Akashic Brotherhood
‘Forget the pebble. Forget my hand. Balance and be.’
Specialty Sphere: Mind
Associated
Abilities: Brawl, Meditation, and Athletics.
Mind, body, and spirit are all part of the larger whole of
the person, just as the person is part of the larger whole of the
universe. Identity, division, and
conflict are illusions. When the mind
and body come into harmony, the soul follows.
When the individual does not resist the universe but moves with it, he
embraces his nature. From these
philosophical roots came the Akashic Brotherhood. By honing the body, the Brothers make a
temple for the mind; with the refined mind comes understanding of the
spirit. The Brotherhood uses simple
tools – exercise, meditation, practice and study – to refine the simple man
into a brother of knowledge.
Tradition Paradigm: Enlightenment
comes from accepting that mind, body, and soul are all one.
Philosophy: A
return to simplicity lies at the heart of the Brotherhood’s beliefs. Humans live lives cluttered by material
things and impossible desires; how can one find enlightenment
then? The natural place for every
individual – the role of Drahma – is apparent when
one is not blinded by the illusions of greed, desire, and power. Each life is just a step on the greater wheel
of Drahma until the individual releases himself from
the chains that he forged with his own beliefs and desires.
The history of the Brotherhood is kept in the Akashic
Record, a collection of riddles, poems, koans, and
inspirations which collect the experiences of all Akashic Brothers over all
time.
For the body and mind, the Brotherhood
practices Do (pronounced ‘Doe’), literally ‘the Way’ from which all other
martial arts were born. But Do is
not simply a fantastically deadly martial art; it is a way of life, a mental as
well as physical discipline. Ultimately,
the Do practicioner brings his mind and body in
harmony with the natural flow of life.
Failings: Subtlety
and Zen-like calm are among the Brotherhood’s strengths, but they are also a
great weakness. Because the order
focuses so closely on personal growth and individual enlightenment, its Masters
have no connection to the individual student’s personal paths to understanding. Instead of being able to help an Initiate
move toward wisdom with lessons or suggestions, most Akashic Brothers can offer
only rote physical training, cryptic passages in old books or puzzling idioms
that are supposed to lead the student to her own revelation. Some apprentices don’t learn well without
close guidance, and some Mages are unable to move beyond a certain point in
their development without help.
Likes
Celestial Chorus: Our religions are many. Although in the past, the Chorus hated us simply
for our slanted eyes, their worldview has broadened as
they accept Chinese monks, Tibetan hermits and Japanese priests into their
order. Be wary of their intentions, but
accept them as allies. We both seek
something greater.
Dreamspeakers: We understand what it means to be stereotyped – we
are no more ‘Asian’ than they are ‘Native American’ or ‘African’. Their methods are strange, but their culture
is strong.
Dislikes
Celestial Chorus: They possess insight, but they are consumed with
the notion that there is only one path to the All. Our religions are many, but we do not feel
that must lead to conflict between them.
Cult of Ecstasy: They hope to transcend their body before they
understand it. Ecstasy can be a path to
enlightenment, but they treat it as enlightenment itself.
Sons of Ether: The ways of the Technocracy are still strong with
them, but they do value thought and learning.
If we can teach them to leave their material things behind, there is
nothing we cannot do.
Verbena: Pain and struggle are teachers, but not the only
teachers. Life is more than blood. They hurry through their rituals, when they
should pause and reflect upon the journey.
Hollow Ones: The study of harmony must begin with the belief that
harmony is possible. They have already
chosen their path, and we have nothing more to say to them until they choose to
listen.
Virtual Adepts: They constantly seek newer and different illusions
to amuse themselves. Where is the value
of trading one illusion for another, one toy for another? They seek without, but truth lies within.
Hates
Euthanatos: It is not for them to determine who is worthy of
life. They claim to be great judges, but
their minds are clouded by the taint of death.
As it stands, they are little more than a band of killers who has
managed to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes.
Order of Hermes: How can one understand the universe by trying to
categorize and control it? They believe
themselves to be wiser than the universe, and we suffer the oppression of their
grandstanding. Their sins of pride will
soon catch up to them.
Factions
Shi-Ren
The Shi-Ren
combine Legalism with Akashic mysticism. The material world is an illusion that masks
the ties of obligation and desire that all beings share. Attuned to these invisible
connections, the Shi-Ren use reward and punishment as
tools to influence the turn of the Wheel. These Akashics use
politics and self-help forums to spread the message of the Brotherhood
throughout the world, to both the common people and their leaders.
Faction Paradigm: Contracts,
oaths, courts, and debts are all tools for influencing the world.
Li-Hai
Whatever works. The Li-Hai are modern Akashics, using
practices based on a moral foundation more than a metaphysical one, and believe
in loving all living beings with equal respect.
Although they respect the ways of the past, they believe that old
customs and rituals aren’t the only way – the principles of the Brotherhood can
come in an infinite number of forms.
These Akashics tend to be wilder and less
traditional than their brethren, including anarchists and utopian
thinkers. Many non-Asian Akashics end up with the Li-Hai.
Faction Paradigm: Taboos
are meant to be broken, assumptions to be turned upside down.
Kannagara
Every member of the Akashic
Brotherhood spends some time as a Kannagara, 
begging
for their meals and living with no material things. They embrace core Akashic teachings with an
emphasis on disavowing materialism and promoting asceticism. Suffering comes from relying on pleasure,
fearing pain, and feeling dissatisfied with one’s basic nature. Those who choose to stay on with this sect
often give up all material possessions and practice nonviolence or
celibacy. The masters of this sect are
gifted with the highest lore and secrets of the Brotherhood.
Faction Paradigm: The
mundane world is an illusion, but we can learn to look past it.
Jnani
The Jnani believe that their bodies, minds, and spirits are
essentially identical to the whole of reality.
A gesture to the universe is a gesture to the self, and the divisions
between self and other, natural and supernatural, are just arbitrary
divisions. The Jnani
sage stands at the center. Many of the Akashics in this faction do not feel a need to obey the
‘standard methods’ of the Brotherhood, and study non-traditional techniques,
such as alchemy, Chinese yin/yang balancing, spirit summoning, or necromancy.
Faction Paradigm: The
division between our ‘reality’ and the world of spirits is an illusion to be
broken down.
Vajrapani
Sincere
effort is the path to Ascension. Actions
speak much more loudly than words. These
are the prime martial artists of the Tradition – Martial Do is the cornerstone
of training, and violence is a metaphor for inner turmoil. It must be confronted, rather than
denied. Sometimes, to find
enlightenment, one must pray with bloody hands.
Although the Vajrapani are only one of the
factions of the Brotherhood, they are often the most visible of them, giving
rise to the stereotype that all Akashics are violent
kung-fu masters.
Faction Paradigm:
With a fierce spirit and a pure conscience, nothing can stand against us.
Elite Cabal: Karmachakra
Scholars of
the Great Wheel, the Karmachakra school
maintains the most ancient traditions of the Brotherhood. They tend to the reconstruction of the
Tradition’s ancestral Bodhimandala in the
Cabal Paradigm: Our
strength comes from brotherhood; by learning from the brothers of the past, we
shape the future.
Requirements: Meditation
at 5, Brawl and Athletics at 4, two other Abilities at 4. Mind at 3, one other Sphere
at 3.
“First you must learn Do, then you must forget Do.
Must you remember to breathe for breathing to occur? No. It
is the same with Do.”