clocktower for this. However, Ireland is not under the control of the Mage’s Association. The Church in Rome has full military control of the island and he is untouchable until that situation changes. In the meantime he has positioned himself as a mediator between the two factions and is used by the Church to represent the “good Magus” - obedient to his masters in Rome and avoiding causing problems to them.
The Executors:
Executors are the military arm of the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament - the part of the Church in Rome which recognises that it is necessary to go against the designs of God to protect his creation. They are the antithesis of Magus in many ways - they have the ability to use artificial Magic Crests called Sacraments, but they are not passed down in families. Furthermore, they do not develop their abilities from generations at all, but are instead granted them through the action of Faith, a mysterious property of the World. As such they see no value in the efforts of Magus to change their world, research new things or push the boundaries of the possible - all of these things are heresies which need to be punished. The Executors bring the power necessary to do this.
Normally the Executors protect sacred sites, watch over the affairs of normal people and serve as a force in the shadows, waiting for action to be necessary. If a single Magus steps out of line too far, beyond what the Mage’s Association can control, they will destroy everything to protect humanity. With the emergence of the Church in Avignon and the breaking of ancient treaties by Clocktower, the Executors have a different path ahead of them. They have been gathered from around the world in a Crusade to enforce the Pope’s will on the world in several great armies. For the moment they are excluding any Magus from joining - other than condemned prisoners.
The rank and file of the Executors is formidable enough, overcoming all but the most powerful Magus. For exceptional situations, the Church reserves the force of the Seven Sins, wielders of Sacraments so powerful that their very existence profanes creation. There are rumours that both of the current Popes, in Rome and Avignon, stem from a split in this elite group.
Neutral:
The Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament is the product of the difficulty at the heart of the Church’s doctrine. If all of creation is the work of God, heresy must be the product of free will. This original sin must suffice as an explanation for the vast majority of their followers. The Church conceals the existence of magic, including creatures which are undoubtedly part of creation - demons, vampires and other entirely malevolent beings. As part of God’s creation to destroy them must be sin against God’s design. Therefore there is the Eighth Sacrament, the acceptance by the Church that they must use the methods of heretics to defeat them. Inside that Assembly truths can exist in Faith that would be otherwise condemned. It is, by their logic, the only way to protect believers against the forces of evil. Specialist sections inside the Assembly include the Executors and the Burial Agency.
The Assembly is a large and sprawling organisation with many members in otherwise innocuous churches. A given nunnery might have only one member of the Assembly in it, who will deal with matters which the other nuns would not be aware of, such as a demon imprisoned beneath their feet. Sometimes mundane believers perform rituals of great importance every day, especially orders with harsh requirements. This independence of position gives the Assembly independence from the main hierarchy of the church, in practice even if not in theory. As such, they have removed themselves from the day-to-day fighting of the Crusade and the dispute between Rome and Avignon. They welcome the assistance of all but the most reviled Magus and place few requirements on those who join, though other people may frown on public involvement with the Church.
The benefits of membership of the Assembly are mainly through helping them perform their common functions - the recovery of relics and the discovery of threats against the Faith. They will pay, in cash or prayers, for any Sacraments, Relics or Heresies which Magus discover. The Mage’s Association has reluctantly acknowledged that they are the best people to contain these objects due to the history of Magus attempting to use things that they do not understand. Membership of the Assembly can also be seen as an atonement, something which will show the world that a Magus is a godly person, with each service done for them making up for past sins. The rich, as always, have additional options for atonement and the purchase of Indulgences can mitigate all but the most mortal of sins. In this way the Assembly funds its operations. Expulsion from the Assembly is certain for Magus who abuse Sacraments or are discovered to be hoarding them away from the rightful hands of the Church. This is usually a terrible thing for the Magus concerned, as the Assembly holds many items capable of cursing a Magus and they do not hesitate to use them.
Church in Avignon:
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The Conclave in Rome was incomplete and many of the faithful were shaken by the immediate mass appointment of new Cardinals. There was a widespread discontent with the new Pope, seen by many congregations as failing to assist the poor and needy. They were not aware that the might of the Church was being turned towards a secret Crusade to cleanse the world of heretics. Over the next six months a movement of conclavists developed and met in Avignon - historically a seat of the Popes. With the presence of some of the surviving Cardinals who had not been present at the original Conclave there was announced to the world a new Pope of the Church in Avignon - Pope Leo XIII. There were also accusations of vile heresies and the worship of demons targeted at Pope Pius X, who rapidly retorted with the same in return.
The Conclave in Rome was incomplete and many of the faithful were shaken by the immediate mass appointment of new Cardinals. There was a widespread discontent with the new Pope, seen by many congregations as failing to assist the poor and needy. They were not aware that the might of the Church was being turned towards a secret Crusade to cleanse the world of heretics. Over the next six months a movement of conclavists developed and met in Avignon - historically a seat of the Popes. With the presence of some of the surviving Cardinals who had not been present at the original Conclave there was announced to the world a new Pope of the Church in Avignon - Pope Leo XIII. There were also accusations of vile heresies and the worship of demons targeted at Pope Pius X, who rapidly retorted with the same in return.
While the majority of the operations of the Church remain in the hands of the Church in Rome, Avignon is not without resources. Pope Leo XIII commands the loyalty of many who oppose the direction of the Church, including the Crusade against Magus and the mass appointment of new Cardinals. This includes the Burial Agency, that portion of the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament which deals with vampires. Furthermore he has shown great willingness to work with Magus against the Church in Rome which grants him no small measure of power. In fact, there is often an offer for Magus to take their atelier to Avignon and join them formally. The only requirements that they hold for this offer is that you do not hold great loyalty to the Church in Rome and that you discuss it with one of their agents, such as Lady Narbareck or Sir Raymond Trencaval.
The rewards for taking this offer are rumoured to be immense. Resources beyond a normal families dreams have been assembled in Avignon and the opportunities for research are significant. Still, few return from that place and the rumours surrounding the Church in Avignon have been rather darker than those around the Church in Rome. Nothing has been heard of anyone leaving the Church in Avignon. It is believed that nothing ever will be heard of anyone leaving the Church in Avignon.
Sir Raymond Trencaval
Sir Raymond Trencaval is an enigma amongst the members of the Church in Avignon. A Magus rather than a priest, he is nonetheless capable of wielding Sacraments. He prefers to use neither magic nor faith, trusting instead in the force of personal arms and the soldiers he commands. For a new general he has experience of battles which belies the date of his alleged entrance.
There are few records of anyone bearing his name in the history books. Some fragments suggest he may be descended from the Cathars, a heretical sect which was expunged from France by the Church in Rome centuries ago. They claimed to have mastered a method to become “Perfecti” - a person incapable of sin and suitable for guiding humanity here on earth. Alas, all records of their heresies were destroyed along with their lands.
The Burial Agency:
When the Church in Avignon was formed most of the Executors remained in the Church in Rome. The Burial Agency, on the other hand, objected strongly to the principle of their talents being used to combat Magus - out of all of the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament they have the strongest links to Clocktower and they even sometimes cooperate to put down Magus whose experimentation threatens the safety of the world. As such Lady Narbareck, their leader, felt it natural to join the Church in Avignon. Now free of most of the boundaries of their previous work, they report great success in putting down infestations of the living dead.
The Burial Agency is an immensely practical organisation, fitting to the needs to prevent outbreaks of swarms of vampires at a moment’s notice. The fact that Magus are generally responsible for these incidents does not prevent them from appreciating the work that the Mage’s Association normally does to keep them in hand. As such they welcome closer cooperation from individual Magus with a history of preventing problems, though they value Combat Strength above most other things. Magus looking to gain status with them will generally be from younger families with less family Power - generally the older a family is, the more likely that the Burial Agency has had to deal with them in the past.
The Burial Agency’s associations with the Church in Avignon have caused problems for its normal rewards for allies. However, under the leadership of Pope Leo XIII they have been permitted to take on additional tasks. Strong allies of the Burial Agency can call in their help from time to time, dealing with problems in their characteristic ‘burn it to the ground’ style. As for leaving the Burial Agency, they are happy to part in one of two ways. For Magus who decide to go another way, with a smile and thanks for the help. For Magus who join the ranks of the living dead, on the other hand, they are implacable enemies.
Lady Narbareck:
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A representative of the Church in Avignon, Lady Narbareck has been chafing at the restrictions placed on her for decades. A fanatic in the most general sense of the word, she maintains a faith strong enough to power Sacraments as well as a blindness to the consequences of her actions which used to benefit a loyal member of the Church. For many years the Church in Rome has considered her regrettably irreplaceable - the only individual capable of gathering and controlling the group of vampire slayers known as the Burial Agency.
A representative of the Church in Avignon, Lady Narbareck has been chafing at the restrictions placed on her for decades. A fanatic in the most general sense of the word, she maintains a faith strong enough to power Sacraments as well as a blindness to the consequences of her actions which used to benefit a loyal member of the Church. For many years the Church in Rome has considered her regrettably irreplaceable - the only individual capable of gathering and controlling the group of vampire slayers known as the Burial Agency.
That neglect festered into bitterness and when Pope Leo XIII offered her the same mission without restrictions she eagerly took up the cause. She has never had space for human regrets or emotions, something that vampires prey on constantly. The actions of the Church have never given her pause to consider her morals and even now, she only finds delight in the effectiveness of her work.
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