The mage creates a shift of destiny,
effectively generating turns of good or
bad luck. These small manipulations
of fortune almost always take the form
of totally plausible situations, such as a
parched mage finding that last quarter
she needs on the sidewalk so she can
buy a drink, or a sudden, stiff crosswind
that turns a crack sniper’s fatal shot
into a serious wound. Big shifts, such as
finding $1000 at the convenience
store’s front door or a piano falling on
the sniper are simply too implausible
to easily happen at this level of mastery.
The mage simply requests some
small jolt in the desired direction and
allows destiny to make the decision as
to how it comes about, meaning the
mage should be on her toes, ready for
anything in the event that her requested
outcome happens in an
extremely unexpected manner.
A wish for “a new car,” for example,
yields one up, but the mage gets it
under circumstances that cause longterm
possession to be undesirable (the
car is stolen or haunted) or under which
long-term possession is unhelpful (the
car is faulty and quickly ends up collecting
dust in a garage).
These manipulations of destiny are
small, but they may be undertaken for
a wide variety of ends. Indeed, these
tweaks can grow into something bigger
and more meaningful if carefully
tended. Mr. Right Now could, in fact,
actually be Mr. Right provided the
mage actually puts in the time and
effort to bring such a relationship to
fruition. Alternately, the $200 a mage
hits on a scratch ticket might yield up
many times its own value if invested
wisely. This level of the Fate Arcanum
helps destiny along rather than creating
it, but it does give the mage the
opportunity to seize her own fortune or
to help make one for another.
Successive attempts to use this spell
for the same goal are considered vulgar.
Free Council Rote: The Butterfly Effect
There are those
who believe
that the flapping
of a butterfly’s
wings on one side
of the world can
create a hurricane on the
other side. While that notion
has never truly been proven, mages
of the Free Council nevertheless understand
the beautiful complexity of
the chain of causality that creates any
event, no matter how great or minor,
and capitalize upon that understanding
by means of this rote. Guardians of
the Veil are also known to favor this
magic, hounding the inquisitive away
from the Mysteries with a sudden turn
of bad (or sometimes good) luck.
