Editing Lineage:Rebellion Lineages (section)

=Order of Eve=

[[Image:Brake-bread.jpg]]

Positive Stereotype:  Kind idealist.

Negative Stereotype:  Pompous hypocrite.

Symbol:  Broken bread.

Signature Spell: Relieve Sickness.  “Touch of Eve”.

Magical Style:  Mesopotamian, an amalgam of Sumerian, Babylonian and Assyrian elements.


The Order of Eve traces itself back, in theory, to the Eve of the Bible, although many in the order doubt that Eve even existed, let alone that she started an order of magi.  Even if they are not really the oldest Order, they are certainly very ancient and priesthoods in Mesopotamia and Egypt had both been infiltrated by them by the time writing was invented.  The Order of Eve spread with monotheism and is found today throughout the Christian and Muslim world.  The order has rarely occupied positions of great power, however, at least partly because of their institutional hatred of hierarchies, rules and dishonesty.  Apprentice training focuses on understanding nature and healing.  Magical training emphasizes the relieving of sickness.

In the Order’s folklore, Eve was the first mage, a rebel to be admired and a human being willing to stand up for human rights.  Her defiance of God is presented not as the downfall of humanity, but as the dawn of its liberation.  Eating the apple gave humanity wisdom and Eve’s sharing of the apple with Adam is presented as humanity’s primordial choice of love over hate, good over evil.

Members of the Order are expected to work to humanity’s benefit, although there is no oversight to make sure that they do and very little in the way of Order organization.  Mages of the Order rarely hold office but rather help others on a more personal level, such as by conducting charity work, curing disease, resolving disputes, or changing minds.  The order is very attractive to compassionate idealists, along with self-righteous egotists, knee-jerk rebels and people who hate rules because they hate responsibility.

In ancient and medieval Europe, the Order was often on bad terms with the Houses, an inevitable result of the Order’s independence and political commitment.  They were a favorite target for witch-trials and some members accidentally whipped up public fervor against witches by idealistically making honest public confessions.  The Order of Eve’s distaste for warfare is legendary.  They opposed the American Revolution, the Civil War, and American entry into the two world wars, not to mention the wars in Korea and Vietnam and the modern wars in the middle east.

The order draws its cardinal Seven Virtues from its version of the story of Adam and Eve:  Attentiveness, Suspicion, Courage, Love, Wisdom, Fear, Godliness:

Genesis.3

[1] Now man was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And the man said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  [2] And the woman said unto the man, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  [3] But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  [4] Eve was listening.  [5] And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof.  [6]  Eve was suspicious.  [7]  Eve did eat the fruit.  [8]  Eve was courageous.  [9]  Eve gave the fruit also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.  [10]  Eve was loving.  [11] And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were mortal; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves circles.  [12]  Eve was wise.  [13] And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.  [14]  Eve was fearful.  [15] And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?  [16] And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was mortal; and I hid myself.  [17] And he said, Who told thee that thou wast mortal? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?  [18] And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.  [19] And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, I saw that it was good and I did eat.  [20]  Eve was honest.  [21] And the LORD God said unto the worm, Because man hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; beneath thy belly shalt thou go, and flesh shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:  [13] And I will put enmity between the beasts and man, and between their seed, and claw will slay man and spear will slay beast.  [14] Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.  [15] And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;  [16] Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;  [17] In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.  [18] And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.  [19] Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.  [20] And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.  [21] Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.  [22] So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.  [23] And the woman said unto the man, Ye shall not surely die.  [24] For God doth know that in the day ye ate thereof, your eyes were opened, and we are as gods, knowing good and evil.  [25] Eve was as a god, knowing good and evil.

Mortal Politics:  The world has an urgent need for famine relief, disease control and the abolition of torture and all capital and corporal punishment.  All societies must become democracies where the worst off are taken care of and where all competent adults have equal rights.  Either we humans learn to love one another or we will shortly be extinct.

Cost:  20

Advantages:  Language:  (Any, Broken)

Skills:  Botany, First Aid, Naturalist, Occultism, Physician, Symbol Drawing (Mesopotamian), Thaumatology, Theology (Christian).

Spells:
Healing:  Lend Energy, Lend Vitality, Minor Healing, Relieve Sickness.
Knowledge:  History, Seeker, Trace.
Plant:  Identify Plant, Seek Plant.
Water:  Seek Water.


Relations

The Houses

House of Anjou:  A human controlled by their own temper is a mere beast.  A mage should never be less than fully human.

House of Cain:  Some crimes can never be forgiven.

House of Capet:  Their strength is failing them.  Perhaps this will make them more amendable to changing their ways.

House of Carolus:  They understand that peace has its uses, so maybe there is some hope for them.

House of Flavii:  Haunted by their own crimes, they will destroy themselves in time.  How the dead hate them!

House of Hapsburg:  Power, power, power.  But for what?  They have alienated themselves from other people.

House of Julii:  Time after time, their own violence returns to them, but they never learn.  They put on a stunning show but it always ends in tragedy.

House of Lancaster:  Work is a curse we inflict on ourselves.  They want to turn people into machine-parts.

Order of Lilith:  The loneliest people in all the world.  Even Cain took a wife.

House of Medici: They cannot love, so why do they live?  For money.  What a strange existence it must be.

House of Romanov:  Remembering the past is good.  Being frozen in it isn’t.  Less self-obsession would do them good.

House of Stuart:  These are the bastards that ultimately rule the world and they don’t even know that people matter more than money.

House of Trastámara:  Viscious, like mad animals.  What good cause could possibly justify such cruelty?

House of Ummayad:  They seem afraid.  What are they hiding from?  If they need help, they had better have the sense to ask before it is too late.

House of Warwick:  Do they ever open their mouths without lying?  Do they even remember the difference between truth and a lie?

House of York:  Always marching to war, always killing.  They are willing to be chattel of the Stuarts, as long as they are allowed to kill.

The Rebellion

Order of Boudicca:  They need to stop thinking like an army.  They are supposed to be mages.

Order of Copernicus:  They don’t believe everything they are told.  I like that.  But they often focus on such a big picture that they lose sight of people.

Order of Darwin:  Evolution is a myth as it happens, but let’s not fight about it. Ok?  We have more important things to worry about.

Order of Jesus:  They are very frightening, but they do a lot of good in the world.  They don’t betray others either.

Order of Judas:  Hasn’t there been enough killing?  The Rebellion has to mean something more than fresh violence.

Order of Siddhartha:  Kind, peaceful people.  Their lack of political posturing has too often been interpreted as lack of dedication.

Order of Solon:  Democracy is good.  Don’t forget equal rights, though.  We need laws, but we need the right laws.

Order of Spartacus:  Spartacus lost because he was too warlike.  His mages make conflict because it is the only thing they understand.

Order of Thales:  As harmless as they are useless.  Theorizing is nice, but you also have to take part in life.

Order of Utnapishtim:  A rock that will endure as long as life on earth.  Without their protection, life would have perished.