We're back in the World of Darkness this month with a new campaign for Mage: The Awakening. Set in Dallas, Texas, this modern day chronicle of modern sorcery will form the cornerstone of the campaign setting. We'll be using this paradigm going forward, so this is your chance to help shape and change the backstory!
South By Southwest is the name of the chronicle setting, and this chronicle is titled Asleep No More. This title and designation differentiates this story from Smokefall Ridge, which shares the same regional setting, but is separated from the events of this chronicle by more than a hundred years (1876 vs 2013). Both settings will continue developing, and together they will form a dynamic view of our World of Darkness.
The theme behind Dallas in this setting is that of distorted familiarity. Everything seems so correct, so everyday, so normal and most of all, so close to our location and everyday lives. Yet nothing could be further from the truth, and everything seems to obscure conspiracies, plots and skulduggery. More than that, the supernatural elements of the world come to horrible life when framed inside a familiar visage.
What Has Come Before
The Free Council was formed on the last night of the 19th century. In the 20th century, the Council established a place for itself on the Atlantean Pentacle, and despite all it's fine ideas of freedom and progress was relegated to the obscure fringes of Awakened society. Since then, the Free Council has spread across the world, but in most places the idea that these mages aren't much more than reckless children skateboarding down the half-pipe of the Supernal Realms to damnation has propagated and taken root. Unfortunately, in many cases that's the full truth.
The Free Council exists apart from the other Atlantean Orders. The remaining four are considered "the Diamond" - four points of an ancient tradition. Even today, the difference between the Atlanteans and the Free Council is pronounced, with many ideas the Pentacle espouses seems at direct odds with the ideas and methodology of the Free Council. For it's part, the Diamond considers the Free Council a necessary evil - without them, they are weaker - and that's the only saving grace of the Free Council to many Atlantean mages.
The Free Council in other places than Dallas are fringe elements. There are few Free Councilors out there, and they are almost always the minority. This has led to the divide between the Free Council and the other orders of the Diamond, but in more recent times a new movement has emerged from the disparate ranks of the Order. In most areas of the world, the sort of activity that is going on in Dallas would get the Free Councilors in serious trouble with the Diamond...but in Dallas that time has come and gone.
The Unseen War
In the late 1950's, the Free Council came to Texas. Here, their innovations and support of human technology touched some of the great events of the time. They drafted their Resolutionary Agenda, a document that has guided the development of the Free City and the Southwest since then. Science has progressed and times are generally good, but it was not all this way. As they migrated to the Southwest, the other orders did as well. When the Diamond attempted to cow the Free Council here, as they have always done elsewhere, something happened: the Unseen War broke out amidst the orders of the Pentacle.
During this time, the Adamantine Arrow was the only ally of the Free Council in the Southwest. Their cabals owed many oaths to the Free Councilors who had bled into the foundations of these states, and when the other orders rebelled against a Consilium ruled by the Free Council, the Arrow remained true to these oaths and fought side by side with the Free Council. Things quickly progressed from "differences of ideology" to "minor ideological skirmishing" to full blown "religous war" very quickly.
The worst hit in 1974, during an event that has come to be known as the Bloodbath. The Free Councilors wanted to establish an greater assembly, and the order itself came to the aid of the Southwestern cabals. Soon, there were many Free Council mages and their arrow allies standing firm on their idea of a new future. Yet the Silver Ladder and the Guardians of the Veil had enough of the upstarts turning the ancient traditions on their head, corrupting them through modernism or simply discarding the laws of Atlantis as tomfoolery.
The Guardians and the Silver Ladder banded together and attempted to exterminate the Free Council. Many died, but when these unjustified and covert killings began even more Free Council mages arrived from all over the world. In Dallas, on March 3, 1974, the Free Council made their stand. The Silver Ladder and Guardian cabals that had come to quell the upstarts were utterly destroyed in a single night of unbridled magical fury. The Free Council assembly declared that the Ladder and the Guardians had wronged them, and were forbidden to enter the Free City on pain of death. For many years, it stayed that way - a perpetual state of vigilance and violence.
In 1983, the Executors of the Resolutionary Agenda declared the lifting of this ban, and allowed the orders back into the city if they recognized that Dallas was the province of the Free Council. If that was not acceptable, the ban would continue as it had for years, and if the Diamond orders did not want the Unseen War back in full force then the orders would respect the Free Council's position. Reluctantly, the Diamond orders agreed...yet it took a long time for new cabals from those orders to spring up in the Southwest.
The Assembly
The Assembly in Dallas is one of singular purpose. They are working to widen humanity's paradigm, and expose them (in a controlled manner) to the supernal truth. This unity is what keeps them strong, as the cabals work together for the betterment of everyone. Currently more than twenty Free Councilors strong, the Assembly encourages members of the Diamond orders to attend and participate. Usually, one or two turns out but seldom take part in the proceedings.
Acknowledgement of the Assembly's intent is important to cabals from other orders present in the Southwest. Many cannot see the reason behind this, and others simply think it's foolish. Either way, in Dallas it's best to keep those opinions to yourself.
Despite this friction, the Orders of the Pentacle are getting along much better in Dallas these days. Even as the Free Council is apart from the Diamond, together they make the Pentacle. As the Unseen War drew to a close, and the Order of Forbiddance forced the Guardians and the Ladder to fight an extended bid for control that slowly strangled their resources, the Executors saw the bigger picture. As a peace offering, the Free Council Assembly offered to reinstate the Consilium of Dallas.
The Consilium
The formation of the Consilium is a long and complicated story of oaths, bonds, promises and secrets. The Assembly put forth the idea to the Guardians and Ladder, but would only pursue it if one of their Executors were installed as Hierarch. The orders agreed, and to this day the hierarch has always been a Free Councilor. It is unlikely that the Assembly would ever suffer a Diamond order in that position.
For the Free Council, the Consilium is a way to unify the intent of all the cabals in Dallas. While the Assembly has the Free Council behind it, what of the cabals belonging to their allies the Adamantine Arrow or the Mysterium (which remained neutral during the conflict)? This is a way to make everything good for everyone, almost. As it is, the Atlanteans are the minority in Dallas.
Adamantine Arrow wields great power here. They have been allied to the Free Council here in Dallas for a long, long time. The Mysterium also negotiated for peace in the early days of the Unseen War, and have received quite a lot of support from the Assembly ever since. It is unlikely that either of these orders will ever challenge the Free Council here.
The Guardians of the Veil and the Silver Ladder are obviously miffed about the whole thing. One wants to keep Sleepers sleeping, and the other believes that they should rule all mages. Both are entirely inimical to the mindset of the Southwestern Free Councilor, and there is a lot of bad blood between the orders. Today, they are both working to re-establish their power in the Southwest and find a way to exist in the framework the Assembly has created - at least until they can topple this new regime and install one with a traditionalist bent. Naturally, this mindset has increased tensions profoundly.
The Assembly and the Consilium exist together in a kind of uneasy peace. Each one distrusts the others' methods and motives, and both sides believe their ideology to be superior. However, the Assembly itself disregards most of what is decided by the Consilium - it's either already been disseminated to them (since the Hierarch is an Executor) or matters little. The Consilium's rules still apply to the other Atlantean Orders, however.
Though there is tension, there's not much outright conflict these days. Seldom does it progress past a "gentle nudge", where the Consilium attempts to overturn or change the details of how or what the Assembly is doing. These little power plays are taken in stride by the Free Council, but they mean a great deal to some of the Orders, so concessions are regularly made in the name of peace.
Less common is a "hard shove" against the Assembly. This could take the form of an adroit political power play or even a challenge to the Hierarch. Though not common, the atmosphere conducive to this sort of threat could be quickly approaching.
Supernaturals
Mages are a surprising lot. In many places, not much is known about the rest of the world, and the supernatural creatures that live there. However, in Dallas, the paranormal and supernatural are part and parcel of everyday life. Spirits are cataloged and documented. Ghosts are training for Moros mages. The Twilight and the Shadow are part of what mages are taught, and are a major factor in most of the Agenda's action items.
Werewolves are known to exist. There are several packs around the outskirts of Dallas, and even more in the Southwest at large. There isn't much direct contact, but it's an accepted fact that werewolves exist. What's more on debate here is if they can be trusted.
Vampires also exist, but are not welcome in Dallas. A few vampires are rumored to live with the blessing of the Assembly (through the Outreach Program) but an interloper will be dealt with swiftly, if he leaves evidence. For mages, finding evidence is less problematic that for Sleepers. Vampires in general are regarded as inhuman monsters who would rule all men, Awakened and Sleeper, if they could insinuate themselves into society. For that reason, vampires are taken very seriously by the Assembly.
The Shape of Things to Come
Things are not as stable as it seems. Almost every day, the Free City that the Assembly has built lies on the razor's edge. Threats from within the Diamond are the most pronounced, but there are other threats that everyone seems to have forgotten. Vigilance is set aside, and new moves by some of the orders are set to ignite the political atmosphere.
If one piece of the puzzle is removed or replaced, a downhill roll could start. The Free Council could find themselves degenerate fringe magi once again, subjugated by the stifling traditionalism of the Atlantean Orders. To avoid this, the status quo must be maintained.
The Guardians of the Veil hate the free-spirited sharing of magic, among the other goals of the Assembly. They revile the Free Council for what it has done and is doing here, and are vocal about that at every Consilium meeting. Not given to overt action, instead they do as their order commands and attempts to clean up the mess the Free Councilors create. The problem is, they don't always want the mess cleaned up.
The Silver Ladder maintains it's haughty position that it is they who should rule, not the Free Council. Every Consilium meeting, the Ladder attempts to undermine the credibility and authority of the Assembly. Some attempts are more brazen than others, and not all such attempts are effective. Yet they continue to chip away at the resolve of the Assembly with determined patience.
Amidst all of this, one cold, stark fact stands out. Everyone seems to have forgotten why the Free Council exists and instead focus on where and how. This is one lesson it behooves no one to forget, for this enemy is the true foe of the Pentacle.
The Seers of the Throne are out there.