Most mages belong to one of three sects — the Diamond, the Free Council, or the Seers of the Throne.
The Diamond and the Free Council maintain an alliance (called the Pentacle) against the Seers.
The four Orders of the Diamond Precept claim a common origin as spiritual successors of the Awakened of the Time Before, modelling themselves after what they see as a perfected, Supernal society like a vast, shared, Shadow Name.
The evidence they present for their Supernal remit is inconclusive at best, but this shared symbolism has helped hold the sect together over centuries by giving its members a common set of cultural reference points.
The four Diamond Orders are the Adamantine Arrow, the Guardians of the Veil, the Mysterium, and the Silver Ladder.
In its current form the Council of Free Assemblies is the youngest of the three sects.
Once a loose coalition of Nameless Orders in constant conflict with the Diamond for resources and members, it united in common cause with them against the Seers of the Throne and has remained a force to be reckoned with in the Awakened world ever since.
The Seers of the Throne serve the Exarchs and enjoy considerable prosperity as the result of their devotion to those Supernal Tyrants. They do not hesitate to use magic to get what they want. In consequence, they have more resources than any of the other sects. These advantages are blunted by the Seers’ constant in-fighting and struggles for dominance over other Seers of the Throne, or disputes over control of resources.
A relative handful of mages do not belong to any of the three large sects. They include apostates, Nameless, and members of Nameless Orders.
An apostate rejected membership in all the Orders for whatever reason. This is a daunting prospect when even casual membership in an Order grants access to so many resources — thousands of years’ worth of accumulated knowledge, Grimoires, rotes, Legacies, artifacts, Imbued items, and secrets.
Some apostates were once part of an Order and left (voluntarily or not), taking some secrets with them. These latter apostates are distrusted by all the other Orders, who see them as potential traitors or enemy spies.
A Nameless mage does not belong to any Order. Some hail from remote regions with few or no other resident Awakened, or haven’t attracted the attention of an Order yet. Most of these join an Order once the opportunity presents itself.
A Nameless Order is one of any number of small, usually local or regional organizations of mages. Some belong to ancient magical traditions, while others consist of a few cabals who recently joined forces. Although a handful can wield considerable influence within their purview, they lack the global reach of the major Orders.