< The Consilium | Setting Overview | Southwest Florida Cabals >
The Adamantine Arrow
Notable Cabals: The Fisher Knights.
The presence of the Adamantine Arrow throughout Southwest Florida is quite decentralized, with most of the members attached to non-Arrow cabals individually. Many of these mages joined the Order to learn martial magics with which to better defend their cabals, or fell into both Order and Cabal together. Occasionally, a mage finds himself drawn first and most strongly to the Order, and these mages seldom have any trouble finding a Cabal later willing to adopt them. Some would suspect these scattered loyalities would divide the Order severely, but the shared experiences and philosophy of the Order serves to keep them strong and united. It's not uncommon to see a bit of battlefield camaraderie between Arrows of two different warring cabals, and when the time comes for a feud to end it is often the Arrows who the respective cabals ask to settle things equitably.
There are a few scattered Adamantine Order cabals throughout the region, however. Foremost among them are the Fisher Knights themselves, one of the three "elder" cabals that wields great power in the Consilium as a whole. Most of these cabals form with some kind of definite goal, often guarding against some threat or defending something the Cabal as a whole believes is of great importance. These can be anything from bound spirits, to a dangerously unstable nexus of supernal energies. Such cabals take themselves as seriously as any cabal, and often branch out over their existance, gaining greater interest in their protectorate.
The order holds a small informal meet every other month, hosted by Orion of the Fisher Knights. Mostly these meetings consist of discussion on matters of martial and defensive magic, a bit of light storytelling, the occasional friendly challege to a Duel Arcane, and a general level of "shoptalk". More rarely, some matter relating to the defense of the Consilium (or something of similar importance) as a whole comes up for discussion, with Arrow mages expected to rely the relevant information to their Cabals (or, rarely, not to do such).
The Free Council
Notable Cabals: Borealis, Dream Probe 9.
The Free Council in Southwest Florida tends to follow something of a middle-path between the distributed nature of the Adamantine Arrow and the much more centralized structure of the local Guardians of the Veil. That is to say that the Free Council benefits both from a number of established Cabals, as well as having a fair number of Free Council mages scattered throughout various Cabals. Most Free Council cabals formed around one mages desire to push magic into some new and exciting direction, such as Dream Probe 9's obsession with utilizing sensory deprivation, hyponosis and other techniques to explore the far reaches of the Astral. "Freelance" Free Council mages were usually drawn into association with the other Orders via shared goals or means, or something as simple as a friendship. Regardless, the straight split keeps the Free Council in the region quite united.
This unity is further reinforced by the Free Council's dedication to Miami's Assembly. Quite successful, due to the feeling among many younger Cabals that their "elders" ignore their concerns, the Assembly largely attempts to integrate itself into the Consilium as a whole -- functioning as a means for the body of the Consilium to have their concerns addressed through a democratic process. Once a consensus is reached, it is either presented to the Councilors or acted upon independently by the Cabals that make up the Assembly, and so far it has been very successful in its attentions. While many different Cabals make up the Assembly as a whole, Borealis makes the running of that body (along with the Free Council's lorehouse) their primary concern.
The "heart" of the Free Council in the region, Borealis also runs a quarterly "clubhouse" where members of the Free Council can handle those concerns that are uniquely related to their Order. While some suggest that these meetings should be held more often, most accept that the Assembly as a whole is a better venue to present most items, with the "clubhouse" simply serving a primarily social function.
The Guardians of the Veil
Notable Cabals: the Eumenides.
Of all the Orders in Southwest Florida, the Guardians of the Veil have maintained the highest level of organization and a fairly strong hierarchy that oversees their activities within the Consilium. The Eumenides maintain their position at the top of this hierarchy, maintaining a loose hold over all the local Guardians and attempting to remain on top of all the local developments that meet their attention. Even so, as much as they would no doubt like to handle every matter personally, the Furies understand that their own time is limited and their influence curtailed by their position on the Consilium itself. The result is that most younger Guardians feel the attentions of the Kindly Ones on them quite often, their elders often seeking to direct their hands, a fact that many of them are quite uncomfortable with.
Most of the Cabals dominated by the Guardians are quite low-profile, involved in managing the Labryinth or in various covert activities aimed at keeping an eye on any number of things (including, rumors go, other Cabals). Some Guardians even join forces with Adamantine Arrows in watching over some unnatural location, though usually only in cases where the Mysteries might be threatened. A fair number of Guardians join mixed cabals, especially those whose goals could benefit from the assistance of their own unique skills. Persistent rumors even speak of Guardians joining cabals without revealing their true allegiance, masquerading as members of other Orders...
The local gatherings of the Guardians of the Veil take place every month, though the actual locations of these meetings changes quite frequently. All members show up in concealing robes, wearing a mask, with the exception of the Furies who are invariably dressed in traditional formal attire. The meetings themselves are usually run by Megaera, who always has a detailed agenda to run through, but everyone present is encouraged to present matters of importance before the gatherering (unless they've been instructed to not to).
The Mysterium
Notable Cabals: the Black Library, Ouji Crew.
While not benefiting from the strong organization of the Guardians, the Mysterium of Southwest Florida benefit from exceptional support and are perhaps one of the most active of the Orders in the region. Local Mysterium mages can look forward to access to truly exceptional records, a fair-sized support network, and even a bit of funding (on activities that aid the entire Order, or of which the Order approves). Most of this support can ultimately be traced to one individual, who perhaps embodies the Mysterium in Miami: Rebecca Alison Sinclair, or "Eurycleia" as she is still occasionally known. While the Key Biscayne heiress' identity was compromised years ago, she maintains her position in the Mysterium and has made her resources available for the good of the Order.
If Rebecca is the heart of the region's Mysterium, then the Sanctum she maintains and watches over as Curator is probably the center around which the order gathers. The Black Library has stood since the 70s, when the Mysterium first came to power in the area and Rebecca donated the building to the Order. While access to the Athenaeum is restricted according to ones level of initiation into the Atlantaen Mysteries, the Black Library is said to be a vast treasure trove of lost spells, forgotten books and other such things. In particular, all of the city whispers of "the Cache", where the Mysterium's Censor Sonia Greene keeps forbidden and dangerous lore for safekeeping.
The Mysterium holds infrequent and largely unscheduled gatherings at the Black Library, approximately every 3-8 weeks. and arranged a few weeks in advance by post. Such gatherings are a mix of open-group discussion of various mysteries, as well as the induction into the Black Library of some new bit of lore. Various rituals, especially those to recognize progress through the Atlantaen Mysteries, are also performed at these events.
The Silver Ladder
Notable Cabals: the Divine Book, Stormwatchers.
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