Mage History

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San Francisco is home to a number of mage cabals all drawing from different legacies. None are dominant, though some have more influence than others due to age or ability. ''North Bay'' is dominated by the ''[[Coven of the Moon]]'', a Dionysian cabal located in Sonoma Valley. ''East Bay'' mage population has been decimated by the ''[[Repentant Ones]]'', a well-funded Banisher cabal, and is now watched over by the Seers of the Throne. Only a couple of cabals in Berkeley have withstood their assault. ''South Bay'' is ruled with an iron fist by the ''[[Rosicrucian Society]]'' in San Jose and their influence has been spreading up the peninsula.
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[[Category:History]]
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== History ==
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=== Native Period (pre-1776) ===
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== Native Period (pre-1776) ==
No formal cabals existed, but individual shamans among the Yeluma practiced magic.
No formal cabals existed, but individual shamans among the Yeluma practiced magic.
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=== Spanish Period (1776-1822) ===
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== Spanish Period (1776-1822) ==
Several of the Yeluma shaman formed a cabal to fight the oppression of their people as two groups of foreign mages arrived in the area. The first was a small loosely allied group of Seers of the Throne lurking within the Catholic Missions and the second was a cabal of Banishers whom they would quietly support in their fight against the native shamans. Between these two groups, the Yeluma were routed and then hunted down and killed.
Several of the Yeluma shaman formed a cabal to fight the oppression of their people as two groups of foreign mages arrived in the area. The first was a small loosely allied group of Seers of the Throne lurking within the Catholic Missions and the second was a cabal of Banishers whom they would quietly support in their fight against the native shamans. Between these two groups, the Yeluma were routed and then hunted down and killed.
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=== Mexican Period (1822-1847) ===
 
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A small group of Dionysian cultists established a cabal called the ''[[Coven of the Moon]]'' around a powerful hallow in Sonoma, forming an alliance with the local werewolf pack which protected the locus on the same location. The Banishers learned of the cult and tried to stamp it out but were killed to the last man. Meanwhile, the dismantling of the Mission system undermined the power base of the Seers of the Throne and they were forced to concentrate their efforts on reorganization.
 
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=== Barbary Coast (1847-1906) ===
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== Mexican Period (1822-1847) ==
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With the flood of immigrants came mages and three cabals formed during this time. The first was the ''[[Chosen of Ti-Tsang]]'', Chinese alchemists who set up shop in Chinatown, tending to the needs of their countrymen and drawn by the proximity of death and material greed. The second was founded by Mary Pleasant, a voodoo practitioner from New Orleans who founded the ''[[Children of Olorun]]'' to tend to the needs of the small black population. The last was the reformed Seers cabal, now called the ''Watchers'', who established themselves in a position to monitor local occult activity while they made inroads into the infrastructure of the growing city. With the first two being community-centered and the latter concerned only with observation, magical matters were mostly peaceful save for the frequently belligerant visiting mages.
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The dismantling of the Mission system undermines the power base of the Seers of the Throne and they were forced to concentrate their efforts on reorganization. The Banishers continue to hunt indigenous mages but also quickly dispose of outsiders who come to the Bay Area.
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=== Reconstruction (1906-1950) ===
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The three cabals weathered the earthquake and fire and continued to operate much as they had. More mages arrived as the city grew, but generally formed small cabals which didn't last more than a decade or two. The most excessive of these were helped in their dissolution through the subtle interference of the ''Watchers'', who had established many new avenues of influence throughout the city during its recovery. They kept an eye on the established cabals but opted not to waste resources working against them because their focus was so insular and they posed little threat. The only permanent organization to form in the area was the ''[[Rosicrucian Society]]'' in San Jose in 1915, which kept to itself, collecting artifacts, exploring mysteries, and sharing mystical knowledge among its members. When other mages entered the city, though, they were given the choice of joining the cabal or being driven out.
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== Barbary Coast (1847-1906) ==
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=== Counterculture (1950-1980) ===
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The Gold Rush brings a flood of immigrants to the explosively growing new city and with them come mages of various sorts. For the next sixty years, the city's occult population is a chaotic struggle over hallows and mystical and mundane influence. The Seers of the Throne, still reeling from the undermining of their power structure, are unable to stem the tide of foreigners and lose control of the area. The Banishers become more independent and ramps up their efforts against the more unsavory new practitioners but are overwhelmed by the sin of the Barbary Coast. Among the stronger cabals at this time were: ''The Chosen of Ti-Tsang'', Chinese alchemists drawn by the proximity of death and material greed who claimed Chinatown's powerful hallow; ''The Sin Eaters'', a quasi-Catholic sect of Goetic mages who haunted the Barbary Coast, capturing the embodied sins of its inhabitants to serve their own occult purposes.
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The influx of new agers, mystics, and weirdos during this period included numerous mages, several with dubious ethics and practices. The existing cabals began to take more of an interest in the activites of the newcomers. The ''Watchers'', in particular, decided that observation wasn't sufficient and formed the ''[[Sandmen]]'' to take a more hands-on approach. The original group retreated further into the shadows, concentrating their efforts on manipulation of media, business, and politics. The ''[[Sandmen]]'' acted as a task force, suppressing evidence of the supernatural and neutralizing threats directly. Their activities drew the attention of the other cabals, who shored up their defenses against the new threat. Despite the efforts of the Seers, two new cabals formed during this period: the ''[[Temple of Ama-no-Uzume]]'' and the ''[[Pink Elephant Commune]]''. Both shared a more outward focus than the previous inhabitants, with interests in shaping the world and changing its perspectives, and so made contact with the two Pentacle cabals and heralded the formation of an actual magical community. In South Bay, the ''[[Rosicrucian Society]]'' managed to keep a lock on the local occult scene throughout the city's rapid growth during the lead up to the tech boom.
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=== Decline (1980-1990) ===
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== Reconstruction (1906-1950) ==
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Tensions mount as the ''[[Sandmen]]'' expand their influence and begin to intrude more into the affairs of the established cabals. Paranoia mounts. Meanwhile, three Benandanti arrived in the city and established a cabal dedicated to protecting Sleepers from spirits and dark magic which they called the ''[[Knights of St. Francis]]''. They quickly establish a relationship with the Seers and end up acting as liaisons, not just between the Seers and Pentacle mages, but also between mages and the other supernatural entites in the city. A detante was reached and a degree of peace was restored. Quietly, a dying mage formed a small cabal called the ''[[Skoptsi]]'' after a Russian castration cult, and uses it to lure young mages to their destruction in order to extend his life. His activities are not noticed by the ''[[Knights of St. Francis|Knights]]'', but the ''[[Sandmen]]'' notice and leave him to his task, monitoring his activities from a distance. To the north, a young hispanic vineyard hieress inherited control of the old ''[[Coven of the Moon]]'' and quickly becoming a power in the North Bay.
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The disaster of 1906 shattered the occult underground by causing some hallows to go dormant and others to awaken, in addition to the deaths, destruction of sanctums, and general chaos. In the days following, the strongest of the remaining practitioners gathered and hammered out what became known as the [[Barbary Compact]], a set of laws to govern the magical practitioners within the city. Those among the occult population that did not agree to adhere to the agreement were driven out of the city or killed. The strongest representatives of the five traditions of magic were chosen to lead a [[High Council]] to oversee the enforcement of the Compact. One disgruntled group of Rosicrucians eventually left San Francisco over disagreements with the High Council to set up shop in San Jose. The Seers of the Throne quietly supports the Compact while making their own inroads during the city's rebuilding, infiltrating mundane and mystical organizations alike. By the end of the Second World War, they have agents within the High Council and top levels of city government.
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== Counterculture (1950-1980) ==
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The settled occult community was again disrupted with a new influx of mages that occurred after World War II, particularly during the 60s and 70s. Many of these young practitioners subscribed to altered versions of Eastern beliefs or new age ideologies and were drawn to San Francisco by its counterculture movement and strong Asian influence. Changes in immigrant law also allowed more Asians to enter the city, bolstering the dwindling population of Chinatown considerably. The formation of new cabals and the increase in individual practitioners led to frequent clashes that required the invention of the High Council, which only exacerbated the already prevalent anti-authority attitudes of many of the newcomers. Tensions also increased when some of the new arrivals pushes the boundaries of the law by experimenting with radical techniques like the ability of psychedelic drugs to cause Awakenings, increased interaction with the spirit world, attempts to liaison with other social supernatural creatures, and extensive dealing with the dead. Many were high profile and didn't believe in hiding their abilities. This led to clashes and violence similar to what was being experienced in the mundane world.
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== Decline (1980-1990) ==
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Finally, in 1980, the High Council began a massive crackdown. It appointed full-time Sentinels to acts as investigators, spies, and police and began to prosecute minor or borderline violations of the laws of the Compact as vigorously as serious indiscretions. Many behaviors once overlooked as harmless were criminalized, including any public claims of supernatural ability like fortune-telling or mediumship. Much of this was due to the influence of the Seers of the Throne, who began flexing their muscles in both mundane and mystical circles. The appearance of new Banisher cults, mostly absent since the Barbary Coast days, led to an increased sense of paranoia. These, too, were subtly manipulated by the Seers, who would often use contacts to leak information on the existence of troublesome mages.
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== Dot-Com Boom (1990-2000) ==
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Early in 1990, one of the Sentinels went rogue, convinced that there was corruption within the High Council while investigating the deaths of an entire cabal at the hands of Banishers. Unwilling to abandon his investigation, he gathered supporters within the Sentinels and even from two members of the High Council, and was finally able to prove his case amidst a near revolution among the occult underground. The resulting pogrom left the High Seer dead, [[Dexter Green]] Chief Sentinel, and several disgraced or banished members of the support staff replaced with young, new mages of a more liberal thinking. The new High Seer, a reformist, convinced the other members to roll back many of the draconian policies of the previous decade and the rest of the century passed relatively peacefully, with the Council fading into the background of most mages' lives, only to send their agents to investigate gross indiscretions and violations of the law.
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=== Dot-Com Boom (1990-2000) ===
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== Present (post-2000) ==
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The efforts of the ''[[Knights of St. Francis]]'' not only regulate the mage community but also help to encourage the process started in the 60s of bringing them together. Ties with the new ''[[Coven of the Moon]]'', in particular, became very strong. Meanwhile, their connection with the ''[[Sandmen]]'' gave the latter a source of information on the other cabals and allowed them to monitor quietly and at a distance. The only new group of mages to form started at Stanford but soon  took up residence under Mount Sutro, calling themselves the ''[[Spiritual Switchboard Collective]]'', when the [[Rosicrucian Society|Rosicrucians]] (who had been expanding their influence throughout Silicon Valley) gave them their standard ultimatum. Across the Bay in Oakland, though, a Banisher cabal called the ''[[Repentant Ones]]'' began to systematically kill the local mages. The ''[[Sandmen]]'' noticed his activities and encouraged them through proxies.
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Things have been relatively quiet since the turn of the century. The Seers have been trying, without success, to infiltrate the High Council again. There are still Banishers in the city, but no sizable groups and they rarely last long.
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=== Present (post-2000) ===
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Latest revision as of 19:36, 30 July 2008


Contents

Native Period (pre-1776)

No formal cabals existed, but individual shamans among the Yeluma practiced magic.

Spanish Period (1776-1822)

Several of the Yeluma shaman formed a cabal to fight the oppression of their people as two groups of foreign mages arrived in the area. The first was a small loosely allied group of Seers of the Throne lurking within the Catholic Missions and the second was a cabal of Banishers whom they would quietly support in their fight against the native shamans. Between these two groups, the Yeluma were routed and then hunted down and killed.

Mexican Period (1822-1847)

The dismantling of the Mission system undermines the power base of the Seers of the Throne and they were forced to concentrate their efforts on reorganization. The Banishers continue to hunt indigenous mages but also quickly dispose of outsiders who come to the Bay Area.

Barbary Coast (1847-1906)

The Gold Rush brings a flood of immigrants to the explosively growing new city and with them come mages of various sorts. For the next sixty years, the city's occult population is a chaotic struggle over hallows and mystical and mundane influence. The Seers of the Throne, still reeling from the undermining of their power structure, are unable to stem the tide of foreigners and lose control of the area. The Banishers become more independent and ramps up their efforts against the more unsavory new practitioners but are overwhelmed by the sin of the Barbary Coast. Among the stronger cabals at this time were: The Chosen of Ti-Tsang, Chinese alchemists drawn by the proximity of death and material greed who claimed Chinatown's powerful hallow; The Sin Eaters, a quasi-Catholic sect of Goetic mages who haunted the Barbary Coast, capturing the embodied sins of its inhabitants to serve their own occult purposes.

Reconstruction (1906-1950)

The disaster of 1906 shattered the occult underground by causing some hallows to go dormant and others to awaken, in addition to the deaths, destruction of sanctums, and general chaos. In the days following, the strongest of the remaining practitioners gathered and hammered out what became known as the Barbary Compact, a set of laws to govern the magical practitioners within the city. Those among the occult population that did not agree to adhere to the agreement were driven out of the city or killed. The strongest representatives of the five traditions of magic were chosen to lead a High Council to oversee the enforcement of the Compact. One disgruntled group of Rosicrucians eventually left San Francisco over disagreements with the High Council to set up shop in San Jose. The Seers of the Throne quietly supports the Compact while making their own inroads during the city's rebuilding, infiltrating mundane and mystical organizations alike. By the end of the Second World War, they have agents within the High Council and top levels of city government.

Counterculture (1950-1980)

The settled occult community was again disrupted with a new influx of mages that occurred after World War II, particularly during the 60s and 70s. Many of these young practitioners subscribed to altered versions of Eastern beliefs or new age ideologies and were drawn to San Francisco by its counterculture movement and strong Asian influence. Changes in immigrant law also allowed more Asians to enter the city, bolstering the dwindling population of Chinatown considerably. The formation of new cabals and the increase in individual practitioners led to frequent clashes that required the invention of the High Council, which only exacerbated the already prevalent anti-authority attitudes of many of the newcomers. Tensions also increased when some of the new arrivals pushes the boundaries of the law by experimenting with radical techniques like the ability of psychedelic drugs to cause Awakenings, increased interaction with the spirit world, attempts to liaison with other social supernatural creatures, and extensive dealing with the dead. Many were high profile and didn't believe in hiding their abilities. This led to clashes and violence similar to what was being experienced in the mundane world.

Decline (1980-1990)

Finally, in 1980, the High Council began a massive crackdown. It appointed full-time Sentinels to acts as investigators, spies, and police and began to prosecute minor or borderline violations of the laws of the Compact as vigorously as serious indiscretions. Many behaviors once overlooked as harmless were criminalized, including any public claims of supernatural ability like fortune-telling or mediumship. Much of this was due to the influence of the Seers of the Throne, who began flexing their muscles in both mundane and mystical circles. The appearance of new Banisher cults, mostly absent since the Barbary Coast days, led to an increased sense of paranoia. These, too, were subtly manipulated by the Seers, who would often use contacts to leak information on the existence of troublesome mages.

Dot-Com Boom (1990-2000)

Early in 1990, one of the Sentinels went rogue, convinced that there was corruption within the High Council while investigating the deaths of an entire cabal at the hands of Banishers. Unwilling to abandon his investigation, he gathered supporters within the Sentinels and even from two members of the High Council, and was finally able to prove his case amidst a near revolution among the occult underground. The resulting pogrom left the High Seer dead, Dexter Green Chief Sentinel, and several disgraced or banished members of the support staff replaced with young, new mages of a more liberal thinking. The new High Seer, a reformist, convinced the other members to roll back many of the draconian policies of the previous decade and the rest of the century passed relatively peacefully, with the Council fading into the background of most mages' lives, only to send their agents to investigate gross indiscretions and violations of the law.

Present (post-2000)

Things have been relatively quiet since the turn of the century. The Seers have been trying, without success, to infiltrate the High Council again. There are still Banishers in the city, but no sizable groups and they rarely last long.

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