Magick
Reweaving Reality

Within the World of Darkness there are a number of people capable of making what they wish of the world around themselves. They reweave the threads of the tapestry within which we all exist, by the power of their wills. They call themselves Mages, and are just one part of the hidden, supernatural World of Darkness that also includes Vampires, Werewolves, Ghosts and Faeries.

Who Are Mages?

Even before the beginnings of human history there have been wonder-workers amongst us, tribal shaman, discoverers and explorers helping to make life safer and more comfortable. Prometheans bringing fire from the gods, shining like beacons in the darkness. They are Mages, their feats are Magick.

Humanity, as a whole, is unaware of the world within which they live. They live their lives as if asleep but Mages have awakened to the possibilities surrounding them. Each of us has within our deepest being an Avatar that, once Awakened, can tap into reality. Mages believe that, at some point, all humanity can awaken, and that it is the Mages' responsibility is to ensure that this "Ascension" occurs.

But, not all Mages see Ascension in the same way, some believe that individuals will find their own way there, others believe that the masses must be shepherded to Ascension. Some Mages believe that Ascension must be made to happen and others that Ascension will occur when the time is right. These differing views cause conflict between the factions within Mage society, and we are now fighting in the Ascension War.

Static Reality And Magick

Reality is like a large rubber sheet that has a reliable form, but it can be distorted if the right sort of pressure can be brought to bear and, in weak points, be broken through. These distortions eventually snap back, with lesser or greater repercussions to those responsible and their immediate surroundings.

Millennia ago, reality was patchy and loose, each small society was isolated from each other, with their own rules. As societies grew and met others their views of reality, or paradigms, clashed until one became dominant. The Age of Reason within which we now live has a global paradigm (or Consensus) that is highly restrictive. Some Mages are inheritors of paradigms pre-dating this static world view and their actions oppose consensual reality.

The power of the Consensus gives reality a strength and resilience to push back against those working Magick. Mages must be careful that their acts do not affect reality adversely, they use Coincidental Magick that appears to be part of static reality. But on occasion Magick is Vulgar, an affront to which static reality reacts with Paradox, punishing the Mage responsible. The strength of the consensus is such that even in the absence of any mundane witnesses such Vulgar magick still reaps paradox.

Mage Factions

There are several groups involved in the Ascension War, the Technocracy, the Traditions, the Marauders and the Nephandi.

In addition there are others, many of whom have either never been involved with or have withdrawn from the Ascension War.

The Spheres of Magick

Just as the belief structure of the massed sleepers builds static reality, the paradigms of Mages influence the way they view Magick. Mages performs their arts by knowing and understanding both what they want to achieve and how to achieve it. Over many hundreds of years this has become codified within the concepts of the Spheres of Magick. Different groups of Mage may use different terminology, but they all recognise what the others mean when they refer to a specific Sphere.

This information has been distilled from Mage: The Ascension, published by White Wolf.

Introduction - Biography - Magick - Sons Of Ether - Traditions - Technocracy
Speakeasy Chantry - The Guild of Creative Thought - External Information