The Cabal

[Headmaster]

That Magic That You Do

THE CABAL OUR OWN S E C R E T SOCIETY The Cabal is a secretive society of magic users and researchers that was founded before written history, think Greece, Babylon. While other coalitions of Mages may exist in the world, the Cabal stands above them all both in scope of power and influence. Magic has always existed within the world along with those who can wield it and creatures that are part of it, the Cabal views itself as a sort of protector or keeper of the magical flame as it were. The Cabal consider themselves the elite of these select members of existence who are still aware of role magic still plays on our lives. They draw into their membership only those they believe to possess superior magical talent, vast wealth, prestige, and/or potential power. All others are viewed as nothing more than a means to an end or an unwitting public mass to protect. Its quite simple really, you are either one of them, or you aren't. There is no gray area. That is not to say that all those who exist as a member of the Cabal are self-important, self-serving individuals concerned only with their own status; like any social organization their members are quite diverse. Discretion seems to be the order of the day for the Cabal as secrecy shrouds nearly everything about them. Membership and access beyond its garden party or Men's club walls is by invitation only. The Cabal are known to use force(their agents) in certain situations to make sure that their presence, or more importantly that of magic, is not made known or discovered. It takes more than possessing the gift of magic to earn an invitation into this group or to gain favor to the extent that they might actually employ you. In fact, the vast majority of the Cabal's members are completely ignorant of what the organization actually does and what it stands for beyond its sterling reputation as a club for the elite. The sense is certainly shared by any given such a welcome that is a particular honor to have been chosen to join the Cabal. Scholars, politicians, merchants, movie stars and world shapers; many castes and levels of magical ability or knowledge can be found within their ranks. The Cabal is ruled by a governing body called the Covenant, an elite hidden Inner Circle of the society that take care of the general management of such a widespread body. They oversee not only the diverse number of seemingly benign social branch locations found across the face of the Earth via a networks of managers and outside businesses but also the vast hidden machine at work keeping magic alive, well and completely secret. Their goals, versus the Cabal as a whole, could most decidedly be described as self serving. When they choose to act, it is usually in channels that would perhaps raise questions with average members of the Cabal and the world society at large. They see the Cabal as a tool to use to their advantage. In their minds they are the crème de la crème of Mages in this world, separated and ascendant from the concerns of humanity, and woe to anyone who would stand in the way of their often clandestine designs. When you consider them think in terms of the mages of Mount Olympus, they enjoy their godhood, or rather the pretense of it. Like any organization, they have their rules and their ways of asserting their control over their membership. All Cabal employees, including the Novus Ordo, must agree to wear a tattoo of magical origin. This ancient art, infused with magic for the Cabal's special needs, may allow certain members of the Covenant to gain temporary control of those wearing it. Such a tool can be exceedingly helpful when a reluctant agent's morals get in the way of his work. If a hierarchy of power were to be known, it would rest as such: The Covenant (the elite inner circle), Their Prized Confidantes (more often than not those with an eye on joining the inner circle themselves), Top Tier Agents (those of proven worth and experience, Second Tier Agents (those allowed to work individually and often without direct supervision, Junior Agents (work with supervision of a more experienced agent), The Useful (outside wealth, magical prestige or power the Cabal/Covenant seeks to use to its own purposes - including the very rarely employed Anna's Boys), Agents In Training (new recruits), General Membership (blissfully unaware beyond the parties and social connections enjoyed). In rare cases, an individual may be aware of the actual power structure, but most are ignorant of those who may be above them. It is safer that way. The Cabal's main offices are located in Rome, London, Cairo, Boston and Hong Kong. Formerly, strongholds of magical influence were located in Babylon, Mount Olympus, Berlin before Hitler's fall, Stonehenge and of course the fabled courts of Arthur and the gently rolling hills of Avalon - to name a few. Regarding the Covenant, most who join or are employed by the Cabal will never meet them and only those employed as Top Tier Agents or as Confidants might actually be aware of the inner circles existence. Only Canon Characters may be present or past members of the Covenant.

[Headmaster]

THE NOVUS ORDO THE F O O L H A R D Y PRINCES Where money and class garnered a marvel of an education and a blessed future, this was only a part of the future power born in students at Saint Valentines School for Boys. There, the shadows still offered plenty of gifts and much magic to be harnessed, a learning process for future magi. A virtual node of magical energy was St. Valentines to all those who had been touched by the Aether. It wasn't surprising then that from the moment it opened its doors the governing body of magic in North America and the world, The Cabal, had its hand in the pot stirring every so gently the waves of magic and trying to understand the gifts the school gave to those it decided to bless. In the beginning those students born in to elite magical families and found their attendance here often had a duty within various "Ordos" or magical orders set up within St. Valentines School. Spending their school days gaining an understanding of magic and securing its place in mankind's future they dutifully studied. Rare tomes found in the library's vast and growing collection of books, sacred grounds and hidden stones buried or obscured within walls and undergrounds, even the phenomenon of the "Anna's boys" the gifts gained upon losing one’s virginity - all of it became their extended classroom. The education of the "Ordo" fell far beyond the mundane general studies at the school. Roughly a decade ago within the halls of St. Valentines School for Boys a group of four young masters walked the halls. Ryker, Newbury, Winstead and Beaumont, perhaps they were no different than other privileged youth who graced the stone mansions classrooms and dormitories. But in reality these boys possessed great magical talent and had been placed at St. Valentines strategically. They were the latest group, the "Novus Ordo" or the New Order. Different from other groups before them they weren't archaic like the "Primus Ordo" and certainly not fatalistic like the "Arcanus Ordo" before them. This class was the embodiment of the new generation, those who would reach adulthood in the 21st century and whose greatness would outshine many alumni. All four students were from great families of magic, some newer than others but all equally talented. Each of the four boys were different, each in his own way; whether most popular, most intelligent, most athletic, or most desired. In their time, the foursome truly ruled the school. This was precisely the situation the Covenant wanted their precious Novus Ordo to have and it could have been smooth sailing had it not been for one factor that would stir up rough waters. The bonds these four boys shared with one another proved greater than their loyalty toward the governing magic body, to the Cabal. Perhaps there had been too many expectations placed on the heads of these young men by their families. Or perhaps the continued attempts to claim hold of St. Valentines School for themselves should be given up upon by the Cabal. Regardless, one of the greatest modern messes for the Cabal came at the hands of the Novus Ordo when they attempted a highly restricted spell which failed miserably. The boys claimed that the failure didn't come due to their inability but instead was caused by the appearance of an intervening Anna Valentine herself. However, without proof of her presence, the four young magi were the only figures necessary to place blame. The resolution, as had been done for countless centuries, came in the form of an elaborate public ruse. Still, the earthquake of 2002 that predominantly hit Hart and the small portion of its California coast line proved an utter mystery for seismologists and an even greater mystery for the Cabal’s investigators. It stupefied many within the Cabal that the result of a spell cast by boys would have caused such a massive backlash. To protect their own, the Cabal’s ruling Covenant traced the diameter of the magical destruction and instructed their agents to perform an area wide sweep of magic. In short anyone connected to the event was charmed to believe that an earthquake had struck Northern California that day. Only those of the Novus Ordo and the governing bodies participating in the cleanup would know the truth behind Hart's Earthquake of 2002. Upon graduation, the Novus Ordo four were prohibited from being in contact with one another. Each boy was sent to separate universities and set upon differing career paths within the Cabal. Whether this truly stopped their social interactions, perhaps only the boys would know. The Cabal seemingly withdrew from Hart. Mostly, those in the know waited, biding time for the moment when such a magical disaster would earn it's compensation. Those magically inclined and those select few residing in Hart understood this silence, this quiet, as part of the process, the cycle of magic. All lay in wait for the echo back - awaiting a time when that which broke away from Hart is pulled back and the magic returns to flourish.