ANDERS MAGE PAGE 2.0

More than any of the other Traditions, the Cult has a strange and mysterious heritage. Other mages find claims of its lengthy history incredible. Ecstatics (as member of the Tradition are often called) seems to appear, disappear, reappear, only to vanish again. There does not seem to be any real continuity, plan or order to its existence. When asked about their history, most of the Cult simply laugh.

The thread holding the Cult together is their unity of purpose and their advanced sense of Time. Ecstatics throughout history have worked to free people of their social illusions, shake up the status quo and break out of the restrictions placed on them by society. When society changes, the Cult changes along with it. Often old groups disappear completely, replaced by something new entirely.

This is true with mage society as well as society in general. Many divisions of the Cult are drawn from other groups of mages, as members of the more conservative Traditions split off and adopt Ecstatic philosophies. Nearly every other Tradition has a group of mages who have been "too deeply influenced by the Cult of Ecstasy", and are viewed with suspicion. Ecstatics views these groups as members of the Cult and members of these groups will often claim allegiance to both their old and new Tradition.

The Cult often goes so far as to claim that ground breaking members of other Traditions were, if fact, Ecstatic mages. According to them, many wonderful advances originated from the Cult, up to and including the creation of magick itself. This is partly true and partly to annoy other mages.

Their emphasis on individuality, chaos and testing the boundaries of social mores would make it impossible for the Cult to maintain any sort of unity if it were not for one thing. The Cult's understanding of the Sphere of Time helps it maintain continuity. Ecstatic mages have contacted each other through Time, both forward and back, explaining the Tradition's goals and outlook and strengthening the bonds between what would otherwise be incredibly diverse groups. There are even whispered rumors of Ecstatic Oracles of Time who travel up and down the Time stream, helping the Tradition toward its goals.

These goals can be extremely difficult for other mages to understand. Most Traditions want to change the world in a specific way, promoting a particular belief system. The Cult wants to shatter beliefs, break beyond the boundaries of what is and is not acceptable and discover the wonders that lie beyond. Ecstatics seek Ascension through means that other mages consider frivolous, immoral or even self-destructive.

A History of the Cult

"OK, see, here's where we are coming from. Or going, depending on which way you swim up the stream of Time. To know why we're here, you have to understand how reality is hardening. That's the Technocracy, see. They stiffen things up, put limits on it, make little lists of what you can and cannot do."

"They aren't the only ones, either, I'm sad to say. For example, the Choristers and the Hermetics are duking it out for control of Europe. Er, excuse me, were duking it out for control of Europe. Yeah, yeah, this was the Middle Ages, don't interrupt the story. They have different ideas about the way things should be and are willing to fight for it, with themselves and the Technocracy."

"Well, we thought maybe we should do something about it. First we got together in Rome. What? Rome. You know, Caesars and arenas and what not. Anyhow, we talked to some of the Choristers, pointed out some of the deeper teaching of this Jesus guy they are so hot on. Some of them got the point, split off and started looking for their own way. These are the Gnostics."

"Then we talk to this Hermetic guy named Crowley. Huh? Aleister Crowley. Yeah, at the turn of the century. I see you've done your homework. So anyway, we show him some cool stuff, hook him into some greater knowledge and viola! He splits off from Golden whatsit Hermetic thingee that he was a part of and founds the Thelemites. Too bad about Crowley, though, he comes to a bad end."

"Anyhow, I could go on all night with other stories like this but the point is, we're running around, trying to show these guys that they're missing the point of life by fighting so hard, struggling to make things just right. It's not enough though. Some of them get it but most don't. Most of them, they say 'This is serious stuff, we have to take care of it before we can do anything else. Besides, it's the only way.'"

"So, a few, clever individuals — I'll let you guess their Tradition — thought that this was a 'bad thing'. So, they get together and do a really big thing. The hardest thing the Cult has ever done. We make magick. What? How can we make magick to show mages another way? Look, if you're going to obsess on causality, I can stop this story right now."

"Anyhow, making magic was a big thing and I'd tell you the details but it's one of the things behind the Walls. Walls? Things what man was not meant to know. Holes in Time where you can't see what's happening. The making of magick was one of them and there are others as well. One of them is coming up soon, as a matter of fact."

"Magick changes everything. With magick, it becomes incredibly obvious to even the densest of individuals that you don't have to spend all that time and effort running around with your head up your butt. There's a sweeter way to anyone who opens their eyes. And open them they did."

"The other mages said 'Wow! Look at this. With power like this, I could live like a king until the end of my days. Hmmm. Or, I can use it as yet another tool in the glorious struggle to make everyone else think the way I do. Yeah! That's the ticket. This'll be great."

"We were pretty flabergasted. We hand them magic, proof positive that things don't have to be any one particular way, and what do they do? They use it to beat on each other some more. By the time they're done running magic through their grubby little hands, it's little more than just another way to harden reality. It's pretty embarrassing, I tell you. Here we were, trying to make things better, and we end up making them worse instead."

"Oh well, no point in crying about it. No matter how hard they try, magick is magick and you can't put limits on the limitless. A few people figure it out on their own, realize how stupid the endless fighting is, and go off on their own to do something really worthwhile. Bringing a few smiles into the world."

"Eventually a few of the mages realize that no matter what they do, magick will always be a breach in the 'way things are', and decide to put an end to it. This is the Technocracy. They decide that, OK, it's useful, but too uncontrollable. Let's get rid of it. They proceed to do everything in their power to get magick out of the world entirely. And that's what they're doing up to this day."

"What? Well, yes, I did say earlier that the Cult made magick to stop the Technocracy. Then how can the Technocracy have been created to stop magick? Sigh. Have another toke, and all will become clear."

Note: If you asked a different Ecstatic for a history of the Cult, you would very likely get a completely different story. Either that, or a curt dismissal of how "History is unimportant. Know where you are instead."