#Watchers in the Dark | Janisarry!Jayden

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Mind

 is one of nine Spheres of magic in Mage: The Ascension. The Akashic Brotherhood have occupied the Seat of Mind in the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions since its founding. The Shard Realm of Mind maps physically to Neptune.

It is associated with Dynamism in the Metaphysical Trinity.

Overview:

Since human beings perceive reality through a complex interplay of consciousness, the Mind Sphere affects how a being sees the world around it. Such study leads to the investigation of thought, the existence of perfect forms, the idea of intelligence, and inquiry divorced from mere physical form.

The Mind magician can use thought to communicate, control, and wipe away the inaccuracies and errors of human misjudgment for the peaceful serenity of total concentration. All thought is open to the mage: From the refined sensibilities of human philosophy to the feral instincts of animals. Any thinking process can be comprehended and manipulated with sufficient skill.

Unlike the orderly Pattern Spheres, Mind magic tends to be a bit more "fuzzy" in its capabilities. An initiate can often perform tasks similar to what a more experienced mage could do, but not as well or with as much precision or variety. However, Mind constructs do seem to take on specific "thought objects." In some cases, a Mind magician can influence a particular concept just like a Pattern Sphere might be used to manipulate a material object.

To utilize the Archspheres of Mind, the mage has first to perfect the no-mind technique. Afterwards, they study the ephemeral Patterns of Mind and independent thought systems, by thinking and not-thinking at the same time.

Marks:

Mages with experience in Mind seem to be in a constant, meditative state. They tend to view the world with laser-focus intensity that penetrates illusions to reach their deeper truth. On occasion, they react to thought before they are actually spoken, reading reactions of people in a single glance or form intricately constructed chains of logic on a moment's notice.

Energies associated with Mind tend to be white or blue in color.

Limits:

While Mind is powerful, its effects never materialize in the physical world without the use of auxiliary Spheres. Offensive Mind effects (those that seek to influence or harm another's mind) base their difficulties on the target's Willpower Trait instead of the vulgar or coincidental spectrum. If the target is forced to do something against their nature, like committing suicide, the attempt becomes more difficult. Especially willful people might use their willpower later to resist the command.

For attacks against multiple targets, the difficulty for a Mind-based Effect depends upon the usual coincidental, vulgar, or vulgar with witnesses situations. Such Mind-based Effects are generally coincidental, although especially flamboyant feats might be vulgar instead.

Paradigmatic Interpretation:

Order of Hermes: The Order of Hermes call Mind the Ars Mentis, the sphere of pure intellectualization and reason. As a mirror of the Avatar, Mind reflects that self's intent, allowing the mage know himself, then through himself others and through multiple perspectives, the world. Using the mind as a way to cut away deception, Hermetics work with Mind to realize and conceive pure Truth.

Standard Powers:

[1 Dot]

Sense Thoughts and Emotions: Allows a mage to recognize thought and mood impulses around them.

Empower Self: Allows a mage to enhance their conscious abilities to improve mental skills.

Mind Shield: Allows a mage to build a shield around their mind, hiding their Aura.  [2 Dots]

Read Surface Thoughts: Allows a mage to skim the contents of another's mind.

Create Impressions: Allows a mage to read the memories that have been left behind on objects or places.

Mental Impulse: Send a brief mental impulse (i.e rage, regret) against a target.

Empathic Bond: Establish a short empathic link between two persons.  [3 Dots]

Mental Link: Establishes a link that allows the exchange of ideas or images between two persons.

Dreamwalk: Allows a mage to control their own mind during their sleep, allowing for lucid dreaming, the creation of a Demesne or even entrance into the Dreaming.

Project Illusions: Allows a mage to conjure mental images into a target.

Psychic Blast: Attacks a target's mind with painful thoughts.  [4 Dots]

Control Conscious Mind: Allows a mage to invade another's mind.

Alter Consciousness: Allows a mage to alter one's mind, changing memories and setting up posthypnotic suggestions and commands.

Astral Projection: Allows a mage to project their own mind away from their physical form into the penumbra of the Astral Reaches. [5 Dots]

Control Subconscious: Allows a mage to rewrite a subject's personality and beliefs totally.

Untether: Allows a mage to separate their mind from their body for an extended period of time, leaving their body behind.

Forge Psyche: Allows the mage to create an intelligence out of nowhere (Auxiliary Spheres are needed to anchor this intelligence somewhere).

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Correspondence

is one of nine Spheres of magic in Mage: The Ascension. The Ahl-i-Batin occupied the Seat of Correspondence in the original Council of Nine Mystic Traditions, but it is currently held by the Virtual Adepts. The Shard Realm of Correspondence maps physically to the planet Mercury.

It is associated with Dynamism in the Metaphysical Trinity.

Overview:

Correspondence magic allows powers such as teleportation, seeing into distant areas, levitation, and flying. At higher levels, the Mage may also co-locate themselves or even stack different spaces within each-other. Correspondence can be combined with almost any other sphere to create effects that span distances. Space, interrelationships and sympathetic links all become clear through the study of Correspondence. By bending space or bypassing it entirely, a mage can travel rapidly, fly or teleport from place to place. Divining locations allows the mage to see far-away places or direct magic over distances. With a link between a person and an object, Effects may be targeted through connecting rituals.

Distance forms no barrier to a master of Correspondence. Indeed, distance and even space do not exist to the student of this Sphere. Through the unifying Correspondence Point, mages realize that all things occupy the same space — or no space at all. Virtual Adepts, the most dedicated modern students of Correspondence, theorize that all things coexist in a single All-Space or Correspondence Point, and that bypassing space is simply a matter of realizing this unity. Mathematically, space is just an illusion, a convenient construct of the mind. Objects, people and places don’t really take up space, according to such theories. Instead, everything is just a Pattern, and space simply describes the relations of different Patterns to one another.

Mystically inclined mages see Correspondence through the theories of contagion and sympathy. Any two things that have touched share a little trace of that connection, which can be called on through Correspondence. Objects or places that are similar in Pattern can be manipulated through that similitude. Any sort of connection opens the door to the manipulation of Patterns. It’s always easier to work with the familiar than the strange, after all.

To utilize Arch-spheres, the Master of Correspondence has to figure out how to be in the same space as himself; the Correspondence Point lets Masters exist in many places simultaneously. Next, the mage must resolve the paradox of coexisting in space with himself as more than one simultaneous awareness of singular space.

Marks:

Mages who focus on Correspondence tend to develop a befuddled or faraway look, as if they aren't paying attention. This is because of the growing perspective, and usually, they are more aware of their surroundings than others realize. In contrast to the impression of distraction, their very motions seem to be precise and planned, thanks to their growing knowledge of distances.

Energies associated with Correspondence tend to be purple or silver in color.

Limits:

Despite its capacity to bend space and distance, Correspondence functions only on whole Patterns unless combined with the various Pattern Spheres. That is, it’s impossible to just teleport away someone’s heart with Correspondence alone. In essence, Correspondence does not affect Patterns directly; such manipulations must be done with other magic. Correspondence simply lets those Patterns be affected, whole and complete, in changes of space or distance. If the mage wants to use Pattern Spheres to affect something with Correspondence, they're limited by the Correspondence level (if it’s lower than the Pattern Sphere). Thus, a mage can teleport something with just Correspondence, but if they want to change its Pattern at a distance, their skill with Correspondence is as important as their skill with the other Sphere.

Paradigmatic Interpretation:

Order of Hermes: The Hermetics speak of Correspondence as the Ars Conjunctionis (sometimes properly formed as Ars Conligationis by pedantic masters). To them, it is the art of overcoming obstacles and transcending difficulty through enlightened Will. Correspondence guides the flow of magic between the four dimensions and the five senses, allowing a mage to expand his Will across Creation.

Standard Powers:

 [1 Dot]

Immediate Spatial Perceptions: Raises the mage's awareness of space to determine exact directions and distances, as well as distortions of the same. Allows locating things that the mage cannot perceive with their human senses.

 [2 Dots]

Sense, Touch, Thicken And Reach Through Space: Allows the mage to extend their senses beyond their current location. With adjacent Spheres of Life or Matter, they can draw small lifeforms or objects through space. Allows one to dampen spatial distortion that can be sensed on rank 1.

 [3 Dots]

Pierce Space: Allows a mage to penetrate the very fabric of space itself, opening small portals that allow travel via teleportation. With adjacent Spheres, the mage can teleport Patterns from a distance.

Seal Gate: Allows a mage to ward an area against Correspondence Effects and mundane attempts to enter.

Co-Locality Perception: Allows a mage to split their perceptions over various locations, allowing them to see multiple places simultaneously.

 [4 Dots]

Rend Space: Allows a mage to create permanent portals to any location within the Tellurian.

Co-locate Self: By causing their own Pattern to manifest in several perceived spaces, the mage can appear to exist in multiple places at once. Through the adjacent use of the Mind and Life Sphere, the appearance can interact and think just as the mage would.

Ward: The mage can isolate forces, spaces, objects, or people into their own tiny realms with the use of various auxiliary Spheres.

 [5 Dots]

Mutate Localities: Allows a mage to bend space according to their will, altering sizes and volumes, stretching distances and willfully manipulating any objects that appear in space.

Co-Locate Space: Allows a mage to merge chunks of space together, superimposing location on each other instead of creating a portal.

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Near Umbra

The Near Umbra collectively refers to the three Umbra and the Gauntlet. Though each infinite in scope, they are all contained "within" Earth: the boundary of the system is Earth's atmosphere.

Near Umbra layout

The Gauntlet

Main article: Gauntlet (WOD)

Separating the Earth from the Umbrae is a metaphysical "membrane" known as the Gauntlet. Some humans almost manage to get close to the Gauntlet in times of bliss, meditation, or creativity; this state is known as the Periphery.

The Gauntlet is thinner in places such as a haunted graveyard or the open wilderness, and thicker in places such as laboratories and shopping malls. The strength of the Gauntlet in a given area determines the ease with which one can cross it, or "step sideways." The Gauntlet is usually treated as a single phenomenon, when it is actually sort of three Gauntlets in one: one separating the Earth from the Astral Plane, one protecting it from the Spirit Wilds, and one blocking access to the Underworld and the horrors that lie within. The latter Gauntlet is also referred to as the Shroud by wraiths, and as the Stormwall by agents of the Orpheus Group.

As of 1999, the Avatar Storm has raged within the Gauntlet, composed of jagged shards of souls and Avatars. It does not affect most supernaturals, but the shards are drawn to the Avatars of mages. The more powerful the Avatar (and the higher the mage's enlightenment), the more the shards are drawn to him, and thus the more damage is potentially done when stepping sideways.

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The Umbra

Also called the Spirit World, the Shadow, or the Velvet Shadow, is a realm existing alongside and yet separate from the material world.

(Above, the Garou Glyph for the Umbra)

umbra: Latin: shadow. A complete shadow (as of the Moon) within which the source of light (the Sun) is totally hidden from view. The term "Umbra" is generally used, particularly by werewolves, to refer specifically to the "Spirit Wilds," or Middle Umbra. However, there is more to Umbral cosmology than this.

Some, like the Void Engineers, consider the Umbra an alternate or parallel dimension, universe, or reality, despite it being, technically, occupying the same physical space as the Earth.

Earth- The material world, also known to Garou as the Gaia Realm and to wraiths as the Skinlands, is the world of everyday life with which all humans, vampires, mages, hunters, and werewolves are familiar.

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Every type of night-folk have their rules. The Machiavellian Kindred have their Masquerade. The Changing Breeds all have a version of the Litany, the Fae have the Escheat and so on… For Tradition Mages, like Jayden and her Cabal, there are the Protocols of Shade, rules that came about shortly after the fall of Mistridge, which itself was the opening shot of the so far centuries long Ascension War. In these modern nights, many newly Awakened magi feel the rules are outdated, the language of the archaic, but each knows the danger of breaking one, eventually. ~*~

The Protocols of Shade

I. Respect Those of Greater Knowledge; II. A Tutor’s Debt Must Be Paid; III. A Mage’s Word is His Honour, Do Not Break A Sworn Vow; IV. The Will of An Oracle Must Always Be Obeyed; V. Betray Not Your Cabal or Chantry; VI. Conspire Not With the Enemies of Ascension; VII. Protect The Sleepers, They Are Ignorant of What They Do; VII. Be Subtle In Your Arts, Lest Sleepers Know You For What You Are.

~*~

Most of these are fairly common sense, however some are so vaguely worded that they can be manipulated to serving as a means of attacking another mage, especially one of the more serious of them, where ‘enemies of Ascension’ can be almost anyone, with the right amount of spin. And finally, the last protocol is not merely taught and enforced by the Traditions, but ultimately by Paradox itself. Mages who fling fireballs down the street while riding a T-Rex and screaming about real life Terminators and the evils of science typically won’t do THAT more than once. — Unless they are a Marauder, who ruins the fun for everyone else.

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Time

is one of nine Spheres of magic in Mage: The Ascension. The Seers of Chronos (now known as the Cult of Ecstasy) has occupied the Seat of Time in the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions since its founding. The Shard Realm of Time maps physically to Saturn.

It is associated with Dynamism in the Metaphysical Trinity.

Overview:

Time is known as the magic that all men know. Science and magic both agree that the flow of time varies with the observer, that time itself is hardly the constant that it initially seems. Esoteric doctrines claim time is an illusion. Even those who accept Time is forward march (more or less) still discover that the eddies, currents and branching paths of time are far more manifold and mutable than most people would ever guess.

Mages studying Time magic agree that the world is full of unexpected whorls and vortices of temporal disturbance. Time contracts around some places and dilates at others, though the regimentation of scientific time means that such phenomena are not as common as they once were. In unusual circumstances, time may loop back on itself, make jumps and rifts to past or future, or diverge in multiple streams.

In order to access the Archspheres of Time, a mage has to enter a time-loop, similar to a temporal Paradox Realm, and then has to figure the entry and the return into their original timeline out by themself.

Marks:

Mages with experience in Time tend to carry a strong sense of déja vu with them. Most seem distant from the moment at hand, although their timing is usually excellent. Their manners grow strange, with their speech sliding through past/present/future tenses. Masters resonate temporal energies to the point that the continuum around them is slightly warped: causing a flower to bloom or a book to gather dust.

Energies associated with Time tend to be green in color, or simply manifest as a rainbow blur.

Limits:

Once a mage manipulates time in a subjective fashion, it is progressively harder to rework the manipulation. If a mage stretches out a particular few seconds, for instance, they may gain time to perform responsive actions at their convenience, but further time-manipulating magic must contend with the fact that they have already warped their perception of that time. More importantly, once the mage is working with distorted time, their magical energies are already tied up in the feat.

Time travel is possible for Masters but remains a dangerous and inexact field of study. Things wait in the time-stream, perhaps more incomprehensible than even the spirits that guard the distant reaches of the universe. Mages who meddle too much with time have a disturbing tendency to disappear, sometimes replaced by beings that masquerade in their place, other times arriving with full knowledge of a horrific fate that awaits them in some unavoidable time.

Paradigmatic Interpretation:

Order of Hermes: The Order of Hermes speaks of Time as the Ars Temporis. Viewing it as a force of Truth, Hermetics seek to unlock its secrets to glimpse all of Creation and experience everything in the span of a single breath. By mastering time, one masters inevitability, making one's Will the sole determinant on what has been, what is and what shall come.

Standard Powers:

 [1 Dot]

Time Sense: Allows a mage to determine the exact time of day down to the second. In addition, they become aware of distortions of the stream of time in their local area.

 [2 Dots]

Time Sight: Allows a mage to see forward or backward through time. Although those impressions are fleeting, hazy, not entirely accurate, and bound by the limitations of that time and place (that is, what a bystander in that specific time and location could sense under the circumstances), they are nonetheless useful.

Thicken the Walls of Time: Enhance the rigidity of the local Timeline to ward it against manipulation.

 [3 Dots]

Time Contraction Or Dilation: Allows a mage to alter the rate at which things happen in comparison to the "normal world."

"Bullet Time": Allows a mage to slow things down (without changing the subjective time).

Rewind Time: Allows a mage to rewind or loop time for a few seconds or minutes.

 [4 Dots]

Time Determinism: Allows a mage to literally stop time in its tracks.

Time Bubble: Allows to capture other beings or phenomena in bubbles of time.

Trigger Effect: Allows the mage to generate a keyed pause: Something that does not happen until a specific person, creature, or item comes into the right position.

Anchor Point: Allows to create temporal anchors for the mage in the case that they travel through time.

 [5 Dots]

Time Travel: With an anchor point in the present, the mage can send themself or other people or things into the near future or past temporarily.

Time Immunity: The mage begins to exist outside of the temporal flow and can pull objects into their own temporal field.

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Penumbra

Directly "overlapping" the material world is a portion of the Umbra known as the the Penumbra. The Penumbra mirrors physical reality, but reality as it is "supposed" to be. Though divided, the two were once joined. The spirit world still touches the material one, for were it gone completely, Earth could not sustain life.

Powerful actions on the physical plane send emanations across the spirit world. The most powerful of these psychic waves ripple past the Penumbra into the Near Umbra, where they have the potential to create whole realms. Such Realms often form based around a single idea or collection of legends. For example, the Nazi concentration camps founded throughout the course of World War II created vast hellholes with pits that lead to Malfeas or the Atrocity Realm, while the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki sent the psychic reflection of dead zones into the Thousand Hells of the Yama Kings.

In the Penumbra, a toxic waste dump site will swarm with malevolent Banes, while a city will be covered in the cobwebs woven by Pattern Spiders. A grove of trees will stand taller and wilder, and a volcano eruption or the flaming chimneys of factories could give birth to Fire Elementals.

The appearance of the Penumbra seems to be based partially on the viewpoint of the one bearing witness to it. Werewolves will see it in a more animistic fashion, with an immense Moon dominating the sky (the Sun, conversely, tends to be much smaller), with everything from trees and rocks to the very stars themselves being represented by a spirit. Some mages may see it more as representing ideals and concepts rather than spirits. Other mages (and the rare vampire who makes it there) will see things in a state of decay: a swollen red sun shining sickly light down on crumbling buildings and the rusting husks of cars and trucks.

An uninformed observer may assume, based on description, that there are three different Penumbrae, one for each Umbra. This is a mistaken assumption, however: if three different travellers arrive in the Penumbra, each viewing a different "facet,” they are still able to see and contact each other and interact just as easily ad they would in the physical world. Despite the varying perspectives of those who witness it, there is truly only one Penumbra.

For this reason, it is possible that the Shadowlands/Wasteland is simply one more aspect of the Penumbra.

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House Janissary

was for a long time one of the Houses of the Order of Hermes

Acting as a clandestine police force within the Order, the group sought to stretch their influence to also assess the entirety of the Traditions..

After the secret history of House Janissary was discovered in the wake of the Conflagration, the group was involved in a deadly rivalry with the Euthanatoi, which resulted in the near-extinction of the House.

Drawing many inspirations from their namesakes, the Janissaries originally served as a sort of Internal Affairs or secret police for the Order of Hermes, although they sometimes extended their mandate to other Traditions. Members of House Janissary held extremely high standards about self-discipline and self-sacrifice, often derived from the teachings of House Quaesitor.

To their reasoning, this was done to allow the Order to fully prosper. "A Hermetic who seeks to perfect himself needs a perfect environment" was a saying among the House. By rooting out subversive elements and dangerous practices like Infernalism, the Janissaries protected the Order's integrity and assured their brethren the best atmosphere to practice their arts.

Pre-Hermetic House

The secret roots of House Janissary could be traced to the House of Ixion, a secret cabal of magicians that sought to bring about Ascension. For a time, the group was allied to the Order of Reason, acting as a secret police known as the Ksirafai to the initiated. The alliance between the Order of Reason and the Ksirafai lasted until the 17th century, when members of the Convention decided that the Order had lost its initial purity. In 1716, the Ksirafai destroyed their last Construct, having eradicated nearly all evidences of their former existence as a part of the Order.

Hermetic House

The former Fulmen of the Convention, a Turkish mage named Dincer Albayrak, approached the Order of Hermes. Citing the numerous victories he and his allies had achieved against the Order of Reason (mostly blows dealt against Constructs that had evidence of the Ksirafai), he asked to be admitted into the Order. They were accepted into House Ex Miscellanea as House Janissary, after the Turkish slave soldiers that served the sultan as an elite force. While Albayrak's understanding of Hermetic practice was lacking, he nonetheless encouraged his followers to adopt its trappings.

Soon after that, Albayrak searched for an apprentice that would continue to lead the House. He found one in Caeron Mustai, a young Bedouin with remarkable talent. Unbeknownst to Albayrak, Mustai had already been introduced into the philosophy of the Ahl-i-Batini by al-Khidr, the Green Man. When Mustai learned that the purpose of House Janissary was to bring Ascension, he quickly deduced from the Batini teachings that Ascension and Armageddon were one and the same. Choosing to turn away from Ascension in order to prevent the apocalypse, Mustai dedicated himself on making House Janissary his tool to prevent others from reaching Ascension and thus dooming the whole world.

Caeron Mustai knew that, in order to achieve his goal, he would need much more political weight than a mere House Ex Miscellanea. Through battle against the Order of Reason, political intrigue and personal charisma, House Janissary was made into a full Hermetic House in 1764. From this vantage point, the Janissaries encouraged strife within the Traditions (such as covering up the excesses of the Consanguinity of Eternal Joy, while blinding the other remnants of the Ixoi that had formed the Golden Chalice within the Euthanatoi) and used the old contacts of the Ksirafai to leak information about the Traditions to the newly invigorated Technocratic Union. 

In 1822, Albayrak, having been promoted as Primus of the House before, vanished after a visit to the Shard Realm of Forces. Mustai named himself his successor and launched an investigation to find infiltrators he blamed for his masters death. Since he apparently found several, the standing of House Janissary began to grew and in an unspoken alliance with House Quaesitor, the group achieved much internal power within the Order of Hermes. Mustai himself became a prominent figure in Doissetep, where he lead an inter-Tradition cabal known as the "Janissaries" in a bid to topple the Drua'shi under Porthos and become Deacon of the mightiest Chantry of the Council of Nine.