Editing LeviathanTempest:ChapterOne (section)

=== Schools ===
[Picture, half page: The top half of the picture shows a walking man in work clothes and a hardhat. Rising up around him are half-completed buildings, mostly skeletal, and the sky is covered in smoke. He holds a box lunch in his right hand and a hammer in his left. He is walking through a large puddle which dominates the ground. In the puddle is a reflection depicting a similar-looking man wearing black robes with hieroglyphic figures sown in. He wears a steepled priest-like hat. rising around him are towering ziggurats, and the sky is stormy. He holds a human heart in his right hand and a cruel bronze dagger, stained with blood, in his left. Both men are smiling in an off-putting fashion.]

The primary activity of a Leviathan, beyond the day-to-day elements of normal life, is a search for definition and structure. The control that the Tribe can exercise over their powers is unreliable at best, and nothing can be done about the isolation imposed by the Wake. In the face of this instability, members of the Tribe adopt methods of coping and moving forward, attempting to create a sketch of the sort of being that they will become. These approaches are referred to as Schools. Despite the institutional tone that the name conjures up, a School is not an edifice. Instead, it should be seen as a stance adopted by a Leviathan towards the reality of their nature and the lost history of the Progenitor's world. A School is a marker of how a Leviathan deals with the questions of who and what they are and what relationship they will have to humanity and the Tribe.

Those Leviathans that seek their place in the Rift and the study of the Primordial Waters make up '''the School of the Abyss'''. They are explorers and ascetics, looking to find their place in serene harmony with their surroundings. Part of this search involves accepting that, on some level, the Tribe are alien to the human world established by mankind, and most of the School's proponents eventually gravitate towards the margins of civilization, living in the deep woods or on remote islands. In isolation they continue their search for a Tranquility founded on self-awareness and self-acceptance. 

Those that make up '''the School of the Sun''' are the priests and demagogues of the Tribe. Asserting the lost position of the Tribe as intermediaries between mankind and the Progenitors, they attempt to return to that position. The heart of the School's strategy is finding a place in something larger than themselves, exploring their spiritual life as part of guiding and participating in the growth of others. The School of the Sun are the Tribe's cult-leaders, politicians, and visionaries, looking for a Tranquility that comes from external inspiration, humility, and spiritual fulfillment.

'''The School of Clay''' searches for a place in the world of humanity, attempting to grasp the core of the human experience and integrate themselves appropriately into the human world. They are the socialites and psychologists of the Tribe, using analysis and observation as a basis for constructing a survivable social role for themselves. Understanding that life in the human world will not come to them "naturally," they seek it out, accomplishing with science and patience what instinct will not provide. Fearing (or, more charitably, acknowledging) the isolation that the Tribe suffers, the School of Clay constructs identities around itself. They manufacture the role that will offer their Tranquility.

Those Leviathans driven to defend themselves and others make up '''the School of the Reef'''. Realizing that the human world offers no sanctuary to the Tribe, they throw themselves into the fray, studying their enemies and honing their skills. The School's approach insulates them from the anxiety of their condition, burying metaphysical concerns beneath the more immediate problem of survival. The more far-sighted members of the School look forward to a battle to overthrow the result of Marduk's success, a victory that would return the Tribe to positions of safety and security. They found their Tranquility on having a purpose and a goal - defend my friends and cow my enemies, whoever they may be.

Some Leviathans find themselves devoting their time to considering their own condition and the nature of the Tribe itself. These make up '''the School of Fog''', who seek to reforge the alliances that once bound the Tribe and rebuild lost traditions. The mysterious history of the Tribe becomes the focus of their study, seeking a place in relation to their peers. The final goal is a complete lineage and culture that would sustain and guide the Tribe for centuries to come, offering a place to stay and a person to be. The School seeks a Tranquility through the revelation of history and the hunt for a sense of belonging and purpose.

While a Leviathan is not indoctrinated into a School, a slight hierarchy might be present on a local level. More experienced and established members of the Tribe, should they find themselves sharing opinions with a "cousin," might take them under their wing. For the most part, guidance and assurance are the best that a mentor can offer. Confidence and security cannot be taught. These local icons might eventually be seen as a figure of import in Tribe politics, but this is more a factor of their person as their School. No member of the Tribe can outrank another except by the complicity of the "junior."

==== Sidebar: Other Schools? ====
It's certainly a possibility that Leviathans exist that don't fall into one of the specified Schools. What's far more unlikely is a Leviathan without any School whatsoever. Fundamentally, a Leviathan without a School is without a strategy for dealing with the stresses of his or her condition. Part of Emergence, and one of the key elements of being a Leviathan with tenuous control rather than a fledgling without any, is accepting one's inhuman nature and thinking actively about how to live with it. That's where Schools come in. The Schools are intended to be broad and to cover a multitude of strategies, but if a character isn't well-represented by any of them, it's certainly possible for a player and their Storyteller to design a School that makes sense. Schools should have a clear concept of what a Leviathan is and how they should act - that's what a School ''is.'' Mechanically, they offer a free Specialty in one skill from a choice of three (one from each category) and favor Adaptations from two Vestiges.

Leviathans occasionally change Schools during their lives, but it's rare for one to entirely abandon School altogether. Such a change would represent a rather dramatic shift in personal philosophy and would likely be the precursor to a catastrophic breakdown and loss of Tranquility - being without a School is akin to having no clear goals, self-image, or life philosophy.