Editing Lineage:Rebellion Lineages (section)

=Order of Darwin=

--Green Leaf image removed due to copyright violation--

Positive Stereotype:  Dedicated researcher, master of animal magic.

Negative Stereotype:  Mad scientist.

Symbol:  Green leaf.

Signature Spell:  Animal Control.  “Dominance”.

Magical Style:  Western Hermeticism, with some elements borrowed from modern science.

Disciples of science and masters of life magic, the Order of Darwin strives to help human society evolve into something with the understanding and power required to overcome the forces of Heaven and Hell.  The Order was not founded by Charles Darwin, who was not, as far as anyone knows, a mage.  Rather it was founded by mage scientists who came after and who were inspired by the theory of evolution, seeing in it a sign that humanity could reinvent itself, raising itself from the status of nature’s victims and becoming something different, greater and more powerful.  Mages of the order have very different conceptions of what humanity should be and internal ideological feuds are common and bitter.  Apprentices are given a thorough training in the sciences, with special emphasis on the sciences of life.  Magical training focuses on spells aiding research on animals and plants.

The order was founded in London in 1905, by scientifically minded mages from all over the world, so that the members could work together to further scientific knowledge.  Apart from supporting education, the order originally took a non-interventionist stance towards mortal society on the grounds that nature must be allowed to take its course.  The order refused to intervene in the First World War, giving rise to the rumor that they approve of war for promoting survival of the fittest.  While a few members of the Order supported the rise of fascism in Germany and Italy, the Order itself finally intervened on the Allied side, breaking a long tradition of neutrality for fear of the chilling effect fascist government has on scientific research.  Today, most members of the Order are on the authoritarian left politically, fighting for public education and healthcare, but rarely allowing concerns for personal freedom to get in the way of schemes for the common good.  There are still diehards who protest that interfering in mortal affairs hampers natural selection, but most mages believe that humans have evolved to live in evolving societies, and that it is no more interference for a mage to guide a mortal than it is for a queen bee to guide a worker bee.

Mortal Politics:  The government needs to spend a lot more to fund public education and the universities.  Religion must be kept out of schools – there must be no lessons in creationism, no pledging allegiance “under God” and no prayer.  Government needs to be purged of corruption, and then given much greater power because the common good requires common organization.


Cost:  21

Skills:  Biology, Botony, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physiology, Symbol Drawing (Western Hermetic), Thaumatology, Theology (Christian), Zoology.

Spells:
Animal:  Animal Control (Any 2), Hybrid Control, Repel Hybrids.
Communication and Empathy:  Sense Emotion, Sense Foes, Persuasion.
Healing:  Lend Energy, Lend Vitality, Minor Healing
Plant:  Identify Plant, Seek Plant.

Relations

The Houses

House of Anjou:  A rabid dog that needs to be put down.  Something gruesome is wrong with their DNA making them creatures of violence.

House of Cain:  They are too obsessed with killing.  One tool is not enough.  They reduce themselves to so much less than they could be.

House of Capet:  The past is gone and will not return.  Now Capet needs to adapt or die.  Europe is gone.  Find a new resource.

House of Carolus:  We need less superstition, not different superstition.  The House of Carolus is cynically deluding people with false religion.

House of Flavii:  What a waste.  So learned yet so very superficial.  If only they had cared, they could have lifted humanity up out of the mire centuries ago.

House of Hapsburg:  They have thrived extremely well in Europe.  I wonder if they can adapt to the American environment just as effectively?

House of Julii:  Skillful predators, but their love of glory is a fatal weakness.  Sooner or later, they destroy themselves with hubris.

House of Lancaster:  I am not quite convinced that they are entirely human.  They are very…weird.

Order of Lilith:  They want to separate themselves from the life around them, but nothing can flourish on its own.

House of Medici:  They serve a useful function, but they need their power checked so that they are not parasitic.

House of Romanov:  You still here, Romanov?  Isn’t it time your kind was extinct?  Horse magic doesn’t cut it anymore.

House of Stuart:  The shepherd who cares nothing for his sheep is thinking in the short term.

House of Trastámara:  Something in their makeup is defective.  They need to be taken out of the gene pool.

House of Ummayad:  How mysterious!  They require further study.

House of Warwick:  Consumate survivors, but how long can they keep it up?  Everyone seems to have a score to settle with them.

House of York:  They only know how to destroy.  That makes them very weak.  It is only the support of the other English Houses that keeps them in existance.

The Rebellion

Order of Boudicca:  Disorganized rabble.  Still, change requires a little chaos.  They tend to be first to the barricades.

Order of Copernicus:  The glimpse the big picture, but have no idea what to do about it.  Never mind.  As sources of information, they are unmatched.

Order of Eve:  Life evolved, so they clearly aren’t who they think they are.  They are the deranged relics of an age of superstition.

Order of Jesus:  Who let the soldiers of Heaven into the Rebellion?  They mean well, but they are living in a fantasy world..

Order of Judas:  Necessary and useful.  While other mages are talking, the Order of Judas mage is taking action.

Order of Siddhartha:  Too weak to face reality.  They have access to many useful secrets, but they have no idea how to analyze them.

Order of Solon:  They should be able to see that not everyone is equal and not everyone is suited to rule.

Order of Spartacus:  Yes, yes, they want to be free.  But what will they do with freedom?  They don’t care.  Never mind.  They are the only ones in the Rebellion who can coordinate a martial operation, so we’d better be friends

Order of Thales:  They are more useful than they look.  Dreamers are annoying, but without speculation, there is no advancement.

Order of Utnapishtim:  The vestigial relics of a once healthy order.  Time and the changing environment have passed them by.