[Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen] The Atlantean Highborn

Out of Character (OOC):

Chronicle: Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen

Venue: Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition

Chronicle Storyteller: Jerad Sayler

Assistant Storytellers: Hannah Nyland & Alex Van Belkum

The Atlantean Highborn

The following is a pseudo legacy first imagined by Korri Smith with the help of Mathew Hagen.  It has since been adapted for use in MtA 2e for use by Korri's Character Witness and Hannah Nyland's character Chimera, who's souls hold the heritage.

Sources: The original mechanics for the Atlantean Highborn were copied from the Arete system laid out in World of Darkness: Mirrors but after many tweaks (halving growth rate, additional costs to powers, removal of automatic successes, etc) it was determined that the Legacy was too prone to becoming overpowered if Masteries and Skill Tricks were purchased strategically.

Most Diamond Order mages know the legends of the five Atlantean kings and queens who followed the Exarchs into the Supernal Realms and built their Watchtowers on the sublime shores and became known as the Oracles.  But what of the Atlantean nobility who did not return to the Fallen City, the kings in exile and the queens in hiding? The stories of the Diamond Orders have little to say on the inheritors of the Atlantis’ legacy.

It is said that the royalty among the Awakened City hid among the peoples of the newly fallen world, just as the priests, warriors, scholars and spies did, and oftentimes stepped down into a position of service among the nascent orders.  But they could not truly disguise their true natures, the parts of them that were more than the common magi who now sought direction in a Sleeping world.  Their souls were marked by the greater understanding of truth that revealed them as the true rulers of a lost Kingdom, and because of this truth, their souls were somehow different and retain memory, authority and connection to their past lives.

Over the years, as the kings and queens of Atlantis passed from the world, their souls would continue to cycle through the eternal Wheel of Incarnation, being born again and again in the fallen world. Not all incarnations Awakened, and those that did needed the help of the Watchtowers, as all mages’ souls do. But when the Highborn’s soul did Awaken, it was strong, and the hidden truths of the first Lords of the Spire resonated within their breasts.

Nobility is not a guarantor of merit, however. Many Atlantean Highborn fall to hubris, giving in to the arrogance that their superior abilities lead them to upon Awakening. But just as many rise to heights of Wisdom, and lead the magi around them to do the same. Either way, one of the Highborn cannot help but influence those around them by their sheer excellence.

Nickname: Exiles

Orders:
Atlantean Highborn can be members of any Order, but are less likely to be members of the Free Council than the Diamond Orders. They almost never join the Seers of the Throne, as a part of their souls still remember the ancient betrayal of the Exarchs.

The Adamantine Arrow boasts the greatest number of Atlantean Highborn, who find that their skills are rewarded and honed by the military traditions of the order. They dedicate themselves to the warrior-philosopher ideal, and find themselves in the position of First Talon or Thunderbolt Guardian usually well before their peers. If they survive the travails the order frequently finds itself in, they often rise to the position of Adamant Sage.

Among the Silver Ladder, the Exiles find the opportunity to express themselves toward Atlantean ideals, and seek to bring the Awakened community together under the promise of a new Atlantis.  However, it is among the Silver Ladder that most Highborn seem to fall to their hubris and become the great monsters and tyrants that led to the fall of the First City in the first place.

Highborn among the Mysterium find that they have a knack for rediscovering the lost treasures and lorehouses of the Time Before, which leads to rapid gains of status and prestation.  They quickly become some of the foremost explorers and loremasters of the order.  Unfortunately, their meteoric rise often upsets their peers, and they quickly find themselves without friends or allies when the temple walls come crashing down.

The Guardians of the Veil are often suspicious of the unexplained aptitudes of the Atlantean Highborn, and the few who adopt the Law of Masques usually find it a challenge to rise in status in the order of spies.  When they do finally gain the trust of their peers and superiors however, they often become Susceptors or Epopts as their excellence qualifies them for the most difficult and dangerous missions.

Very few Exiles are drawn to the Ranks of the Free Council.  The order denies the truth that resonates in a Highborn’s soul; The First City was very real, and she was a queen who ruled over it.  However, on occasion the skills and aspirations of an Atlantean Highborn coincide with the Free Council’s cause, and they are often the first among their peers to make advances in bringing the light of the Supernal into focus for the Sleeping masses.

Appearance:

Atlantean Highborn tend to dress well, and are drawn to the elite fashions of whichever society they are found in. They also tend to be in excellent physical health, but this is not always the case. Rare is the slovenly Exile, however, and even those that are overweight or out of shape are usually well groomed.

Organization:

There is no organization among the Atlantean Highborn. Once, during the height of the Roman Empire, a number of Exiles met to bring about an organization that would allow them to pool their strengths and restore their place as kings and queens of the Awakened, but this meeting quickly devolved into a conflict of peers as each tried to establish her position at the top of a pecking order.  The sad fact is, Atlantean Highborn do not generally work well together, and usually only accept another’s authority if it suits their goals.

Background: 
There is no rhyme or reason to who Awakens with the soul of an Atlantean Highborn. The Guardians of the Veil and the Silver Ladder have drawn up extensive family trees for any Highborn who becomes known, but there seems to be no significant indication that the souls of the Exiles pass through genetic lineages.

Exiles that exercise and expand their supernal authority (however hard to substantiate) tend to have high Social Attributes, Skills and Merits.  High concentrations of the Highborn possess the Daimon merit.  Many Daimon remember who they really are and have vast resources of past knowledge and ancient memory.  They also can be potent and overbearing, even damaged by so many cycles of remembrance.

The heirs of Atlantis also tend to have high-levels of the Ancient Echoes merit, giving them memories and flashes of insight all the way back to the beginning...

Note: It should be noted that the heritage of a soul is not something that can be validated easily. The Exiles discover through deep soul searching and internal exploration and claim their status as something they are outside of an Order of Legacy.  There is no formal system of validation and such a system would require studying the Exile's soul with Death magic, visiting past lives through Past Life Regressions or travel through the deepest parts of their Oneiros.  At the end of the day, its impossible to tell without a doubt that these souls are somehow the lost royalty of an ancient Awakened nation.

Part of being an Exile is being labeled as a charlatan or a messiah (sometimes both).  Despite their high charisma and inherent nobility they are often seen as frauds for what they claim.  Many hide their beliefs about the nature of their souls under a bushel.  The issue of what exactly the Atlantean Highborn is a political hornet's nest of speculation.  Hope, however, tends to win out.

New Merit: Atlantean Highborn (•••••)

Prerequisites: Awakened, Character Creation only

Effect: You were born with the soul of a King or Queen of Atlantis and grants you two benefits.

Wisdom Yantra:  Your soul is it’s own Supernal Truth, and a powerful Yantra for spellcasting. When casting a spell, wether ritually or instantly, you may choose to spend a Willpower point to incorporate your soul into the spell as a Yantra. The effectiveness of your soul as a Yantra is measured by your Wisdom; Wise souls are more flush with Supernal power. You are still limited in the number of Yantras you may incorporate into a given spell based on your Gnosis.

Supernal Authority: Additionally, your soul’s age and power resonate strongly with ancient supernatural creatures. Spirits, goetic entities and Supernal beings recognize the history you bring to bear. You gain 9-again on all social interactions with such beings. If another effect would already grant you 9-again, you gain 8-again, instead.

Drawback: Your soul can be used as a powerful Yantra by other mages, as well. When used as a human sacrifice they gain your Wisdom as a Yantra bonus, in addition to the benefits of human sacrifice. Additionally, just because all spirits, Goetic entities and Supernal beings respect your inborn authority does not mean they like you; in fact, you may have powerful enemies that you do not remember due to the actions of your past selves.

Supporting Merits:

Merit: Daimon (•••)

Source: Tome of the Watchtowers p. 66

Effect: “Daimon” is the original Greek word from which the modern English “demon” is derived. The Greeks regarded the daimon as an intermediary between the gods and man, distinct from the free-roaming malevolent spirit of Mesopotamia. Comparable to other Paths’ guardian angel, faerie kin, power animal or ancestral protector, the daimon shares an intimate personal link with the bearer of this Merit, but also partakes of the Supernal Realm that is the daimon’s birthplace. A mage’s daimon is far older than the mage, at least in an ontological sense, and has access to knowledge, wisdom and modes of thought or being that are beyond mortal ken. Mages of any Path can purchase this Merit.

This Merit acts similar to the Dream Merit (p. 82 in Mage: The Awakening). The mage with this Merit, however does not need to spend an hour in sleep or trance to receive a clue from his daimon. He merely spends one turn in meditative concentration, and the Storyteller rolls his Wits + Composure in secret, with the same results as described for the Dream Merit, except that success provides only one clue. This clue comes from the daimon, and similar to dream clues, is cloaked in allegory and metaphor.

Ancient Echoes (• to •••••)

Source: Banishers p. 40

Prerequisites: Awakened (Banisher or Storyteller’s permission); must be purchased with bonus Merit dots at character creation

Effect: Some mages have stronger connections to the past than others. While many mages may eventually be able to track their ancestry back to survivors of the Fall of Atlantis, few have direct remembrances of actual experiences just before, during or just after the Fall. Mages with this Merit, however, can capture snatches of memories of life in Atlantis or other events of their past history in the Fallen World. This Merit may reflect reincarnation or memories of the fallen grafting themselves onto a new body; this Merit is most common among Banishers who experience some measure of memetic transmission.

Mages with this Merit sometimes gain insights into their craft or into some aspect of the relationships among the orders. Banishers with this Merit perceive it as either a blessing or a curse (or sometimes both) for it not only gives them insights into the workings of their targets but also reminds them of a past they fervently wish to either ignore or destroy.

Déjà vu (•): The character experiences a sudden sense of having done or witnessed something in a past life up to 200 years ago, i.e., something that happened during the Victorian era (19th century) or later (20^th century). The character may receive simply a feeling (“I feel as if I’ve walked down this street before when it was cobblestones instead of asphalt.”) or a more profound “memory.” (“I followed a man into this library and through this hallway once before — long ago. There was a locked door and then the restricted books section.”)

Memory’s Thin Walls (••): The character’s memory or seeming memory extends back as far as 400 years (the 17th century). The more recent the memory, the more vivid its details are to the mage. (“I remember watching fascinated as a child while some of my uncles shoved heavy crates of tea into the waters of the harbor.”) or (“I remember the stars were in the same position in the sky when a man darted across my path fleeing something indescribable and unspeakable — much like that!”)

Memory’s Open Door (•••): The character can remember something (or something similar) having occurred as far back as the 13th century. (“I’ve seen the signs before in this very house — a plague house!”) Mages can sometimes experience premonitions based on past events at this level of the Merit. (“The earth shook here once before, and I feel it growing restless again.”)

Stepping Backward (••••): The character’s memory can extend as far back as the beginning of the Common Era (1st century) and the amount of detail remembered may seem to place the character back in time, though this is certainly not an instance of time travel. (“I was known as Eudoricus, and even then I hunted down those who sought to reinfect the purity of the Supernal with the taint of the Fallen World.”)

Echoes of Fallen Atlantis (•••••): At the highest level of this Merit, the character seems to remember aspects of Atlantis itself. Banishers usually find clues for a possible starting point to track down a specific artifact or the key to locating an “old soul” in the modern world. Mages with this level of the Merit sometimes receive insights into the ways of old Atlantis. Both mages and Banishers sometimes experience this level with hallucinatory-like intensity or as a waking nightmare; the memories are far more symbolic than literal, which makes it a frustrating affair to attempt to visualize Atlantis as it was.

Merit: Potent Nimbus (• or ••)
Effect: Your character’s Nimbus has distinct and powerful effects on witnesses. At one dot, add two to your character’s effective Gnosis when determining her Nimbus Tilt (see MtA 2ed p. 90). At two dots, add four to her effective Gnosis for that purpose. Additionally, add your dots in this Merit to any rolls to flare your character’s Nimbus.

Merit: Potent Resonance (••)
Prerequisite: Gnosis 3+
Effect: Your character’s Signature Nimbus is particularly overbearing. Whenever a character scrutinizes her Signature Nimbus with Mage Sight, he’s subject to the effects of her Immediate Nimbus and its corresponding Tilt.