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Post by Rule Hound on Nov 24, 2016 21:05:43 GMT
Journal
There seems to be forces of primal power that the demon encourages and works with. Some of his followers embody dedication, dignity and enhance the Ego in ones accomplishment. Allowing them to bestow this on others.
Some allow for a beserker rage to arise, reaking vengance in the demons name
others cause chaos, drawing others to accomplish tasks and serve by their meer presence
Some enhance the primal urges.
The writer talks of how small creatures little grey ugly babylike things with bat wings were used to flit around and served some of the masters. They are usually invisible but a few Cainites are able to spot them if they look hard enough through the astral plain. He tells how under interrogation one Cainite tells him how they can be summoned and that these are but the smallest and easiest.
There are fiendish creatures that go out in packs and drag sacrifices back to their masters.
How the Infernals at first raided locally then turned their eyes towards legendary items. How they seem to be able to literally cease to exist in on place and then appear in another many leagues distant.
The discovery that when they disappear they seem to always do so within certain areas of the city and if they appear they appear in similar areas.
They discovered a great pit. A Cainite can sacrifice themselves to a greater demon becoming their slave and gaining poewr by doing so.
In the end they destroyed all the Demons primary servants, all except the Setite Sorcerer. Him they could not destroy as he kept re-incarnating. With the aid of the most powerful blood sorcerer they could find they chained him in an enchanted sarcophogus for eternity. Built a secret place for it,and bound a society of humans to guard it and for all subsequent generations to guard it for all eternity.
When sealing the pit we were forced to confront our greatest fears. Bound by blood and brotherhood as we were the only way was through sacrifice. I was not up to the challenge, but my brother being stalwart and dedicated said he could. I can only presume he followed through and sacrificed his greatest love to the beast and the pit, for in the end it was sealed and the rift kept small enough that the beast never fully came through. My brother said it was destroyed and its remains sealed away when the sacrifice was mad to seal the rift and destroy the pit.
Numina Books
The Books from the Order of Hermese
The Order of Hermes is one of pillars of the Traditions. A Fellowship during the Dark Ages, it draws upon a potent fundus of magical knowledge and has shaped occult history to great deals.
Hermetic philosophy is complex and many-layered. At the heart, the Hermetics profess the drive to perfection. This drive manifests through trials, tests, self-discovery, and the rejoining of fragmented patterns like disparate languages or mathematical conundrums. Ideally, each individual has a Word, a divine imperative that drives the figure's revelations. By exploring the boundaries of that Word and all of its meanings, the individual rises to his inner nature, then beyond. Each step in the process is a challenge that requires a leap of perception but also opens the way to the next path. Eventually, the human passes far enough to become something cosmically divine.
In the Dark Ages, the Order of Hermes practiced four Forma based on a Foundation of Modus (formidable discipline): Anima (command of life), Corona (command of the mind), Primus (command of Quintessence), and Vires (command of elemental forces).
All the books mention leylines, dragon wells or nodes of power. How Chantries can be built to utilize the natural forces of the earth an enhance Numina use. Some research into rituals (not completed or parts not described as it would have been assumed someone would have already had a basic knowledge of the rest of it)
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Post by Rule Hound on Nov 24, 2016 21:06:04 GMT
The Order of Hermes has been organized for over six hundred years, and as the Council of Nine forms this organization is being consolidated (and some would say forced onto the greater Council of Nine). The Order layers itself like a mystery cult or masonic order; technically anyone who can meet the Order's grueling requirements may be accepted, but only the Awakened ever get past the third degree.
The first three degrees are considered the degrees of Apprenticeship. It's here that the majority of the members of the Order reside; they are its pupils, its consors, its custodians and librarians, its guards and research assistants. Theirs is a sometimes thankless lot, but many of them are fiercely devoted to the Order.
Neophyte, the First Degree
Neophytes are unawakened students, usually children or teenagers who are taken into the Order. They know no magic to speak of and recieve tutoring in mundane knowledge and the occult. If a Neophyte shows promise, discipline, or sheer stubborn bullheaded drive to succeed, he or she might be chosen…
Zelator, the Second Degree
Zelators recieve the first tangible reward; they are taught hermetic high sorcery. For them, the secrets of Enochian and the seals of Solomon, the Royal Art of alchemy and the vast Hermetic libraries beckon.
Practicus, the Third Degree
For many members of the Order, the upward climb stops here. This is not a mark of shame, because most people could never get as far as a Practicus of the Order of Hermes has. And not everyone is destined to Awaken. A practicus demonstrates advanced knowledge of Hermetic theory and its principles as it applies to high sorcery. Most Practicii are fully emancipated wizards; their age and advanced knowledge allow them to command respect, though not reverence.
Of late, a new problem has been pricking the attention of the Order; House Tremere has begun poaching emancipated Practicii, turning them into ghouls or vampires and forcibly conscripting them. The magics Practicii learn apparently make them even more quick to grasp the fundaments of Tremere blood sorcery than awakened Hermetics.
When a student awakens and begins to manipulate true magic, they are initiated into the next tier of degrees. It is a point of contention that by the Order's structure the youngest awakened student outranks an accomplished and powerful Practicii, but acknowledgement of ability compensates for this to an extent.
Now the hermetic ceases to be an apprentice and becomes a Disciple. In truth, most disciples are still apprenticed, answering to a Mater or Pater who takes control of their education directly and (ideally) introduces them to the practical side of magic, as espoused by their new house.
The Fourth Degree, Initiate: When the basic understanding of one of the nine spheres of magic has been achieved, the apprentice becomes an initiate. Most hermetics of this degree are far from ready to function independently; most are firmly under the thumb of their maters and paters. As a rule, House Tytalus attempts to link apprentices up with the best possible teachers, but politics plays its part, and the withholding and bestowment of apprentices is an acknowledged political tool. Only House Bonisagus circumvents this; citing centuries of tradition, Bonisagi choose their own apprentices.
The Fifth Degree, Initiate Exemptus: The next step up from awareness is the manipulation of true magic; it is not uncommon for Initiates to receive this degree within a year of their initial instruction. This degree is a step toward independence and the end of formal apprenticeship (though many hermetics continue informal instruction with their maters and paters for years). By the Code of Hermes, a mage who has become Initiate Exemptus is a full-fledged member of the Order, able to hold position and train apprentices of their own. In practice, Initiates Exempti rarely become maters or paters for political and practical reasons.
After emancipation comes the full flower—the vast majority of awakened members of the Order land somewhere among the sixth and seventh degrees and never progress any higher. Now, political and magical rewards trickle into the mage's palms, which is a potent distraction from a difficult and uncertain road.
The Sixth Degree, Adept: When a hermetic reaches rank three in any one sphere and rank one in another, they are bestowed this degree. It is at this point where the hermetic road grows truly difficult, and the manifold distractions; war, power, internal politics, manifest without the insulation of the collegium hermes or the direct guiding hand of an instructor to maintain one's course. Most awakened hermetics are adepts and will probably not progress further.
The Seventh Degree, Adept Major: If a Hermetic can push past distraction and temptation and attain the equivalent of four dots in one sphere, two in another and one in a third they become an Adept Major. Now one degree away from Mastery, the distractions only intensify as the order calls on them more and more. One of the problems with power in the order is that unless you live like a hermit, you are likely to have come to the attention of powerful people at this point.
Past Adepthood comes mastery; now the lowly apprentice has clawed his way up the pyramid of power. The tangible rewards of mastery go beyond magical might. Political power, control of covenants, access to ancient resources and more await the hermetic magus who can call himself "magister."
The Eighth Degree, Magister Scholae: When a hermetic magus has mastered any one sphere and achieved the equivalent of three dots in any of the others, they are officially initiated as a master. The Order of Hermes has in its rolls more masters than any of the other nascent societies. Now the magus is more than merely a member of the order, they are one of its leaders, and their words, actions and decisions can send shockwaves all the way down to the bottom of the pyramid.
The Ninth Degree, Magister Mundi: The Hermetic Archmaster likely has achieved the sixth rank in any one sphere and at least the third in most of the others. The Order of Hermes has a few extant archmasters, but at this level, they tend to be a step removed. The reward for making it this far is the freedom to pursue your own concerns, it would seem…
Outside this structure, the Order of Hermes organizes itself into subsects based on philosophical belief and magical style. These Houses of Hermes (there are currently seven) were once loosely allied societies, but consolidation has driven them closer together. Houses organize themselves however they see fit, but all choose a Primus who (theoretically) leads the house. These Primi form the Judicium Hermes, the true supreme governing body of the Order.
Hermetic Magic:
The core of Hermetic belief lies in two phrases. As above, so below: though most hermetics make extrapolations about platonic ideals and other conceptualizations, what this truly means is that everything in creation is connected to and influences everything else, after a fashion. Whether it be the position of the stars at the time of our birth or the conspirings of spirits, as above, so below. As without, so within. Arguably the more important cornerstone of hermetic high magic is thou art of God: each human contains within them the spark of the divine. Through arduous study, introspection, and self-refinement through challenge and triumph, the Hermetic grows in wisdom—and in power.
Hermetics are viewed as arrogant by others—and rightly so. They consider pride to be a right. The humiliation of apprenticeship, long sleepless nights of searching through massive libraries for scraps of information, aching knees, crabbed fingers and dry, bloodshot eyes. Follow that with navigating the mi'as in order to accomplish anything and dealing with a world that is both envious of what you know and fearful enough of what you'll do with it to kill you. Look back on your accomplishments despite all that. Wouldn't you be proud?
The hermetic's strength is his will; the will is everything. All the hermetics do would be worthless without the will that drives them.
The hermetic's weakness is his pride. In order to truly become Magus Rex, he must overcome the challenge of his own vanity and arrogance and learn to empathize with others. He must learn to trust and rely on people other than himself. This is more difficult than it sounds.
The Nine Spheres:
Correspondence: Arts Conligationis (The Art of Connection)
Common Tools: Geometric patterns, Showstones, Enochian characters, the Sephiroth, doorways or other portals, sheathing a weapon or otherwise inserting one object into another, invocations of the Archangel Raziel.
As above, so below. Hermetic principle teaches that there is no such thing as what will come to be known as a closed system; everything is touched, however subtly, by everything else. The Art of Connection teaches the Hermetic that the distance between these things can be manipulated, using the pathways created by those secret influences to bring them closer together or move them further apart; furthermore, these subtle connections can be manipulated to extend a Mage's senses or powers. The Order of Hermes is responsible for many of the most famous uses of this sphere; doorways that lead from one Covenant to another and the legendary "Seven League Step" are so common within the Order that they're generally regarded as trivialities.
Fate: Ars Fati (The Art of Fate)
Common Tools: Numerology, mathematics, invocations of the Fates, Norns or other eldritch powers, patterns that build from chaos into order or ordered patterns that degenerate into chaos.
Hermetic principle teaches that to an extent, beings greater than ourselves have determined our fates since before the day of our birth. However, whether our of magnaminity or sheer grandness of design, the self-aware (and the Awakened in particular) have freedom to move within that grander scheme. Within that movement is found what is called "free will." The Awakened can take this a step further and affect the destinies of other things, living and non, including events that have yet to come to pass. A Hermetic uses the Art of Fate to blight those who treat him poorly and bring good fortune to those who treat him well. Centuries from now, a writer will state that "a wizard arrives exactly when he means to!" In this statement is the very essence of the Art of Fate.
Forces: Ars Virium (the Art of Force, also known as the Art of Power)
Common Tools: Wands, staves, swords and knives, incantations, showstones, gestures.
The sheer size of House Flambeau within the Order makes this sphere the one they are most famous for using. Indeed, many within the Order of Hermes consider this to be the sphere that best defines the Order as a whole. The Art of Power enables the Hermetic to do wondrous things. The Flambeau are famous for their showy fire-magic, but a Hermetic can play with light and shadow, draw lightning from out of the sky, bring rain to his patron's fields and mire enemy armies in mud with torrential downpours. Bonisagi who have been pouring over information captured from dadalean covenants have created even more curious spells using the Art of Power; they manipulate the force that holds things to the earth, attract metals to each other and make men slip and fall on floors that haven't been greased.
Life:
On the Others:
The Traditions:
From the perspective of most Hermetics, they've been more than gracious. They've been TOO gracious. They've opened up their Covenants and libraries, shared their most sacred lore, and provided a structure that can turn an arguing collection of rabble into an august alliance. In return, they recieve stonewalling, a refusal to share resources, and outright insults.
To wit, the nascent traditions are a bunch of ungrateful bastards.
The Hermetics aren't entirely innocent in all this. The Hermetic philosophy of improvement through challenge means that the Order zeroes in on anything it identifies as a weakness, even in its own allies. It touts its centuries of unity and creates hardship in order to force groups of people who have little in common to band together into a greater whole. It's working. It's painful. And it makes a lot of magi loathe the Order of Hermes. The relationship varies. The Solificati generally get on with the Order very well. The Verbena have a love-hate relationship with the Hermetics. The Dreamspeakers… there's a strong thread that connects the two groups, but it's a thread that spans a wide abyss.
The Order of Reason:
In a macrocosm, the state of affairs between Hermes and Reason is a blood vendetta. These two orders have been feuding for centuries, and each has a laundry list of crimes that the other has committed.
When dealing with the individual conventions, it's rarely so simple. The Order of Hermes as an institution has an axe to grind with the Craftmasons over the destruction of Mistridge. The Cabal of Pure Thought's often heavy-handed tactics have earned the Hermetics ire, and House Tytalus and the High Guild are still engaged in a war of intrigue in Italy.
On an individual level, it gets even more complicated. Hermetics and Craftmasons share a great deal of common ideology and symbolism. Individual Hermetics have engaged in mutually profitable correspondences and idea exchanges with Celestial Masters and Guildsmen.
The Fae:
Such as they are, these days. Many accuse the Hermetics of a rigid worldview inimically harmful to Faerie (not entirely true). The Hermetics and the Fae have been butting heads for a very long time. In the Order's younger days, it was common for Hermetic covenants to seize sites favored by Faeries. Such sites were always places where a Hermetic could refine potent Vis. Fae, on the other hand, favored Hermetic apprentices as wellsprings of the magic-stuff called Glamour.
Needless to say, things got ugly.
Eventually an accord had to be drawn up between the Hermetics and the Fae Lords. These days, the Fae are a fading memory and except for the clause in the Code of Hermes, most Hermetics aren't taught how or why it was considered unwise to tangle with Faeries. A Hermetic who is knowledgeable may invoke the old pacts to at least parley with Faerie nobles. There IS a fair bit of faerie lore buried in the Hermetic libraries, especially in the dwindling holdings of House Merinita… but this is knowledge that has to be dug for. It isn't readily available.
Shapeshifters:
Another situation where the Order of Hermes decided to cut its losses. When the Order of Hermes was young and expanding, it seized powerful Crays from shapeshifters. The ensuing reprisals were bloody and brutal. The Order learned that nothing holds a grudge like a werewolf and the werewolves learned nothing holds a grudge like a wizard. Eventually the two just called it off and left one another alone.
Hermetic dealings with shapeshifters tend to be sporadic; they know that the changers, werewolves in particular, are divided into "tribes" that adhere strongly to a few specific cultures. Most are in fact surprisingly willing to parley with the Order, if Parley is the order of the day. The Celtic wolves know to respect a wizard, the ones that like the cities are either urbane enough to behave civilized or mangy enough to be respectful in the hopes of getting something out of it. The kings are imperious and commanding (Hermetics respect this) or sly and cunning (Hermetics respect this too). The Berserkers and the Grecian Furies, however, are bloodthirsty and best avoided.
Werewolf barrabi, for lack of a better term, are especially foul and nasty. They spilled out of Scotland and into Europe a few centuries before the Order formed, and they're not above pinching a Cray to twist it to the malefic powers they serve.
Other shapechangers are rare, but werecats (powerful sorcerers) and wererats (a dangerous nuisance) are known to exist.
Vampires:
The Order of Hermes knows a great deal about vampires, yes it does. It learned the hard way—from centuries of warfare that ended in a draw on both sides. The Order knows that vampire blood is a source of tass like little else out there. Hermetic vaults contain descriptions of the vampiric clans, descriptions of encounters with vampires, codifications of the blood and spells made to destroy the wicked dead.
You see, the secret is, that war never truly ended. It left the Order of Hermes maimed, depleted, and compromised, but it also left it with contacts in dark places, knowledge of the undead and an axe to grind against House Tremere. The Order and its rogue house still compete for resources—the same youth who would make a grand Hermetic magus could make a sly Tremere blood-sorcerer.
As far as other vampires go, the Hermetics either consider them complicit with and/or pawns of the Tremere (and thus fit only to be analyzed and/or destroyed) or enemies of the house. House Tytalus has many informal allies among the fell Carpathian vampires, in particular…
Infernalists:
The Hermetic road is difficult, and not everyone has what it takes. In misguided efforts to gain magical or political power, more than one Hermetic has turned to the forces of darkness.
Hermetic Infernalists tend to be true Infernalists; they pact with demons or other comprehensible dark powers and offer their souls in exchange for insights and ability. The Order of Hermes' structure and praxis makes it most vulnerable to demonic corruption, and the demons know it.
A Hermetic infernalist is a pitiable creature because to sell one's soul to the devil means that they've given up; faced with a challenge they lacked the wherewithal to overcome, they wavered and traded away their sacred Will for mere temporal gain.
A Hermetic infernalist is dangerous because the Hermetic body politic means the fallen wizard is likely very good at obfuscating the truth of what he has done, and the sudden increase in ability means they are likely to shoot through the ranks very quickly, which gives the infernalist more ability to cover their tracks. Entire houses have fallen to Infernal corruption in the past; the Order does not lightly shrug off accusations of demonic infiltration.
Subsects — The Houses of Hermes:
House Bonisagus
The mages of House Bonisagus are the theorists of the Order of Hermes. Their task is to develop new spells, new ways of applying existing magic, and new magical theories to the rest of the Order. The Bonisagi, once regarded as peerless in their fields, are finding themselves outpaced; their old theories are disproven or elaborated upon unto obsolesence by members of the Order of Reason and the demands of the rest of the Order of Hermes grow louder and angrier every day. Bonisagus, always a disorganized and eccentric house and never all that good at navigating the mi'as, finds itself slipping further and further into obscurity.
Bonisagi are not believers in "tried and true" hermetic magic; they use existing theories in weird ways, experiment with other forms of magic and may be dabbling in any number of weird… things at any given time. Their most important task is analysis of the Scourge; the Bonisagi may know more about it than any other group of mages. Good luck getting a cogent answer out of most of them, though.
Organization: What organization? The Bonisagi are busy with their research. Go bother someone else. Primus? Oh, I SUPPOSE… whose turn is it to take the job now? Him? Him.
Common Abilities: Awareness, Instruction, Research, Academics, Enigmas, Linguistics, Lore, Metaphysics, Occult, Science.
Favored Spheres: Prime
Members of Note:
Phoebe Tetramagestus: A Bonisagus Master who is more than two hundred years old. She lives a reclusive existance, only occasionally emerging from seclusion (and more and more frequent bouts of Twilight) to present new theories and spells to the Order.
House Ex Miscellanea
A major house which collects minor houses under an umbrella, giving them representation among the rest of the order. Minor houses are alliances in the Order of Hermes with esoteric practices and small numbers.
The current Minor Houses are:
House Bjornaer: A house with a proud legacy: its namesake, Master Bjornaer of Many Shapes, was one of the founders of the Order of Hermes. Its paganistic practices have caused its influence in the order to wane for the past few hundred years. With the consolidation of the Verbena, all but a few die-hard Bjornaer are leaving the Order for that new society. Favored Spheres: Life. Bjornaer are noted for their communion with animals and practice of shapeshifting.
House Criamon: Seers and prognosticators. Ephemeral at the best of times, several of this house's more lucid members have voluntarily left to bolster the Sahajiya. Favored Spheres: Time and Fate.
House Jerbiton: An eclectic house which practices hermetic principle as it relates to art and artistic endeavor. Currently in decline with dwindling membership. Grimgroth the Vile, betrayer of Mistridge and now vampiric member of the fallen House of Tremere was a member of house Jerbiton. Favored Spheres: Mind.
House Merinita: Another founding house, Merinita of the Wood and her followers forged pacts with the Shining Hosts and explored Faerie. This house's fortunes waned with the departure of the Tuatha de Danaan and the Sidhe. Some members of this house have retreated to Demesnes: parts of Faerie staked out as fiefdoms by mages. Others work, currently in vain, to force open gates to far-off Arcadia. Founded by Merinita of the Wood, absent for more than six hundred years, believed dead by most but reported to be wandering deep in Faerie by others. Currently led by Master Virgil Endrina, an expert on both the Fae and Marauds. Endrina is entirely self-taught; he petitioned the Order for membership and then, after demonstrating his knowledge and skill, demanded to join House Merinita. Favored Spheres: Mind and Spirit
House of Seshat: The newest of the houses in Ex Miscellanea. Almost entirely female, practicioners of Egyptian High Ritual magic and priestesses of the goddess Seshat. Lorekeepers and scholars. Standoffish relationship with the rest of the Order (which will continue until the early 20th century). Even now, many masters have become dependent on their extensive collections of well-organized knowledge. Led by High Priestess Fatima Baijani of Sesmu. Strongly allied with Egyptian shapeshifters. Headquartered at the Hall of Kesef-hra-khemiu Covenant (also known as the House of Books) in Egypt. Favored Spheres: Time.
Organization: House Ex Miscellanea technically has the right to choose a Primus, but this house is so sprawling and disorganized that it rarely has one. It's unlikely; a primus of this house would have to come from one of the minor houses, and they're all so different from each other that it would take a powerful personality to bring them all into accord.
House Flambeau
The military arm of the Order of Hermes. House Flambeau draws on old Zoroastrian and Mithraic beliefs. They are the soldiers of the Order of Hermes; not for them the hand-washing politics, crafty plans and long-term thinking of other Hermetics. If a Flambeau sees an obstacle, they overcome it. If they encounter an enemy, they crush them.
Necessity dictates that Flambeau be the largest house in the Order of Hermes; this gives it a loud voice and a lot of power. It also has the highest rate of turnover as members burn out (literally), are killed in battle or laid low by the Scourge.
Organization: Might makes right. If a mage wants to become Primus of this house or usurp a position of prominence within a Covenant, it's simply a matter of swaggering up to the current titleholder and challenging him or her to a duel. Though there's some etiquette pertaining to this (it is uncouth to challenge a commander in the middle of a battle, for instance), challenges can and do happen 24/7. At least once a meeting of the Judicium Hermes has been paused because someone called out the Primus of House Flambeau.
Common Abilities: Alertness, Athletics, Brawl, Dodge, Intimidation, Archery, Melee, Riding, Stealth, Survival, Lore (with an emphasis on "how do I kill it?"), Occult.
Favored Spheres: Forces
Members of Note:
William Castile (d. 1449): A Flambeau Adeptus who dealt a crippling blow to the Craftmasons during the second battle of Mistridge by lighting himself on fire in the midst of their ammunitions stores. He is held up as an example of Flambeau dedication and valor, and also as an importance of thinking things through before you act.
Porthos Fitz-Empress: A dual rarity for a hermetic master: He's young (currently in his mid-40s) and a Flambeau. A veteran of many battles already, his influence within the Order grows every day. A strong supporter of the Council of Nine.
House Mercere:
Hermes was a god of dynamism and movement; not merely innovation and change but also distance and rapid travel; an organization as large as the Order of Hermes needs to be able to get messages and resources from one Covenant to another quickly, both via magic and otherwise.
Enter House Mercere. A specialized house whose specialty makes it extremely useful and commands a lot of respect, the Mercere move. The entire house has set itself up as the Order's network for transmission of personnel, goods and information. Young Mercere act as couriers and messengers, using Correspondence and Time magic to travel long distances quickly. Mercere Masters become information hubs for the Order; a Master of this house coordinates movement of resources and personnel, transfers information where it needs to go both via Mind and by mundane means, and keeps the Order connected. Mercere try to evoke the spirit of Hermes in what they do; a young Mercere is usually lean, athletic and impish; an elder Mercere is powerful, self-assured… and still impish.
Members of Mercere must often be surprisingly martial, because they are the primary target for those who would like to disrupt the Order's communications and internal workings. If a Mercere can't outrun trouble, he has to outthink it or outfight it; a real Mercere just grins and emulates Hermes the trickster. The best enemy, this house believes, is one you find wandering in disoriented circles in a farmer's field in the middle of the night. In the meantime, the Mercere has already delivered his message and is in town, bedding a pretty wench.
The sheer amount of information and coordinative efforts that pass through this house (effectively all of them) make them major political players within the Order of Hermes, rivalling House Tytalus for control over the Order's internal affairs. The two are tussling at the moment; House Mercere favors coordination and cooperation with the nascent Council. House Tytalus fights to place the Order in a place of primacy among the magi. House Mercere accuses House Tytalus of shooting the horse in the ass with an arrow in a bid to make it run faster. House Tytalus accuses House Mercere of (literally) being in bed with the Sahajiya and Verbena.
Organization: A Primus is generally chosen by consideration and consent of the House's masters in a flurry of magical and mundane communication. The house consists of two main bodies; the Mercere who serve as couriers and messengers for the Order, and the Mercere who stay stationary at Chantries and Covenants in order to coordinate the flow of information.
Favored Abilities: Alertness, Artist, Athletics, Awareness, Dodge, Larceny (for untying ropes and escaping dungeons), Subterfuge, Riding, Stealth, Survival, Culture, Linguistics, Occult.
Favored Spheres: Correspondence, Life, and Time. Though they are not known for it (yet), young members of House Mercere absolutely adore the Fate sphere.
Members of Note:
Master Henri Mercere: One of the Founders, this french noble was rakish, handsome, athletic and persuasive, on top of being a master alchemist. His willingness to travel to each of the Founders and facilitate communication between them was instrumental in making the Order of Hermes a reality.
House Quaesitor
House Quaesitor is the house charged with maintaining the internal security of the Order. They don't lead the Order of Hermes, but they decide who does. The Quaesitori police the Order for infernalism, vampiric taint and Order of Reason spies; they provide internal security and it is their job to enforce the Code of Hermes and its Peripheral Corrigenda. When the Hermetics hold a Tribunal, it is always headed by a Quaesitor. When they participate in multitradition tribunals, the Hermetic representative is always a Quaesitor, if at all possible. Their magic is rooted in Quabalah and other middle-eastern styles; sigils, signs, seals and pentacles are common in Quaesitori Arts, as is the written word and binding agreements.
Past failures still smart for House Quaesitor; they failed to spot the treachery of House Tremere in time to stop it; they failed to direct the Order's policies in ways that would enable them to suppress the Order of Reason or even turn it into an ally, and now they find themselves beset by an army of magicians they cannot control. And to a Quaesitor, something you cannot control is something you cannot trust.
Organization: The Primus of House Quaesitor resides at the house's ancestral Covenant in Stuttgart. Seven Magistrati (Quaesitori of Adept rank or higher) advise and support the Primus, who are in turn supported by Praetors (the majority of this house) and Quaesitori (newly initiated members).
Favored Spheres: Mind and Spirit.
Members of Note:
Adept Luis DuMonte: Another of the Order's rising stars, Adept DuMonte was chosen to be part of the March of the Nine. Conservative in his politics (he believes the Order of Hermes should have representation as seven societies within the Council instead of just one), it was his steadiness and dedication that led Primus LaSalle to select him as the Order's representative to the First Cabal. To the credit of Adept DuMonte's character, there was no argument against the appointment.
House Tytalus
If a house could be said to lead the Order of Hermes, House Tytalus is it. Out of all the houses, House Tytalus currently has the most interest and investment in the mortal world; its commerce, politics, even religion. They look at the world from a classical Greco-Roman perspective; conflict is the axis on which humanity turns, and it is conflicton every levelthat leads to beneficial change. This isn't the "if it offends me, blow it up" attitude of house Flambeau; a Tytalan knows that he has to hone his mind as well as his body, and these magicians understand the value of subtlety and compromise as tools of war.
House Tytalus is responsible for the recruitment of new members of the Order; the consolidation of the traditions and rise of the order of reason puts new members at a premium. At the same time, the Tytalans meddle in sleeper politics to arrange things to the Order's liking, where they compete with vampires and dadaleans along with sleepers themselves; they procure new sources of Quintessence, which puts them at odds with faeries, werewolves, other mages, and mystic beasts; on top of that they scheme to lay low the enemies of the Order of Hermes, large and small.
If a mage flies into a frustrated fit and accuses a Hermetic of some wicked plan to conquer the known world, odds are good they're up against a Tytalan.
Note: Though it is not well-known, Master Tytalus and Lord Tremere were brothers. Their two houses were closely allied, and during the war some accused the Tytalans of sparing the rod instead of going after the Tremere full-on. Some old Tytalan masters argue that Clan Tremere should be invited back into the Order of Hermes as a full major house—their justification is that they would bring with them an incalculable amount of lore about vampires, along with the entirety of their lost knowledge.
Among other members of the Order of Hermes who know what the Masassa War was all about, this stance is about as popular as Tezghul the Insane at a dinner party.
Organization: Most who are not aware of the cultural origins of the Tytali are surprised at how democratically the house treats its own members. Emancipated members of the house are entitled to an equal say in house affairs in a sort of Greek democracy. While politicking does occur within this system, the Tytali are surprisingly open and honest about how they conduct business with each other. Bloc-voting and lobbying are frowned upon. The Primus is bound to the will of the greater house by tradition.
Common Abilities: Alertness, Athletics, Intimidation, Subterfuge, Etiquette, Leadership, Culture, Linguistics, Lore (esp. vampires and order of reason), Occult.
Favored Spheres: Forces, Life, and Mind
Members of Note:
Primus Baldric LaSalle: Magister LaSalle bani Tytalus rose to prominence in the wake of Tremere treachery and Craftmason sieges. Under his leadership, the Order of Hermes has consolidated itself and put aside its internal infighting… to an extent. As Primus, he presents himself to outsiders as a dominating force that runs the Order with an iron fist in a velvet glove; internally, he is regarded as a skilled negotiator and canny politico, but also as something of a liberal.
House Verditus:
Every organization needs its smiths and craftsmen; the Order of Hermes is no exception. Members of House Verditus dedicate themselves to the production of Talismans and treasures. At the same time, they supply the Order of Hermes with the mundane resources it needs in order to maintain its Covenants and arm its consors for battle.
Verditus are usually multifaceted and not often what one would expect from a Hermetic wizard. Tinkerers who build elaborate Devices, stocky, grimy blacksmiths and weaponers, wealthy owners of iron mines… no matter what, members of this house never orient solely on the mystical. You can tell a Verditus by the calluses on his hands.
The rise of the Order of Reason put this house on the spot; some of the first members of the Artificer and Craftmason conventions were Verditi who turned their backs on their fellow Hermetics. Now House Verditus engages in fierce competition with its rivals. But Verditi are stubborn and cling to old ways; the Craftmasons and Artificers are innovators. Unless House Verditus can embrace the spirit of innovation as its enemies have, it's doomed to be left behind.
Favored Abilities: Instruction, Animal Ken, Crafts (blacksmithing, weaponsmithing, architecture, jewelery, etc.), Research, Occult and Science (common specialties are Alchemy, Physics, Geometry and Geomancy).
Favored Spheres: Forces, Matter, and Prime.
…and one, banished for treachery, soaked in blood, heedless of its crimes and marked for destruction, but a House of Hermes still:
House Tremere, A.K.A. House Masassa, Clan Tremere
When House Tremere was a participating part of the Order, its specialty was politics (especially internal politics). In addition, where Tremere was not a house of theorists, they had a talent for devising crafty ways to apply magic.
The House of Tremere was centered on the Ceoris chantry in Transylvania; its exact whereabouts have been lost to memory and record. Current intelligence places Clan Tremere in Vienna but with a wide net cast across Europe.
Spheres of Note: House Tremere betrayed the Order long before the sphere-based codification of true magic came into vogue. However, its members were skilled with magics that would go on to become Mind-based.
Members of Note:
Lord Tremere: He helped found the Order, then he betrayed it. When he was alive, he was a great politician but not much of a magician. Famed Certamen duellist, and co-creator of the duelling system (along with Bonisagus). Whereabouts unknown, probably Vienna.
Etrius: Tremere's "right hand." Intelligent and cunning. Masters of the Order who remember the Tremere before their fall describe him as "a fair magician, but a deep thinker and calculating planner." Currently overseeing Clan Tremere's operations in Eastern Europe from their Vienna Covenant.
Goratrix: Tremere's favored apprentice. Was considered to be brilliant, a far greater magician than his mentor. Currently believed to be running Clan Tremere's Paris Covenant.
Grimgroth the Vile: Former member of House Jerbiton and leader of the Mistridge Covenant; turned by the Tremere. Current whereabouts unknown.
The Witch Meerlinda: Another member of Tremere's inner circle. Specialist in manipulation of Crays and the drawing of Tass. Currently headquartered in Cornwall where she is attempting to wrest control of Glastonbury Tor; the Glastonbury Compact was formed to oppose her machinations.
Celestyn the far-roaming: A Spaniard in life. Believed to be an explorer and the clan's chief Procurer. Current whereabouts unknown.
Myca Vykos: Tremere's other favored apprentice; was betrayed to vampires before the fall of the House. Now a terrifying undead strong in blood sorcery and shapeshifting powers. Recent rumors place him… it in England.
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