Mage History
From Gothpoodle
Contents |
History
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)
A small group of Dionysian cultists established a cabal around a powerful hallow in Sonoma, across the bay, 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.
Barbary Coast (1847-1906)
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.
Reconstruction (1906-1950)
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. The only permanent organization to form in the area was the Rosicrucians in San Jose in 1915, which kept to itself, collecting artifacts, exploring mysteries, and sharing mystical knowledge among its members.
Counterculture (1950-1980)
The influx of new agers, mystics, and weirdos during this period included several mages, including several of dubious ethics and practices. The established 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 reformed as the Sandmen. Quietly, they began to remove or drive off the more destructive of the mages and also made inroads to allow them to suppress the new wave of mysticism. 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.
Decline (1980-1990)
Tensions mount as the Sandmen expand their influence and begin to intrude more into the affairs of the established cabals. Paranoia mounts and defenses are strengthened. A degree of stability occurs when three Benandanti arrive in the city and establish a cabal dedicated to protecting Sleepers from spirits and dark magic which they call 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. To the north, a young hispanic vinyard hieress inherited control of the old Dionysian cult, renaming it the Court of the Huntress and quickly becoming a power in the North Bay.
Dot-Com Boom (1990-2000)
Spiritual Switchboard Collective
