A mage’s Awakening can be terrifying, awe-inspiring or even joyous. Some mages look back on their Awakenings as nightmares, while others wish they could return to the Supernal Realm that they glimpsed oh-so-briefly, to unravel a riddle or vanquish a personal Questing Beast. Whatever a mage’s experiences during the Awakening, almost all mages agree: that was the day it all really began.
A Banisher might say, however, that the day she Awakened was the day it all really ended.
Exarchs
There’s scant evidence of a link between the Banishers and the Exarchs. The Seers of the Throne are especially talented at staying out of the Banishers’ line of fire. Seers have even directed witch hunters to Pentacle targets. This doesn’t prove anything more than the fact that the Seers of the Throne are especially skilled social manipulators. Nevertheless, Banishers are effective wardens of the Lie. Their hate for magic serves the Exarchs’ agenda so effectively that some believe that they made the existence of Banishers a supernatural law, woven into the structure of the Fallen World.
Abyss
Evidence for a link between Banishers and the Abyss is also hard to come by, but the fact that Banishers seem to multiply in the presence of Paradoxes and Abyssal incursions leads many to believe that Banishers’ twisted Awakenings are extensions of the Abyss. Perhaps they belong to some “anti-Watchtower” with an inherent antipathy for magic. There have been Banishers who’ve served the Lords from Beyond, too, though this may only show that witch hunters are as susceptible to temptation as other mages.
