For behold, we are the flesh made word.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was in the Supernal Realm, and the Word was the Supernal Realm. So say the Cryptologos, the Legacy of the “Hidden Word.” Words, language, are the first true magic, the power of the Awakened or conscious mind. Language allowed humanity to express and share thoughts, to communicate effectively, to survive and to build a civilization. Without it, humans are no better than cunning animals; with it, their potential is limitless.
While there have always been mystics interested in the intricacies of language, and the Cryptologos draw upon their traditions, the Legacy itself is fairly recent in origin. The Legacy’s roots are dug into the science of language, the modern development of linguistics and, later, concepts such as ur-languages, root language and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). Mages, just as mundane scientists, asked the questions: Where did language come from? How did it develop? How do we turn abstract and arbitrary sounds into meaning? Of course, the willworkers had something of an advantage in that they could study High Speech, what they believed was the true root of all human language.
Of course, the Cryptics were not so sanguine about the myths of Atlantis and the Fall of the Celestial Ladder. They believed High Speech was a kind of ur-language but not necessarily that it was proof of an ancient island nation of mage-kings who challenged the gods. Instead, most of the younger mystics who became the founders of the Legacy saw the Atlantis myth as just that, a metaphor, an interpretation of a time when language first developed and wielded power over not just our perception and definition of reality, but reality itself.
The “fall” for the Cryptologos is not a failed rebellion against Celestial forces, but a splintering of the true root language, High Speech, into diverse dialects and tongues, none with the true power of the First Language to encompass and define reality. High Speech became polluted and drifted, and so humanity fell asleep, because they could not longer truly communicate with the world around them or each other.
The rejection of the history and orthodoxy of the Atlantean traditions ensured the scholars of the Hidden Word were outcasts, called radicals or heretics. They continue to research and expand their theories on their own, and find like-minded willworkers as allies in the struggle against the ignorance and dogma of the Atlantean orders. The Hidden Word’s discoveries lent weight to their theories as the first Wordsmiths began shaping their souls to match their knowledge of High Speech and their voices were truly heard for the first time. Even masters of the old orders were impressed (and concerned) at the words of power rolling off the tongues of these rebellious new mages.
Although the Cryptologos learned that the Hidden Word was a source of power and influence, their true goal was always knowledge and understanding. They rejected the ways of the Diamond only because of their close-minded- ness. So when the Nameless War came to an end and the Seers of the Throne offered an alliance, eager for the secrets the Cryptics and others had discovered and forged in the fires of conflict, most of the members of the Legacy refused. They would not turn their wisdom to domination and control. Some lore of the Hidden Word found its way into the Seers’ hands, and it is something the mages of the Legacy don’t like to discuss to the present day.
In the Free Council, the Cryptologos found allies and supporters for their theories and an environment where they could pursue their studies, seeking to reconstruct the First Language and, in the decades since, they have continued: seeking out ancient ruins, looking for tablets, carvings, crumbling scrolls and ancient, preserved texts. They collect songs, poems and lore, sifting through them for hints about words in High Speech, and they design elaborate programs intended to compare root-words from hundreds of languages in hopes of rediscovering lost elements of the First Speech.
Although the Hidden Words rejected Atlantean orthodoxy at their founding, they have taken on a strongly mystical bent of their own, their quest for the truth of High Speech consuming them. Many Cryptics believe that reassembling the scattered True Language is the key to bridging the Abyss and healing the rift between the Supernal and Fallen Worlds. Indeed, the Cryptics see that rift as a gulf of ignorance, a manifestation of the sundering of language that occurred in the Fall of the Celestial Ladder. While many Cryptologos maintain a fairly detached and scientific view of their research, others are fanatical devotes of the Hidden Word, believing that the final keystone in their search is the True Name of Creation, which will bring about a new age when it is known and spoken once more.
Attainments
- Way with Words
- Universal Language
- The Hidden Word
