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  1. #1
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    Corn, dressed in somber casual colors is heating up the gold Guru got in the Mysterium's workshop, while he waits for Crystal to arrive. A lukewarm cup of coffee getting colder by the minute is set on a nearby table.

    Athenaum. Any Mystagogue is welcome to show up too, if he or she wants.
    For scene effects, see Minisheet. No monthly rituals at this time.
    Occult 4 because Mysterium is about the knowledge!

  2. #2
    Crystal's Avatar
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    [2] Third Eye
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    3
    PRE

    Crystal showed up in a loose-fitting Dior ensemble consisting of blacks and whites. He really didn't know what to make of the Order at the moment - or rather: about his place in it. Or the other members'. He liked all of them well enough, but nobody seemed appropriately intense about everything. Well, except for Corn, but he kinda overdid it in some aspects lately.

    So why was Crystal here again? Maybe it was his sense of duty. Or something. The Mastigos regarded the Moros with a bright smile and walked over to a chair to slump down into. "Hey Corn, what's up?"
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  3. #3
    Corn's Avatar
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    Corn smiled. His smile was a bit forced and it showed. But he welcomed the distraction.
    failure


    "Hi Crystal! Cooking gold, thanks to Guru. It helps to purify it in order to perfect it easier. I would like to talk to you. Give me a moment..." Carefully letting the metalworking stove's flames go out and placing the gold in the proper ceramic container that would help the impurities go to the top, Corn pulled a chair and sit next to Crystal , not opposite.

    "So, Crystal. You have been officially and fully in the order for some months. Things are mostly peaceful for the consilium at the time. Seers have not shown up and aside of a few problems and noise the mage community is more or less as safe as it can be.
    So... I would like to help you find what project you would like to work on. I am not handing out homework, that's not how this Caucus operates. But I would like us to have a talk, run ideas and find out a subject that would probably motivate you enough to study it. Something that would, in your opinion, put the tiiiny pebble on the road to achieve's humanity's potential and break free from the chains forged after the Fall.
    Our order has, in my opinion, the most important role in the road to bring Humanity to its destiny: To find the way so the others would apply it.

    So, we will try to do our part.As a dadouchos of the Order, it is my job to help you find your way, find something you would like to do, that aligns with your interests whatever they may be.
    "

    Corn takes a sip from his coffee, finding out it is a bit cold.
    "So, Crystal, what do you like to do in your time? Meet people? We can think of project that ties with that. Cook? There is something for that too, I bet. And so on.
    As I said, this is not about giving you homework. I am a dadouchos, not a professor.
    "

    Perhaps it was too optimistic for him to think that he could find what motivates Crystal, when the man himself had trouble to find motivation, but Corn would try.
    For scene effects, see Minisheet. No monthly rituals at this time.
    Occult 4 because Mysterium is about the knowledge!

  4. #4
    Crystal's Avatar
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    Armor 0
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    Vulgar +/-0
    Active Spells: 1/4
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    [2] Third Eye
    [4R] Misperception

    +1
    SL
    3
    PRE

    Corn's forced smile was neither noticed nor mentioned. For better or worse, Crystal was oblivious to the Moros' private problems.

    But then the unpleasant part started. And although Corn stressed he wasn't here to be a professor, it really did feel like he was being tested or quizzed right now. Fuck, Corn started to sound like Crystal's old Mentor! The Warlock put on his best 'thinking-and-listening' face, working real hard to muster the esprit expected of him. "Gee, thank you." He could feel himself become cagey. He didn't want to make plans and talk about the future, he didn't want to answer to a dork checking in on his progress on something nobody cares about.

    But wasn't that just what all of this Magic Society bullshit boiled down to? He could fuck around until he fucks up and gets asked to leave to city nicely again or he could buckle up and actually contribute.
    Ugh.

    "Well, I guess-" he stopped, swallowed down a snarky remark and sighed. "Yeah, my strengths and interests are definitely with people." That was honest, but also pretty shallow and not very in line with the values of the Mysterium. Crystal scoffed, took a deep breath and soldiered on. "If I were to bolster the Order with my submissions.. maybe it could be in the form of social engineering? Proliferation and cultivation of knowledge or something?" Another huff of air, then he turned to face Corn completely. "Listen, sorry. I know I'm not exactly pulling my weight here but I got a lot going on at the moment and I'm not sure where to begin."
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  5. #5
    Corn's Avatar
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    Corn listened as Crystal talked and even held a knowing smile as Crystal mentioned he wasn't sure where he fit in.

    "This is not an evaluation, Neokore, it's too fellow scholars having a talk about what interests them. I have been where you have been. I guessed you didn't know where to begin, so I was hoping to help you find out where to begin. And if we are wrong? You will get bored, tell me you are bored and we can try again till we find it.

    Are you actually interested in social engineering, proliferation and cultivation of knowledge? We could certainly look on ways to disseminate information we want to spread, although knowledge has a price. The order as a whole is too good in storing and cataloguing knowledge. We are also good in producing knowledge or re-discovering lost fragments.
    " he said and pointed to the safe with the artifact they have retrieved. "We are not that good to spreading that knowledge. Turning that knowledge to wisdom or at least, something useful. If you think you can find ways to do either of those, by all means do that.

    You also mentioned Social Engineering. Interesting thought.
    To bring humanity through the Lie, we need to teach them how to find their way through it. What exactly do you mean by 'social engineering'? How do you envision it?

    And aside of things that I said and you replied 'Yeah, that sounds good to me', what does interest you? Forget projects and ascension for a moment. What kind of knowledge do you like and what do you think you could use? If you find that, we can find ways to go after it for the general good. It is not impossible to find something that serves the community and yourself, Crystal."

    Then Corn absentmindedly remembers his manners. "Coffee? No need to be on your guard, friend. This is not an ambush."
    For scene effects, see Minisheet. No monthly rituals at this time.
    Occult 4 because Mysterium is about the knowledge!

  6. #6
    Crystal's Avatar
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    Walls and the Floor become slightly tilted, there's a sickly sweet and sharp smell in the air. Faintly, the sound chains (and even fainter: the sound of leather) can be heard. More powerful spells make the sounds more pronounced and colors seem to pulsate.
    Active Stats

    Astral Dive II
    Health:
    Mana:
    WP:
    Armor 0
    Defense 2

    Vulgar +/-0
    Active Spells: 1/4
    Personal Spells: 1

    [2] Third Eye
    [4R] Misperception

    +1
    SL
    3
    PRE

    Something in that patient, fatherly way Corn was talking to him made Crystal get real defensive. That guy was younger than him, and this wasn't some after school special to learn about their passions or something.
    Then he realized that that was just him shying away from responsibility again. So he fought that impulse to tell Corn off and indulged the Moros.

    "I mean, it may be not too closely related to the Supernal mysteries, but I would really love for some bigoted shitheads to stop telling others whom they can't fuck or that what they are feeling is wrong." So in a way it was more a personal matter of equality and tolerance than it was about social engineering for Wisdom's sake. Which made it less relevant for Order-related business. "I just think that collectively we could do better. Especially us Awakened." He shrugged. Who fucking cared about politics of a long-dead civilization when everything else was going downhill fast. Which brought him back to another question he had: was this Order even still the correct choice for him?

    "Frankly, at the moment there is no big truth I am seeking, no area of knowledge I'm invested in right now." He frowned for a moment after saying this out loud. Fuck coffee, he could use a drink right now - was that a problem? "Nah thanks, I'm good on caffeine." With that out of the way he continued that rambling train of thought for which Corn has opened the doors. "It's not that I don't like learning, it's just that I see no use. Fallen sciences and principles are by definition flawed and the Supernal past is shrouded in seven fucking veils of hearsay, misinformation and jealously guarded secrets. Hypothesizing about the nature of Magic is a exercise in futility and brings up more questions that it answers." Frustration found its way back into Crystal's voice, but there was an authentic quality to it at least.
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  8. #7
    Corn's Avatar
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    Corn had no issues with Crystal trying to make the world a better place. "I have seen bigotry in the Order, and so had my mentor, a black woman much older than me. I can't tell you how it was back in Atlantis but I suspect that bigotry has always been part of human society. In my opinion, and even in the opinion of most of the bigots you talk about, bigotry and ad-hoc social divisions help sustain the Lie. In a way, the Seers of the Throne, are bigots - mage supremacists. And they are not the only ones. When you can do what we can, you tend to look down on those that can't.
    So, yes, I think trying to make the mage society more accepting and the sleeper society more accepting is a worthy goal.
    "


    Then Crystal went on a rant about the lack of use of knowledge and Corn frowned. That was certainly not good for a mystagogue.
    "I respectfully disagree with that ... pessimistic view, Crystal.
    This is my opinion: For all their flaws, fallen sciences and principles brought us marvels that even magic has difficulty to emulate. I would need to be disciple of forces and apprentice of space, with strong sympathetic connections to you, in order to locate you and send you an image of a juicy hamburger I am about to eat. Or, I could take a pic of it with my phone and text it to you.
    One of the purposes of our order is to break the shroud of misinformation and hearsay... so we can guard the secrets of the Supernal from those that would misuse that knowledge. Not everyone likes that. But we do have a library about the Celestial bodies and the Aether that cuts through a lot of the bullshit you are talking about. Hypothesizing about the nature of magic brings up more question than answers but we are storing the answers, cataloguing them and examining them so we progress down the road. I personally believe that more questions is a good thing as long as we do get some answers.
    "

    Corn takes another sip of his coffee, thinking. This was not good. Crystal was conflicted.
    "But we can table the discussion about the uses and purpose of knowledge for another time. You say you would like the awakened society to be less bigoted and more openminded.
    Do you have an idea of how to achieve that goal? That worthy goal?

    There have been others in the past that thought like you do. They have probably catalogued their efforts, what worked and what didn't. I could give a call or two to Mystagogues that have faced bigotry so they can give you pointers towards the right directions. Don't think of it as "researching knowledge" but more like "looking for advice" even if that advice is in the form of a 17th century Mystagogue's writings about his efforts to convince colonists to not mistreat the natives.
    Would you like to look at that? Afterwards, when you have something more concrete on approaches that worked and didn't work, we could form a plan on how to act. Or, we could then reach out to certain members of the Free Council so that they could help with that plan.
    And it is not futile effort that will hit a wall. I know that our relationship with certain Libertines is not the best but frankly, there are waaay worse mages out there than Puck and he is not the only person in the Free Council.


    Would you like to give this a look? Every journey requires the first step. It is not a problem for me to make a couple of phonecalls in the next days to help you on that path.

    Or, if you don't like my suggestion, we could think of something else, or you can continue doing what you do. There is no deadline.
    "
    For scene effects, see Minisheet. No monthly rituals at this time.
    Occult 4 because Mysterium is about the knowledge!

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  10. #8
    Crystal's Avatar
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    Walls and the Floor become slightly tilted, there's a sickly sweet and sharp smell in the air. Faintly, the sound chains (and even fainter: the sound of leather) can be heard. More powerful spells make the sounds more pronounced and colors seem to pulsate.
    Active Stats

    Astral Dive II
    Health:
    Mana:
    WP:
    Armor 0
    Defense 2

    Vulgar +/-0
    Active Spells: 1/4
    Personal Spells: 1

    [2] Third Eye
    [4R] Misperception

    +1
    SL
    3
    PRE

    Crystal wasn't buying it - it felt too educational. "It's a worthy goal, but is it a goal the Mysterium is striving for? I know that you're not exactly the most traditional guy around and I really appreciate that about you, but-" But what? What was his point, why was he arguing to his own detriment? "Nevermind. I appreciate it."

    He listened to the Moros' lecture attentively. Frankly, he was kind of getting into it. "Well sure, but those sciences are operating under Fallen principles. They work that way because of what has happened in the past and every natural law and science is regarded as part of the Lie. Are we looking for a truth that is no longer true? Are we looking for ways to adapt and apply the Lie to bring it in line with what we think we know about the past? Sure I can learn about those things, but it'd be like learning the mechanics of a game - useful to win that game but just a bunch of made-up rules. By acknowledging or prioritizing Fallen truths aren't we stepping away from learning about the Mysteries?" There was genuine interest in Crystal's voice. He didn't want to be right, he wanted to get his perception of the Order put straight.

    When Corn asked him how he wanted to achieve his goal the Mastigos fell silent for a while. Using Magic to get his way got him into hot water in San Francisco and judging by the last Consilium he doubted that he would garner much sympathy here if he tried the easy way. "I have no idea. I don't think I'll have to elaborate on why 'trying to change Sleeper's minds with Magic' is a no-no, so that'll put that endeavour even more into 'Sleeper-politics' territory. And I doubt that history has answers that were all that great. Society has been evolving constantly and while some views might have appeared progressive back then they were still a product of their time, maybe just good enough to act as a cautionary tale. What I'm saying is that my interests lie not in the past, but in the present and unfortunately in an area that has little to do with the Supernal." He held up his hands in defense and quickly went on. "I'm not trying to talk my way out of it - and I realize that there are Mystagogues that take more interest in Sleeper-business - but I'm just saying that my passions don't seem to line up that well with the Order."

    One thing he was certain about? He didn't want Corn to jumpstart anything with 'a few phone calls'. "Thank you for the offer, but that won't be necessary. I will have to think more about all of this." Or, through some miracle, find a more Mage-appropriate thing to take interest in.
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  11. #9
    Corn's Avatar
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    Ah, I see one of the issues.
    " Crystal , you are making a mistake many people do. The Order is not one thing nor of one belief. Take what you said about science for example. There is a group of Mystagogues that abhor 'playing by the make-belief rules of the game' as you put it. They despise science and turn their backs on technology; actively oppose it. They are... not my favorites. And many Mystagogues hold the same views as I do.
    I will simply say that until the Ladder or the FC find a way to repair the damage we have done to the world, those make-believe rules will be 'enforced' by the belief of 7 billion sleepers and if you push too hard against those rules... you know what happens. We are part of this fallen world, trapped here by the hubris of mages looong ago.

    If you try to use magic to mass brainwash people yes many of us will stand against you, even if you believe that you bring the right views. So, I was not suggesting that actually. I was indeed suggesting 'Sleeper Politics', but with an Awakened approach. You are a mage Crystal. You are one of the few that know that the rules are make-believe rules. You know that there are things out there that don't play by these rules.
    What I mean is that without resorting to magic, you can see the Lie and you can see the sickness of the sleeper society. When you hear a priest going all fire and brimstone about homosexuals, when you hear a local firebrand politician rallying some group against another or incite violence, you are aware that those words may not be their own. Even if the messenger is not empowered by the supernatural, the message can very often be traced back to it. The Exarchs thrive in strife. Keeps society occupied and the Sleepers busy fighting one another. The Seers have whole groups doing that.

    So, to return to your question: Look at Sleeper Society's problems through the lens of a pentacle mage. In the societal engineering you plan to do, covertly, leading by example, talking to the right people at the right time or funneling money to the right activists, try to think a few steps ahead. How your efforts would not just help society get better, but how they would help society grow and move towards their destiny. How to unravel the deception, lies and machinations of the Seers of the Throne or even of powerhungry pentacle mages led astray.

    As for the cautionary tales? It was a great victory for humanity to move as far ahead as we did in the past decades. Racism, divisiveness, polarization remain but they are not as strong as they were 100 years ago. The progress you see, Awakened cannot take complete credit for it, but we did our part. And I know that from a mage that did her part.
    It is not just cautionary tales, Crystal. For all the effort of the Seers and the Banishers we are still here and humanity is still progressing. I am thoroughly convinced that the power of the human spirit, that keeps opening its eyes to the oracles beyond the Abyss, the Abyss! will not be defeated. We will win eventually.

    You said your passions don't align well with the Order. I believe you are wrong since the Order is very diverse. Non-magic help to make society better in the present is something that aligns with the Order. We don't value knowledge just for being knowledge. We like to apply it too.
    But enough about history and the sects of the Order.

    What are your passions? What do you like to do in your time, Crystal, even if it is not tied to the Mysteries? "
    For scene effects, see Minisheet. No monthly rituals at this time.
    Occult 4 because Mysterium is about the knowledge!

  12. #10
    Crystal's Avatar
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    Walls and the Floor become slightly tilted, there's a sickly sweet and sharp smell in the air. Faintly, the sound chains (and even fainter: the sound of leather) can be heard. More powerful spells make the sounds more pronounced and colors seem to pulsate.
    Active Stats

    Astral Dive II
    Health:
    Mana:
    WP:
    Armor 0
    Defense 2

    Vulgar +/-0
    Active Spells: 1/4
    Personal Spells: 1

    [2] Third Eye
    [4R] Misperception

    +1
    SL
    3
    PRE

    Crystal listened to Corn's rebuttal with a mask of neutrality. Shit, was the Moros really about to talk him into something here? But on the other hand, what was Corn suggesting, really? 'Open your eyes and work against people that think differently from you'? But he wasn't to use his Magic practically.. so it was more of a catch 22. Still, he indulged the Daduche. "I guess I could do that. Try to inform people, try to steer them a certain way." He wasn't fully sold on the idea, but it wasn't like it would cost him much.

    He thought that attributing all the vile notions of humankind to Seers or Banishers was probably a practice in Hubris, but he kept that to himself for now. "That's a nice sentiment you've got there. I'll try to keep that in mind."

    failure


    And for all he knew Corn was really that optimistic about all things. Must be nice, with his Sleeper life and the marital bliss he has been rocking. "Well, if you think that I'm an asset for the order perusing this.. I'll try. As I've said: my passions lie with connecting with people and all that." That certainly sounded better than getting high and fucking around. Prior allusions to those topics led Crystal to believe that Corn wasn't all that open to this lifestyle. "So you say there is no deadline - what is your goal here? What do you want to get out of this?"
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