New Orleans is a colorful city, to say the least. In a country known colloquially as ‘the melting pot’, New Orleans is where a few undissolved clumps of spice are still floating around. Home to parties, voodoos, and mysteries, there’s a lot more to New Orleans than just Mardi Gras.
History
New Orleans was originally colonized by the French, and that influence has never really left the area. Even before it was a part of the United States, New Orleans played a vitally important role in shaping the young nation. As one of the largest ports in the Gulf, whoever controlled New Orleans controlled the Mississippi River. The city was controlled by Spain for a while, but eventually ended up back in French hands. Even when Napoleon sold the city to the United States in 1803, New Orleans was still a center of conflict. Andrew Jackson made his career as a general defending New Orleans from the British in 1815—unaware that the war he was fighting had ended by treaty months before.
Naturally, a city of such strategic importance wasn’t ignored by the Awakened. There were as many Awakened factions in New Orleans as there were Sleeper cultures, if not more. American mages were torn between their connections to the Diamond Orders established in Europe and their Sleeper political affiliations. Slaves brought their own beliefs and magical practices with them to the city, though few Awakened would consent to stay a slave to Sleepers for long. Mages from all across Europe came to the city for trade, and a few of them ended up staying. And, behind it all, the Native American mages whose people had lived on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain for decades remained, even if their people had been removed from power.
It was in the nineteenth century that New Orleans truly became a great city. It more than doubled in size, and became a hotbed for all sorts of intrigue—both Sleeper and Awakened. The Diamond Orders, struggling to define themselves in America, had a large presence in the city. Though the Seers of the Throne were present in the city as well, they were never the largest threat to Diamond mages in New Orleans. That dubious honor went to the Scelesti.
Throughout the early nineteenth century, several Scelesti cults formed. Some theorize that they began among superstitions brought with Haitian slaves, worshipping ‘loa’ that were actually Abyssal entities. Others believe that the few Native Americans who remained in the area had meddled with dark powers out in the bayou, seeking their vengeance. A few even place the blame on a French cabal that arrived in the early 1800’s fleeing the Napoleonic Wars. Regardless, Scelsti became more secretive, more powerful, and more dangerous—none more so than the Children of Samedi. The advent of the Civil War brought on a great deal of political machinations. The Silver Ladder, who were the dominant Order in the decades leading up to the War, were greatly enmeshed in US politics and were combatting the Seers both in Congress and back alley fights. The Diamond as a whole viewed the conflict as the perfect chance to impose their wishes on a temporarily pliable country, and they—along with the Seers—set their sights too high. They got distracted.
They were easy prey.
It is unknown how the Children of Samedi infiltrated the Silver Ladder’s Cryptopoly to such an extent. The Guardians of the Veil were similarly caught off guard, and their Labryinth was thoroughly corrupted. It is believed that the Scelesti had built up a cult around themselves, convincing Sleepers to devote themselves as fanatically to their cause as they themselves were. Regardless, the strike was brutally efficient. Two weeks before war was declared, the Diamond Orders and Seers of the Throne were brought to their knees. Every cabal suffered casualties, and many were destroyed entirely. The Silver Ladder was almost completely wiped out, and what followed were several decades of guerilla warfare.
They were difficult times. The Scelesti spread like a disease, their cults weaving into the highest and lowest fabrics of society. Machinations put aside, there were even instances where the Seers and Diamond Orders were forced to cooperate with each other to ensure their own survival. Because of the lack of Diamond strength in the city, unaffiliated cabals were numerous by the time of the Nameless war at the turn of the century. Once the Great Refusal occurred, however, the tide in New Orleans shifted—what had once been a beleaguered Diamond was now a heavily bolstered (if predominantly Libertine) Pentacle. It was no longer reliant on the Seers of the Throne, and began launching aggressive counterattacks against all of its enemies.
The progression of the twentieth century saw the Scelesti forced into submission, though never completely eradicated. The Silver Ladder regained some of its old numbers, but never anything like its former glory. The Free Council, on the other hand, thrived in the liberal atmosphere of the city. The 1960’s in particular saw a surge in Free Council numbers. Even in the times of plenty, the Scelesti menace remained—the Guardians in particular remain vigilant, determined never to forget their failure in security.
Things reached an uneasy status quo in New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina—then, things got nasty. The suffering of that hurricane led to a great many spirits being displaced, or corrupted, and mages were quick to take advantage. Long respected borders were challenged, and new battle lines were drawn. The Adamantine Arrow prepared itself for war, though no one has yet dared to openly make the first strike. Though the city now rebuilds, the Awakened in New Orleans know that a greater disaster may still be to come.
Orders
The Silver Ladder: The Silver Ladder is a shell of its former self in New Orleans. Once great and powerful, it was crippled during the fighting with Scelesti. More than a century later it has recovered some of its numbers, but wields no great influence over the city. The Ladder currently exists as two or three reclusive cabals plus a few individual members scattered throughout the rest of the city. However, this may change soon, as the new Heirarch (an Obrimos named Arete) is a Thearch. True, she only managed to get elected because the two mages most qualified were uninterested in the position, but the post could still lead to greater things in the Ladder’s future.
The Adamantine Arrow: The Arrow is strong in New Orleans—if it weren’t, there would be no Pentacle left. It has been honed to a sharp point by decades of conflict with both Scelesti and Seers, and takes its job extremely seriously. Its numbers have been bolstered in the past few years ,and it likes to recruit young. An unfortunately large number of Arrows are college aged, and green—but they’ll learn soon. Or die. The current Leader of the Adamantine Arrow in New Orleans is a man who goes by Hellsing. He’s made quite a name for himself hunting cryptids around the world. He settled down in New Orleans because he wanted a challenging retirement.
The Mysterium: The Mysterium in New Orleans is fairly small and mostly keeps to itself. However, this does not mean it is insignificant. New Orleans is the home of a lot of occult knowledge—there is more truth behind some hoodoo rituals than most Sleepers would suspect. The Mysterium in New Orleans takes care of a very large Athenaeum, and one of their most important tasks throughout the decades has been keeping it safe from the conflict that rages throughout the city.
The Guardians of the Veil: The Guardians in New Orleans work closely with the Adamantine Arrow. While the Arrow tends to concern itself more with the Seers, the Guardians consider themselves to be a counterterror agency. More than a century later, they have not forgotten how their Labyrinth was infiltrated, and they are determined to return the favor. They have agents who go deep undercover in New Orleans’s occult community, attempting to get the drop on the next Scelesti cult before it forms. Some of these agents go so deep undercover that they willingly let their memories get overwritten with Mind magic—a risky propositions. They also are on the lookout for Banisher cells, not an unknown occurrence. The intelligence they gather is invaluable, but it leads to unhealthy amounts of paranoia. Their Labyrinth is mostly spread throughout the hoodoo community, keeping an eye on anyone who gets their hands on real power. However, they also have a fairly strong hand in many of the government agencies involved in rebuilding after Katrina.
The Free Council: The Free Council is the most populous Order in New Orleans. The carefree lifestyle this city is known for appeals greatly to Libertines—particularly since many mages have the resources to actually live such a lifestyle, unlike most Sleepers. For some Libertines, life in New Orleans is perpetual Mardi Gras…and you have not partied until you’ve seen a New Orleans Libertine Mardi Gras. However, some of the Free Councilor take their position and power a little more seriously. They set the city forward as an example of why the Pentacle is better for having the Free Council inside it—one cabal in particular takes an interest in politics. Going by the name the Infamous Pariahs, each member has taken the Shadow name of a famous traitor or outcast—Judas, Brutus, Benedict. They all take turns filling the role of Libertine Councilor to the Consilium, but they share an agenda.
Current Tensions
Life in New Orleans since Katrina has been interesting. The physical destruction alone has been immensely problematic for several cabals who lost Sanctums or other resources. In fact, several artifacts and tomes that went missing during the storm have yet to be found, though a few of them have turned up on the Free Council black market. The Diamond Orders are raising a fuss over the issue.
The emotional destruction was probably worse for the city, in the long run. Ley lines that flowed steadily for centuries were thrown off course, or were corrupted by fear, greed, and panic. Spirits were thrown into turmoil and ghosts were roused from their sleep—perhaps most significant is that Pap Croc, an enormous spirit that lives in the bayou outside of the city, has grown restless and is demanding greater and greater tribute from the mages of the city. He demands to be fed spirits, and the Pentacle isn’t sure what he’ll do if he isn’t fed—but they aren’t sure what he’ll become if he keeps eating, either.
What is potentially more alarming even than the restless spirits is the actions of the Scelesti. They have taken advantage of the confusion to gather their strength. No one is entirely sure what dark beings they worship, but they seem to be feeding off of the chaos. There have been no direct attacks yet, but the Guardians’ sources of information are disappearing. Clearly, preparations are being made for some sort of action.
The chaotic events of recent years have had another side effect—for the first time in New Orleans, Banishers are becoming a significant problem. One cell in particular, a group of individuals who awoke to terror and pain during the hurricane, has started striking out at isolated mages. The Pentacle is aware of the threat, but having difficulty sparing the resources to eliminate them.
Even with the abundance of external threats, the Pentacle is not fully united. The Silver Ladder is jealous of the Free Council’s power, and wishes to restore its former glory—sometimes even when scheming might weaken the overall Consilium. The Arrow is preparing itself for the coming conflicts, but has found that its allies in the Guardians of the Veil are not being forthcoming with their information. For some reason, the Guardians are withholding some of their intelligence—perhaps out of fear for the safety of their sources, but possibly for other reasons. The Mysterium is still withdrawn, but is beginning to make noise about items that have gone missing from its Athenaeum. They are pointing fingers, and others in the Consilium are taking offense at the accusations. Meanwhile, a cabal of mages following the Bokor legacy seek admittance to the Consilium, even though some of the more traditional mages want them to be considered Left Handed.
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