What is through this portal is for none to see, unless you are the one.
In all times, there have been those whose task it was to watch over an object, a place or even a person, keeping it safe and apart from the outside world until the time is right for its return or the foretold bearer has come to claim it. The Lady of the Lake held Excalibur for King Arthur, and a bard is said to now watch over the king’s sleeping body until the time when England needs him. The musketeers once swore themselves to the safety of their king, and men once became eunuchs so that they could focus on the safety of their Egyptian masters to the exclusion of all else.
A person can realize that there is something more important than she, something that must be kept safe for a fate that may not be known but must be protected. When this occurs, when a person understands it in her essence, she can do nothing less than dedicate the entirety of her life to safeguarding that fate, ensuring that the required event takes place. Mages, privy as they are to the very threads that compose all creation, are better able to take this view than most mortals. With the ability to ascertain the ultimate fate of a person or object with little chance of error, they cannot be fooled by empty promises or false appearances. Only a true destiny — or one cleverly disguised — warrants the full devotion of a mage.
But even with this Awakened perspective, alerting the mages to the relative importance of different people, places and things, there are few mages willing to divorce themselves from their other desires and ambitions in order to spend their lives defending destiny. Mages have the power within them to forge their own destinies, and it is a difficult choice to completely suborn such an unwritten fate to the needs of the Fallen World. Those few mages who make that choice are the unsung heroes of Awakened society. They give up their freedom and choose to be forever at the whim of others’ destinies.
Votaries of the Ordained spend their lives moving from one person or object, which they call a “charge,” to another, safeguarding it and its destiny against supernatural disturbance. Some stewardships pass without incidence, and the Votary moves on to another charge once the first charge meets its fate. Many Votaries of the Ordained are less fortunate. Because the things and people they guard are those that will, at some point, have an important and significant impact on the world, it is not uncommon for others to seek out these charges and tamper with their destinies in an attempt to manipulate the future to their own benefit. To this end, a Votary of the Ordained practices the physical arts of self-defense as well as the magical arts necessary to ensure the safety of her charge.
Young Votaries of the Ordained tend, at the recommendation of their teachers, to set themselves watch over smaller fates. An heirloom ring destined to become the symbol of engagement for a couple who will perform great feats cannot be lost, else their fortune will dim. A bank vault will one day be used to safely contain a world-shaking secret, but only if the vault is not proven insecure. These are the destinies that moderately affect the future of the world but, if disturbed, can be repaired or replaced by an adept or master of the Fate Arcanum. More experienced Votaries of the Ordained, those who have mastered at least the second Attainment, take upon themselves the stewardship of greater destinies. Older Votaries of the Ordained sometimes watch over a single charge for decades.
Attainments
- Soldier of Fortune
- Doctoring Fate
- Fate Defends Itself
