The nominal headquarters, the Tomb, has proven impossible to find reliably, based as it is in a mountain range which has a habit of appearing in curious places. Recently it has gone missing entirely, complete with an entire army of the Church... and the armies and vaults of most of the Magus in Estray. Estray is still in the throes of recovery from a plague which wiped out entire Families of Magus at once as well as being on the front lines of a war which shows no sign of ending anytime soon. The Sea of Estray is more splintered and divided than ever. The view that this makes them weak is naive - their strength has never been through unity.
Factions of Estray
Templars:
The Templars claim to be related to the original ‘Pauvre chevalier du Christ et du Temple de Salomon’ who swore oaths of poverty, chastity and obedience. From their account of history, several original families Magus were present at the original swearing and worked secretly with the Church of the time. It was only when the order was dissolved and accused of heresy that the Magus split off into the Sea of Estray. Ever since then they have continued to keep their own kind of faith, recruiting Magus to their ranks and seeking to reclaim many of the sites significant to the old order.
Joining the Templars is relatively rare - they prefer to do business through their network of businesses and investments. Their most visible venture at the moment is the Prague Market - a place where Magus can meet and engage in commerce of all kinds - for a small percentage of transactions. They enjoy sharing their profits with outsiders and many who have helped them will gain their help in turn. For those few who are interested in taking their oaths, they have no such benefit - they are sworn to poverty and do not permit their members to gain money from worldly sources. The benefits, on the other hand, are the ready availability of resources and an isolation from the monetary system. All expenditure is managed by Seneshal Harwey and kept on file as an interest-free loan. Further advancement internally leads to secrets available only to the initiated.
Leaving the Templars is extremely rare, given that worldly possessions are given away as part of joining. Any who do leave are left with nothing - other than an extraordinarily large loan. Which is due for repayment at an extortionate rate of interest.
Seneshal Harwey:
The internal structure of the Templars is a secret but certain matters are public knowledge. One such matter is Seneshal Harwey’s role in handling the financial matters of the Templars. He is the steward of the Prague Market and guarantees all transactions through an escrow system, reliant on his absolute trustworthiness. Many people have come off worse from making deals with him. On the other hand, none have ever claimed that he has gone against a contract.
Thule Society:
The Thule Society is one of the more ancient and powerful societies in the Sea of Estray, possessing what many believe to be the original Runic Scripts which originated that tradition of Magecraft in the Age of Gods. The mysteries that those scripts possess are kept for them alone, though virtually all users of Rune Thaumaturge have some link to them. They claim that these texts uncover mysteries about the origins of humanity, the nature of Alaya and that there is a path which mankind is destined to take. These, more esoteric matters, are vitally important to initiates into the Thule Society though each family, of course, pursues its own magical research.
Joining the Thule Society involves a thorough examination of your ancestry, ensuring that you are a righteous member of one of the five Subraces of the Aryan Root Race - their primary membership is of the Teutonic subrace. Interbreeding between the different races, as well as with those who have degenerated in their spirituality is forbidden. Materialistic families are expressly forbidden access to the Runic Scripts. They claim that, with the correct science of pure breeding, they will be able to reach the heights of magical achievement of the ancient Atlanteans. The benefits of this are clear - the Thule Society is one of the few societies which has effective arranged marriages between different families of Magus, maintaining a register of potential and Magic Circuits. The families of the Thule Society are large, interconnected and bound together by ties of marriage.
Leaving the Thule Society is exceedingly easy - associating too closely with any other race, especially through marriage, will result in immediate expulsion. With the close connections they encourage any ex-Thule Society member would find that many members of their family will stay behind, shunning the now-outsiders.
Mesmers:
Joining the Thule Society involves a thorough examination of your ancestry, ensuring that you are a righteous member of one of the five Subraces of the Aryan Root Race - their primary membership is of the Teutonic subrace. Interbreeding between the different races, as well as with those who have degenerated in their spirituality is forbidden. Materialistic families are expressly forbidden access to the Runic Scripts. They claim that, with the correct science of pure breeding, they will be able to reach the heights of magical achievement of the ancient Atlanteans. The benefits of this are clear - the Thule Society is one of the few societies which has effective arranged marriages between different families of Magus, maintaining a register of potential and Magic Circuits. The families of the Thule Society are large, interconnected and bound together by ties of marriage.
Leaving the Thule Society is exceedingly easy - associating too closely with any other race, especially through marriage, will result in immediate expulsion. With the close connections they encourage any ex-Thule Society member would find that many members of their family will stay behind, shunning the now-outsiders.
Mesmers:
Mesmers are a loose organisation, even within the Sea of Estray. The fundamental ideas come from their founder, Franz Mesmer, who visualised the forces of the mind and body as a form of magnetism - a flow which can be controlled. This unification of many different principles brought together many families in the Sea of Estray who used this ideo-dynamic principle - in other words, mind and body control. The Mesmers are therefore better understood as an organised truce between powers which risk mutually assured destruction - an understanding that they will not seek to dominate the minds of the entire world. They maintain a membership of the Councils of Estray as their influence, subtle and otherwise, cannot be overestimated.
Membership of the Mesmers is restricted to those whose powers are useful in controlling others. They are not interested in the weaker Magus but the family’s Magic Crest, as well as their Power, is a key factor in membership. There is no single list of Mesmers - membership is confidential and distributed amongst themselves. There is merely a growing recognition of a potential member until they ascend - a process which is mysterious to outsiders. The closest there has been to an explanation is the idea that, once the potential member reaches a true understanding of the flows of society, they become a Mesmer as part of this understanding. The benefits of this are more rumoured than confirmed - the Mesmers have no enemies. All opposition to them has been struck by infighting. Whatever control they have it is subtle but significant, extending to all known factions and possibly beyond.
Leaving the Mesmers, a secret society which is based on acknowledging power, is virtually nonsensical. The only method of leaving would be to break their unspoken truce or to lose the power which they respect. It is guaranteed that anyone doing so would retain no memories of what they had learned as an insider.
Prague Association:
Membership of the Mesmers is restricted to those whose powers are useful in controlling others. They are not interested in the weaker Magus but the family’s Magic Crest, as well as their Power, is a key factor in membership. There is no single list of Mesmers - membership is confidential and distributed amongst themselves. There is merely a growing recognition of a potential member until they ascend - a process which is mysterious to outsiders. The closest there has been to an explanation is the idea that, once the potential member reaches a true understanding of the flows of society, they become a Mesmer as part of this understanding. The benefits of this are more rumoured than confirmed - the Mesmers have no enemies. All opposition to them has been struck by infighting. Whatever control they have it is subtle but significant, extending to all known factions and possibly beyond.
Leaving the Mesmers, a secret society which is based on acknowledging power, is virtually nonsensical. The only method of leaving would be to break their unspoken truce or to lose the power which they respect. It is guaranteed that anyone doing so would retain no memories of what they had learned as an insider.
Prague Association:
If the Atlas Institute are considered the masters of revolutionary Alchemy, the Prague Association are the traditional practitioners of the art. Instead of the drastic modifications undergone by the Atlas Institute they maintain long family strands of alchemical traditions, each one cloaked in secrecy and code. There is no single method but there is a single code - the symbolism and meditations which they practice. They reject the undeniable results of Atlas in favour of a more comprehensive, spiritual and mental transformation to purify themselves. The Association then, is merely the term for the alchemists who follow this philosophy.
The practice of Alchemy is the only requirement for membership of the Prague Association though they reject all those who use the Atlas Institute’s techniques. They do not distinguish by skill, though their internal rankings are based on the purification of your own Magic Circuits, generally through repeated distillations of your own essence. With such a loose criteria for membership, the benefits are mostly also limited. Those who belong to them have a trade in research materials and the products of research, separate entirely from the Prague Market. This is unpredictable but generally results in objects equivalent in value to those offered up for trade.
Leaving the Prague Association is barely noticed by the membership. The only situation in which someone would be expelled is if they join the Atlas Institute and take up that rival comprehension of the self.
Philippe De Lyon:
The practice of Alchemy is the only requirement for membership of the Prague Association though they reject all those who use the Atlas Institute’s techniques. They do not distinguish by skill, though their internal rankings are based on the purification of your own Magic Circuits, generally through repeated distillations of your own essence. With such a loose criteria for membership, the benefits are mostly also limited. Those who belong to them have a trade in research materials and the products of research, separate entirely from the Prague Market. This is unpredictable but generally results in objects equivalent in value to those offered up for trade.
Leaving the Prague Association is barely noticed by the membership. The only situation in which someone would be expelled is if they join the Atlas Institute and take up that rival comprehension of the self.
Philippe De Lyon:
One of the most frequent visitors to Clocktower, Philippe de Lyon is theoretically a representative from the Prague Association. His alchemical studies are useful to those who engage his services and he has had a long career as a travelling healer, not involving himself in the struggles of larger factions and earning a good wage by curing the ills of those who are more involved in disputes. Many Magus throughout Europe owe their good health to his indiscriminate approach to saving lives.
This has led to him enjoying a position which is rare in the world of Magus. While nobody really favours him, everyone is willing to talk to him and, in turn, he is willing to talk to everyone. If anyone wants a message carried, odd jobs done or diplomacy conducted at a safe distance, he is always willing to do the job. For a significant finders fee, of course. What he does with all the money is unknown but, oddly, he is generally flat broke and keen for work.
Rosicrucians:
This has led to him enjoying a position which is rare in the world of Magus. While nobody really favours him, everyone is willing to talk to him and, in turn, he is willing to talk to everyone. If anyone wants a message carried, odd jobs done or diplomacy conducted at a safe distance, he is always willing to do the job. For a significant finders fee, of course. What he does with all the money is unknown but, oddly, he is generally flat broke and keen for work.
Rosicrucians:
The Church has long maintained connections to the world of Magus. In the Sea of Estray then this has long taken the form of the Rosicrucians, a discussion group which maintains an internal hierarchy with analogues to the Church. Their ceremonies allow them, amongst all other Magus, to maintain the use of Sacraments - holy relics and other artefacts of the Church. Despite this there remains a significant tension between them and the Church. Their Bishops and Priests are not recognised as being in communion with the Church and their hoarding of Relics has caused problems on many occasions. They also face significant suspicion from fellow Magus, as their leadership by the Patriarch is close to acknowledging the supremacy of the Pope over Magus.
Membership of the Rosicrucians is impossible for Magus who are opposed to the Church. Their devotions are to the catechism of the Church and any studies or actions which breach this are against their teachings. This is mitigated by two of their internal practices - Confession and Indulgences. Repentance for the past sinner and allowances for necessary actions are available. Through these the sin of Magus can be brought in line with the Church and they will be closer to God. This grounding of Faith is what permits them to maintain relations with the Church and the use of Sacraments
Leaving the Rosicrucians is not difficult. The consequences are that they will fall into a life of sin and misery. For some that would be a positive boost to their reputation but the Church will normally seek to eliminate the newly heretical Magus - while they might still be saved.
Membership of the Rosicrucians is impossible for Magus who are opposed to the Church. Their devotions are to the catechism of the Church and any studies or actions which breach this are against their teachings. This is mitigated by two of their internal practices - Confession and Indulgences. Repentance for the past sinner and allowances for necessary actions are available. Through these the sin of Magus can be brought in line with the Church and they will be closer to God. This grounding of Faith is what permits them to maintain relations with the Church and the use of Sacraments
Leaving the Rosicrucians is not difficult. The consequences are that they will fall into a life of sin and misery. For some that would be a positive boost to their reputation but the Church will normally seek to eliminate the newly heretical Magus - while they might still be saved.
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