If anyone here runs, we all die. If you stand with me, we’re probably going to die anyway. But this way, we die well.
Humanity needs it's heroes. The people need their inspirational leaders. Ever since the very beginnings of civilization, there have been the warriors and the statesmen, the men and women of honor and bright inspiration. The Taming of wild, dangerous Fire is one of the very first things that humans did, arguably the point at which they became fully human, as they took on the power and responsibility of the flame.
The Tamers of Fire harness that primal energy. In their hearts, the Fire has the same power, the same wild abandon, the same need for responsibility and restraint. Fire, for these Champions, is the element of will, unstoppable and implacable, against which the only sane response is to stand down. Fire is the element of intuition, of in ovation, the fire that triggered the beginnings of human civilization. Fire is the element of leadership, the pillar of fire in the wilderness that leads the invading hordes into the Promised Land, to buy it with blood and steel. Fire is the element of trial, the burning, cleansing flame that refines and purifies in pain and heat, incinerating the dross and leaving the gold.
Fire is also the element of anger, of rage uncontrolled, that burns and destroys. Fire is the element of madness. Fire is the element of destruction. Fire is transient and temporary. One day, it is impossible to fight against; the next, it has burnt itself out.
In Taming the Fire, the Champions embody all of these aspects. In the process of soulcrafting, they grow to understand their element, to mold it and make it their tool. They become the fire, and through becoming the fire, take on the role of the hero. Their magic concentrates on the fire in every respect: on the uncanny manipulation of the physical flame, and in the inner fire of inspiration and courage.
The hero was a superhuman figure. He stood in the space between humans and god. The Tamers of Fire stand in that place. Through the act of soulcrafting, they become the fire. The Tamers believed that Fire was inspiration and rage and destruction and courage, that the abstract concept and the elemental force were the same thing. The mage is also these things — he just doesn’t know it yet. By taking the fire within himself, he becomes the fire. He becomes inspiration. His is the “hand that dare seize the fire,” because he is the fire.
In this age of Quiescence, others might think that the Tamers of Fire need to limit their exploits. They’re still heroes, but their magic needs to be smaller, the scope of their heroism smaller. But the fire that they have become won’t allow itself to be quenched. They defy the Quiescence. The fire rages against all limits. The fire will not be stopped until it is doused altogether. The Quiescence has the power to do that to the Champions’ magic, certainly, but fire will not back down. It can’t be reasoned with. It can’t be made to
change its mind.
Except that the Tamers know that it can. The fire is in everyone. They just don’t know it. A passionate speaker can sway the fire within a man’s heart. The same rhetorical techniques can, in the employ of a Tamer of Fire, sway the very fires themselves.
Some of these Champions aim for inspiration through excellence. Some excel in the field of sports. Others inspire through words, becoming crusading activists, defenders of rights, leaders in their field. Others still become heroes in their work: there are firefighters, police officers, paramedics and soldiers among the Tamers.
The days when a man or woman could transform the entire world and be remembered for millennia are long gone. But sometimes small triumphs are enough. It’s the way of the hero to blaze brightly and burn out. If the hero burns more dimly and flickers to nothing that much faster, what of it? In this world, any fire at all is enough.
Orders
- Many come from the Adamantine Arrow.
- the Silver Ladder has a need for heroes in these dark days.
- The Mysterium has its scholars, but there are always those who would raid ancient ruins and interpret ancient lore in new, brightly intuitive ways.
- Although the Free Council has less time for heroes stepping out of myth, this order has its own great men, and the Libertines find Champions whose fire is directed toward reform and the advancement of human rights attractive.
- The Tamers of Fire draw very few of their recruits from the Guardians of the Veil.
Attainments
- Touch the Fire
- Catch the Fire
- Become the Fire
