Awakening
Awakening is the most significant and terrifying event of your life.
The act of Awakening opens the doors of perception. A Mage sees a different world, a magical world, as if a veil was lifted from his eyes. Long-held beliefs can vanish in that instant, while new truths take their place. The new Mage must struggle to make sense of this barrage of new sensations, and those without a strong sense of self and a powerful will can often be overwhelmed and destroyed by these indecipherable, uncontrollable experiences. Awakening and insanity are hard to tell apart.
Awakening can happen at any time in life. There’s no known method of causing an Awakening; it may happen in childhood, youth, adulthood or elder age. The majority of Mages Awaken as they near the end of puberty, suddenly facing stresses and challenges they were sheltered from as a youth. Children tend to be too comfortable to question society, and older people have already found their place. Young adulthood, however, is the time in a person’s life when they begin searching for their purpose and meaning. Awakening may come as a result of that search, either as a response to a crisis, or as the culmination of a long search for identity.
Many Mages seek a way to reliably Awaken others, but no such method is known. Mentors watch over those with strong wills and unusual lives, while elders try to teach their ways to hopeful novices. None are guaranteed to trigger the Awakening – enlightenment strikes where it will.
Once his eyes are opened, they cannot be shut. The reality of truth – that there is no objective truth – is laid bare, and the new Mage has no choice but to struggle onward in an attempt to understand what has happened.
The only option is to change or die. If he’s going to survive, the Mage must learn what he is and what he’s capable of. Others, a mentor or cabal perhaps, may show the Mage the path to be taken, but he must take the first step. Only by accepting his new state will the mage be able to progress towards enlightenment and Ascension.
The Mage becomes something more than human – something not quite in sync with the natural world. Family will notice a change in the Mage, and may seem to have trouble remembering who he is. Old friends will suddenly find him disturbing and dangerous, like a wolf among sheep. Mages invariably lose their jobs, as their employers come to mistrust and fear them. The only relationships a new Mage will be able to forge are those who understand what he is – other Mages.
Make no mistake – once Awakened, a Mage is no longer human. Sure, he lives, breathes, eats – but his soul has gone beyond his humanity. Don’t just make your character a human with magic. Make them something more. You have become a legendary creature, more like a dragon than a man.
To be Awakened is not simply that first burst of adrenaline-fueled magic. Awakening is an acceptance of the magical world, the realization that the universe isn’t the way you thought it was, and that’s okay. Few people will ever taste the power and insight of a Mage, or feel the determination to do something about the sad state of society. Mage is a game about giving a damn. Remember that.
The
Avatar is a Mage’s best friend and greatest enemy. The Awakening is a fantastic moment, but the
truth of the event is a mystery to all but the greatest masters.
When confronted with a crisis, a human tends to take one of two responses: fight, or flight. Confront the problem, or escape from it. The Awakening occurs when a person confronts a truth so great that it cannot be confronted nor fled from. The human soul retreats, hiding itself away from the world to make room for something more powerful, something which can take care of the problem. The Avatar.
The Awakening terrifies part of the Mage’s soul, the part closest to their humanity. This is the part which relied the most upon their preconceptions of the world, the beliefs which kept them going day to day. Unable to cope with this new reality, the human soul retreats a little, and the Avatar fills in the gaps, bringing with it a connection to a different world – a magical world. The ability to use magic comes from that connection to the magical world, and as that connection grows stronger, so too does the magic.
The Avatar is often considered to be intelligent, yet incomprehensible to the human mind. Many Mages think the quest for enlightenment, for Arete, is just the Avatar teaching the Mage his language, so they may finally speak clearly. Until then, the Avatar speaks in strange hunches and shrouded whispers, and many Mages don’t even believe in them. Who would want to believe in the truth of their own shattered soul?
The role of the Avatar is simple: to keep the Mage moving. The goal of the Avatar is Ascension, and as long as the Mage is moving towards that goal, the Avatar stays quiet and watches. Only when the Mage is stuck, unable to find enlightenment and becoming frustrated with magic does the Avatar give that breath of knowledge, that glimpse of insight which causes the Mage to stand up and fight on.
Don’t let your Avatar overshadow your character. They are a guide to the magical world and a subconscious influence on the Mage’s development, but nothing more. Most don’t have political plans, needs for vengeance, or even true intelligence. Focus on your character, rather than being a puppet pulled along by a powerful Avatar.
In an attempt to understand Avatars, Mages have attempted to classify them, coming up with four broad categories to describe the changes they bring to their Mages. The Avatar Essence helps shape the Mage’s Seekings, and determines how Resonance affects them.
Dynamic
Riding the flames of change, the Dynamic Avatar drives a Mage to strive, alter, tear down and create. Restless and capricious, she embodies the dynamic urge of chaos and wonder. Taken to an extreme, this Essence can bring madness; more often, she tantalizes a Mage with the promise of novelty and the thrill of rebellion.
In the Mage’s dreams, Dynamic Avatars resemble pillars of flame, devils, whirlwinds and shadows. Always hungry, ever-curious, they’re brilliant, inspiring and often frightening to behold.
Essence Paradigm: Nothing is static, everything must change.
Pattern
Like a fortress, the Pattern Avatar safeguards the land, building wondrous things where chaos once reigned. Comforting, ordered, and meticulous, he weaves webs of security. Without his influence, Creation would spiral into madness. This Avatar soothes pain, slays dragons and brings a wandering soul to peace.
In the Mage’s dreams, many Pattern Avatars appear as castles, parents, angels, and rays of light. Although these Avatars work their Mages hard, the promise of order and comfort makes all sacrifices worthwhile.
Essence Paradigm: Strength comes from order and stability.
Primordial
Deep as the endless waters, a Primordial Avatar keeps her silence, sweeping a Mage into her depths with seductive waves and currents. Though her grace seems devil-sent, this urge is older than time and more hallowed than heaven. The Avatar thrives on mysteries and carnal pleasures. Through a wild life, the Mage gives birth to a new world, and watches the old one from afar.
Rich and strange, Primordial Avatars in a Mage’s dreams often take the form of animals, Pagan gods and nature spirits. The Mages they inspire have a knowing way about them and seem ancient, even if they’re young.
Essence Paradigm: The most basic things are the most powerful.
Questing
Blowing through a crossroads, the Questing Avatar glides over worn paths and crumbled ruins. A questing soul, he leads a wizard on an endless journey past thickets of greed and snares of doubt. Bearing gifts of balance, calm and vision, this spirit has more focus than the wild Dynamic and more imagination like the rigid Pattern. Like the Primordial, he flows past obstacles, but his works are more temperate and beneficial.
Heralds of a new day, Questing Avatars rarely take solid forms in dreams. Like the winds they resemble, these spirits are formless, relentless and ephemeral. Refreshing as they seem, such souls never rest. Their Mages wander until death ends their journey.
Essence Paradigm: Purpose comes from seeking and accomplishing goals.