Category:Legacies CofD

Every mage in the world belongs to one of the five Paths, which colors a mage’s perception of the world. The major Orders seek to provide general guidelines for how magic ought to be employed. Legacies, however, represent a conscious, narrow view on how an individual mage should wield magic. Ancient Legacies reflect belief structures that have rung true for their members for centuries, and even contemporary ones represent a very specific worldview developed after careful reflection and self-examination.

Those who share a Legacy belong to an elite and highly specialized clique. Some consist of hundreds of members scattered across the world like members of an especially esoteric social club. Others boast only a few dozen mages with a belief system others among the Wise find inexplicable if not outright objectionable. For those within one, a Legacy offers a specialized network of social contacts that understand each other better than any other mages do. Members of the same Legacy share an extraordinary philosophical connection, and the bond between mentor and student of a common Legacy tends to be stronger than that between any Order master and apprentice.

• Bearers of the Eternal Voice (Mind) - Expert persuaders, the Bearers of the Eternal Voice use words as precision weapons, instilling emotions, convincing their listeners and - with their highest Attainments - even rewriting memories. That their honeyed tongues work just as well on mages as Sleepers makes the Guardians jealously guard entry to the Legacy (MtAW2E p202).
• Bene Ashmedai (Spirit) - Many Mastigos Legacies form around mages' exploration of the Astral Space, especially with the Oneiros, realm of the individual soul. Rivalries between these Legacies have burned throughout history, a tangled web of students absconding with souls tones, branching paths, and secret attainments. The foremost two Oneiric Legacies in the modern day are the Clavicularius and the Bene Ashmedai, both predominantly Seer and Silver Ladder. The Bene Ashmedai embrace their darkest urges, forming alliences with the demons of their soul (MtAW2E p202).
• Blank Badge (Mind) - Strictly Libertine, the Blank Badge make magic from collective, anonymous action. Members apply the techne of group responsibility to their own magical natures by accepting the destiny of shared consequence, initiates learn to take on a collective nimbus, become occluded, and - with greater mastery - even share Paradox (MtAW2E p202).
• Bokor (Death) - Often suspected of being Left-Handed but too influential in the Free Council to ban, the Bokor specialise in harnessing the dead as a means of power. Members raise zombies as servants and mark the souls of petitioners (MtAW2E p203).
• Brotherhood of the Demon Wind (Time) - The Arrow swordsmen of the onikaze (or Brotherhood of the Demon Wind) were once samurai, but in modern times fight for causes that attract them as individuals. Masters of Space and Time magic applied to sword combat, they split seconds with their blades and strike through intervening distsnce (MtAW2E p202).
• Carnival Melancholy (Death) - Born in the Great Depression,the showmen and charlatans of the Carnival Melancholy sought a way to escape the sickness of the dustbowl, and learned the greatest con of all. Their descendants are Reapers, tricking marks out of their souls, which initiates harvest for all their fated good fortune (MtAW2E p202). LEFT HANDED
• Chrysalides (Life) - Not all symbols are positive. The Seers of the Throne Crysalides base their magic in body dysmorphia, offering initiates the chance to be who they wish. Members divide their time between two forms, one of which is perfected in mind and body at the expense of the other (MtAW2E p203).
• Clavicularius (Spirit) - Many Mastigos Legacies form around mages' exploration of the Astral Space, especially with the Oneiros, realm of the individual soul. Rivalries between these Legacies have burned throughout history, a tangled web of students absconding with souls tones, branching paths, and secret attainments. The foremost two Oneiric Legacies in the modern day are the Clavicularius and the Bene Ashmedai, both predominantly Seer and Silver Ladder. The Clavicularius wrestle their inner vices into submission, gaining power over those urges in themselves and others (MtAW2E p202).
• Cryptologos (Prime) - The Cryptologos count Libertines, Mystagoguesm and even Seers among their society, but all share a fascination with language and the Mysteries of High Speech. Members learn to discern the truth behind the words of others, translate intent instead of simply meaning, and are acclaimed for their skill with High Speech in spellcasting (MtAW2E p202).
• Daksha (Life) - The infamous Daksha are staunch Mystagogues, wielding social power within the Order to maintain their position despite beliefs that, to younger mages, seem problematic at best. Based on Awakened versions of 19th Century theosophical practices, these Atlantis-seekers transform themselves into "Lemurians"; hermaphroditic humanoids with a third eye in the back of the head (MtAW2E p203).
• Dreamspeakers (Mind) - The Libertine Dreamspeakers are the result of dozens of cultural Legacies blending, from Aboriginal Australians to sleep psychologists. Members explore the deepest parts of the Astral realms, the Anima Mundi or "Dreamtime", where they commune with the world's soul. Initiates become able to walk the astral even while awake or outside a place of power (MtAW2E p203).
• Echo Walkers (Life) - The Echo Walkers are listed as Left-Handed in Conscillia across the Western world, but are named so for a byproduct of their Obsessions, not their Attainments. Members learn to take on quasi-angelic form for a limited time, seeking Supernal perfection, but do so by tormenting Sleepers with invasive spells that damage their souls (MtAW2E p203). LEFT HANDED
• The Eleventh Question (Time) - The Eleventh Question credits a 19th century Mystagogue named Lucy Caspian with the core of its philosophy. She said that every Arcanum answered an eternal question so that, for example, Mind revealed the nature of identity and thought, and Matter showed Awakened the truths of tangible, inert phenomena. Yet these were always incomplete answers, and the full Mystery of sorcery, even Ascension, required an Eleventh Question, beyond the domain of the Arcana (MtAW2E p200).
• Forge Masters (Prime) - Taking inspiration from the myriad crafter-gods, the Forge Masters are experts in enchanting and imbuing items, reknown for their mastery of Supernal "Perfected" metals (MtAW2E p203).
• House of Ariadne (Time) - Thoroughly metropolitan, but actually one of the oldest Diamond Legacies, the House of Ariadne apply the principle of using random travel through a maze as a divination tool modern-day cities. Members read the past - and future - of a city by seeing its secret signs and walking its hidden paths (MtAW2E p202).
• Illuminated Path (Prime) - Members of the Illuminated Path see Awakening as a spectrum, not a binary condition. Once a faction of Christian thearchs before becoming a Legacy, the so-called "guides" seek to open Sleepers' eyes to the supernatural, a goal that while worthy antagonises many Conscillia (MtAW2E p203).
• Keepers of the Covenant (Fate) - The ancient Legacy calling themselves the Keepers of the Covenant exemplify the Thyrsus nature as intermediaries. Members merge their destinies with the world of spirits, becoming living bridges between the material and Shadow (MtAW2E p203).
• (Legion) (Death) - Guardian Epopts publically disavow Legion, but the Order supports them as holy martyrs for their religion nonetheless. The ultimate expression of deep cover, a Legion has lost his own identity but Reaps the souls of others to become them, a disguise so perfect even he doesn't know who he really is MtAW2E p202). LEFT HANDED
• Logophages (Prime) - Magic is knowledge, and even knowledge can die. That's the lesson of the hated Logophages, decried as Banishers by Pentacle and Seer alike. Members ensure they are the only ones who know a dangerous secret before using their Attainments to erase it, and gain power from magic's destruction (MtAW2E p203). LEFT HANDED
• Nagaraja (Death) - The Nagaraja date from before Alexander the Great, originating east of Persia and fascinated by snakes and studying the patters of death in others' souls (Dark Eras p99).
• Orphans of Proteus (Life) - Master shapeshifters, the Orphans of Proteus practice with new forms until they become second nature, experiencing life as a myriad of other beings (MtAW2E p203).
• Perfected Adepts (Life) - One of the Arrow's founding Legacies, the Perfected Adepts enshrine the principle that the self is the supernal. Initiates gain mastery of their own bodies, honing them to perfection without transformation (MtAW2E p203).
• Pygmalion Society (Mind) - Vicarious artists, each with some talent but not enough, the Pygmalion Society seek out, sponsor, and nurture artistic genius. Through the art they cultivate, they guide all who witness it to their own inspiration (MtAW2E p202).
• Sisterhood of the Blessed (Fate) - The Silver Ladder's Sisterhood of the Blessed began as a Legacy for Awakened noblewomen in the Middle Ages, and now accepts society wives, assistants, and any other roles offering quiet, unseen influence on the powerful. Members become adept at applying Fate to social situations, and some chapters even accept male members - as long as they are appropriately discreet (MtAW2E p202).
• Stone Scribes (Time) - Based on occult principles that a person's life can be summed up at the mlment of death, the Stone Scribes record the essence of the dead and dying. The Legacy's advanced members then use these "final names" in ritual mantling, sympathetically becoming the dead (MtAW2E p202).
• Tamers of Blood (Space) - Cousins of the Tamers of Fire, the Tamers of Blood find less hospitality among the Orders. Experts in the symbolism of blood and the magic of sympathy, members make a living among Nameless Orders and apostates advising on their specialties. When their clients learn that the Legacy can control the bodies of those it takes blood samples from, they quickly move on (MtAW2E p203). LEFT HANDED
• Tamers of Fire (Mind) - Perhaps the oldest Legacies in the Fallen World are the interrelated "Tamers", each dedicated to the symbolic magic of an element. The Tamers of Fire are one the most popular, demagogues and rabble-rousers who stoke the flames of others' passions (MtAW2E p203).
• Thrice-Great (Spirit) - The hermetic wizards of the Thrice-Great explore the Shadow's sky, binding planetary spirits with formulae and high ritual and allowing them access to the material world. The Legacy claims to be the servants of an Oracle, which most other mages take to "just" be an ascended archmaster, but that comes as small comfort to those who wonder what the stargazers deal with out there in the dark (MtAW2E p203).
• Transhuman Engineers (Matter) - The Libertine Transhuman Engineers seek new techné in the cutting edge of modern technology, chasing their ever-elusive "singularity". Members use their Attainments in Matter and Forces to interact with and analyse as many innovative devices as they can (MtAW2E p203).
• Uncrowned Kings (Mind) - Alchemists who know that true gold is a transformed self, the Uncrowned Kings use alchemy, craft, sculpture, and skilled labor as a focus for the mind. Initiates gain iron-clad willpower and sharp perception, as long as they continue their labours (MtAW2E p202).
• Votaries of the Ordained (Fate) - Guardians of magical treaaures ans those destined for greatness, the Votaries of the Ordained keep a watch over Artifacts, Proximii, Sleepwalkers, and other persons of interest to the Guardians of the Veil and the Adamantine Arrow. So-called "Rooks" sense whenever their charges are in danger, and curse any threat (MtAW2E p203).
• Walkers in Mists (Space) - Druids and pathfinders, the Walkers in the Mists explore a "nature beyond nature", which they describe as a guiding destiny for the natural world. Experienced Walkers enter an Emanation Realm called the Mists, using it as a shortcut to arrive wherever needed (MtAW2E p202).