Whereas Consilia act as keepers of the peace among the Awakened, a mage’s Order influences to what ends he typically directs his magical abilities.
The Order provides a philosophical compass with which to resolve ethics puzzles unique to the Wise, and entrusts him with responsibilities to the Order as a way to prove his dedication and advance the Order’s goals.
In exchange for loyalty and service each Order provides its members in good standing with resources and magical instruction.
Each Order is a global organization. A Guardian of the Veil in China has as much access to the Masques as one in France, for example, and both will share a similar overall power structure or chain of command.
However, the Guardians near Beijing will not focus on the same problems or employ the same methods for achieving their goals as the Guardians in and around Paris. These regional groupings of culturally similar mages of the same Order — typically led by a high-status member — are called Caucuses.
Caucuses tend to cover larger geographical areas than Consilia. In most cases a single Caucus will wield influence over members of their Order in three to six different Consilia. Two different Orders’ Caucuses may wield influence over the same regions, but frequently this overlap is incomplete.
Caucuses by Order
The structure of an Order Caucus depends heavily on its Order:
Adamantine Arrow
Arrow Caucuses have clear chains of command.
- New members of the Order are called Talons.
- Those who have proven themselves competent tacticians and leaders are promoted to First Talons.
- Thunderbolt Guardians are senior Arrows who usually serve as instructors in their areas of specialty until their talents are required on the battlefield, at which point they bring their vast knowledge and considerable skills to bear against the enemy.
- An Adamant Sage usually commands an Arrow Caucus and acts as an advisor to local Hierarchs, especially on matters of defending the Consilium against threats.
- Some Talons receive formal recognition from their superiors as guardians of a particular cabal — called Banner Wardens — although not every Talon from a mixed Order cabal is permitted this responsibility, as they become dedicated to that duty above the Orders’ other interests.
Guardians of the Veil
Most Guardian activity centres around its several Labyrinths — mystery cults intended to direct Sleeper attention away from real magic while giving the most dedicated seekers an opportunity to prove themselves worthy of Awakened secrets.
- Each Cultor maintains one such cult, acting either as the cult’s leader or as an important member who directs the cult’s activities from behind the scenes.
- Emissaries act as messengers to mages of other Orders, delivering anything from intelligence to help a Consilium root out corruption, to dire threats to those who risk the Veil too often.
- Susceptors investigate all the Orders for signs of internal corruption or agents of the enemy, which is as dangerous as any spymaster’s job.
- The Epopt secretly directs the activities of the Caucus from behind the false identities he wears.
Mysterium
Mysterium Caucuses spring up around a cluster of Athenaea. Mages outside of the Mysterium frequently envision specialized libraries of Grimoires, but an Athenaeum can take many other forms.
They can be centres of learning like libraries, schools, and museums (collectively called Archives); or they can be Censoria, where potentially dangerous lore or artifacts are kept in quarantine against the day that their usefulness outweighs the risks.
- Low-ranking Acquisitors seek out Mysteries to add to the Order’s network of Athenaea.
- Censors police the use of dangerous Mysteries to keep them out of reckless hands — including those of mages who have shown poor judgment.
- Savants commit entire fields of arcane and mundane lore to memory to ensure that even the loss of an Athenaeum will not erase the Mysterium’s knowledge of any topic contained in it.
- Each Athenaeum has a Curator who determines who may access and/or borrow the Mysterium treasures in his keeping, and the religious aspects of the Caucus are led by its Hierophant.
Silver Ladder
Silver Ladder Caucuses make extensive use of Cryptopolies — elaborate networks of mystery cults that serve the dual purpose of propagating Silver Ladder ideals (and guiding Sleepers to Awaken) and allowing théarchs to wield social influence against the Lie.
Théarchs do not control Cryptopolies directly, instead relying on Illuminated Retainers — Sleepers, Sleepwalkers, or Proximi initiated into the Order. Many organizations and laws common to Pentacle mages are Silver Ladder innovations — the Consilium, the Convocation, the Lex Magica, and even the Duel Arcane.
- Newly-initiated Acolytes run errands, carry messages, and perform a variety of ad hoc duties assigned to them by more senior théarchs.
- Lictors act as itinerant investigators and judges throughout the Caucus.
- A member of the Silver Ladder who masters the Lex Magica may rise in prestige by becoming a Factotum — a lawyer of the Order.
- Clavigers maintain ideological purity among the Silver Ladder and occasionally serve as envoys to other supernatural beings — partially because of their experience and partially because they are more expendable than the Order’s Deacons.
- Deacon who oversees all the théarchs within his domain. Some populous Caucuses in regions dominated by the Silver Ladder may have an Archdeacon who rules over several Deacons with narrowly defined responsibilities within the Caucus.
Assembly (Free Council)
Libertines agree to be governed by the Consilium when their cabals are members, but they prefer to participate in Assemblies.
Ideally, an Assembly is a democratic gathering of all the mages in a locality, voting equally on public matters and all abiding by the results.
In practice, Assembly is usually the same thing as the Free Council Caucus, except for a handful of younger or less established mages who think they’ll get a better result appealing to the Libertines than going to the Hierarch.
Contrary to popular assumptions, not all members of an Assembly have voting rights — at least not right away. Newly initiated Libertines are granted provisional membership for a year before gaining voting membership (unless they convincingly prove their loyalty to the Assembly before then). Mages who come to Free Council gatherings from other Orders who submit to the Assembly’s judgments and participate in their rituals and organization long enough can likewise earn voting membership (becoming a Voter).
Partially this is to make infiltration and sabotage of an Assembly by the Seers of the Throne more difficult, but it also prevents similar voter abuses by Diamond Order mages who might try to sway the Assembly’s policy.
- Emissaries serve as contacts with the local Consilium and regional Caucuses and Minutemen respond to emergencies.
- Letter Carriers deliver messages hidden in their minds, while Citizen Agents serve as watchmen, spies, and covert operatives for the Order.
- In some areas, a Strategos acts as a general, chief executive, or expert who addresses an immediate threat or concern.
- A Libertine who has gained enough of a reputation to sway the votes of his constituents is regarded as a Syndic — one of the politicians and lobbyists of the Free Council.