Unveiling spells expose hidden things to the mage’s senses. She might gain the ability to hear radio waves (Forces), peer across The Gauntlet or perceive things in Twilight (Spirit), or see the flow of Mana across the landscape (Prime).
In Game:
These magics are very much extensions of Mage Sight and include the ability to communicate and interact directly with otherworldly beings and the like. This facet of Unveiling magic, not limited by Mage Sight is the ability to extend perceptions to others, is perhaps one of the most useful found at any level of any Arcanum. Mages need not merely explain what they can see and understand; they can show one another. This direct sharing of perceptions allows the Awakened to potentially avoid a lot of dangerous misunderstandings.
Given the fact that Unveiling magics reveal Resonance to mages, the spells of this Practice are probably some of the most useful in any mage’s repertoire. The importance of being able to interact with Resonance cannot be overstated. Such a sense enables a mage to further augment his Mage Sight to detect the passing of other willworkers, to learn the specific “signature” of a spell and to otherwise discern the presence of otherworldly phenomena.
In Story:
Some Awakened mentors see the Practice of Unveiling as perhaps the most central to a mage’s enlightened state and the logical extension of what is imparted byMage Sight. To see the truth of things, to look through the Lie of the Exarchs, is to know creation for what it is. While Unveiling magics don’t actually lead to universal understanding, or any other such lofty objective, they do help to reveal basic truths about the world and the people, places and things in it. Unveiling magics are practical magics, which help the Awakened to discern fact from fiction.
Mages who favour the Practice of Unveiling tend to be down-to-earth and detail-oriented. Many are more interested in “what” or “how” than “why”; they like to get inside the workings of things and make sense of them. Not a few of the Awakened world’s most prominent researchers and scientists are skilled practitioners of the arts of Unveiling. Because the Practice of Unveiling expounds upon Focused Mage Sight, most Awakened teachers push the knowledge of this Practice mercilessly upon their students, encouraging them to cast, and re-cast, such magics, even when unnecessary. In many ways, the sense for the Resonance behind things is a sense all its own, as valuable to the willworker as sight, hearing or her ability to instinctively perceive mystic phenomena.
No matter how experienced a mage becomes, there is always a reason to return to magics of Unveiling. Human beings are creatures of the senses, arguably far more than they are creatures of reason and intellect. To see magic, to hear it and touch it, is to connect in a real and meaningful way with the Supernal. The importance of this connection cannot be overstated. It is one of the surest ways through which willworkers know themselves to be something other than Sleepers, and through which even the most jaded of the Awakened can rekindle a sense of wonderment at the beauty and splendour of magic.