In the middle of an open area, Ankh meets West and Circe for lunch. West wraps a sound barrier around the group of mages, to keep prying ears out of the conversation; and the topic turns to Ankh’s past and what training she has managed in the past.
Ankh explains that she was ‘taught’ by a Silver Ladder while she was in San Francisco, but that she hadn’t chosen an order yet. Circe reveals that although she works along West, who is a member of the Adamantine Arrow, she is still an apostate, and that the choice is not one to be taken lightly.
The two give Ankh more information on the backgrounds of the orders Ankh doesn’t know, and their stereotypes.
- The Adamantine Arrow as a militant order who defend the others.
- The Guardians of the Veil as a type of secret and internal affair police that keep the sleeper population from knowing of Mages.
- The Mysterium as ‘librarians’, researches and artifact retrievers similar to Indiana Jones or Lara Croft.
They remind the girl that there is no need to make a choice on order quickly, and instead extend an invitation for her to join the Neidan, or at least share a sanctum with them. Ankh request the ability to bring her staff with her, and explains more of her past. West still extends the invitation, but with the warning of what they do on a regular basis in the sanctum.
Ankh agrees to go with them, for the sake of safety and being around others like her[1].
