Celestial Chorus

Dissonance is not the absence of harmony, merely a harmony that needs to be adjusted until the song rings true.

Heretics and idealists from the world’s monotheistic creeds, the embattled Celestial Chorus heeds the voice of the Divine. All living beings, conjured and animated by the One – by whatever name that One is known – can join that Song and shape Creation. Defying their varied orthodoxies, Choristers teach that the Song has many harmonies. A person of faith can hear it and approach the One through different creeds. And for their tolerance, the Singers have endured a bloodied history of martyrdom.

Chorister liturgies tell of unity and division, triumph and heartbreak. The oldest plainsongs recount the First Age, the Shattering, when the One’s pure unity was broken, and the First Singers, mortal heroes of boundless faith, who confronted and subdued the broken spirits of flawed entities. Pentatonic chants resurrected from Egypt’s 18th Dynasty recall the blind priest Mentuhetep, who brought Pharaoh Amenhotep IV to the worship of the Sun god, Aton. The Pharaoh’s city, Akhetaten; his new name, Ikhnaton; his fellow worshippers, the Sacred Congregation, of disparate lands yet living in harmony – of all these things and more the Chorus sings. Then their chant becomes a dirge: jealous priests of the old faith destroyed Ikhnaton’s city and tried to wipe him from history. The Congregation dispersed across the Middle East.

And then, a rising melody, its counterpoint low and dark: For 16 centuries, diverse and fractious groups of Congregants grew in strength. First came Mithraic mystery cultists, guarded by Roman shields; later, after the Christ’s Ascension, a sect called the Messianic Voices. To suppress corruption in the nascent Roman Church, Messianic mage Claudius Dediticius founded his Knights of Archangel Gabriel, Messenger of God. He could not have imagined that the Gabrielites would eventually become the Cabal of Pure Thought, forerunners of the Technocracy’s New World Order.

Discordant notes herald the War Song: through simony and indulgences, king-making and cruelty, the Cabal amassed temporal power. Its rigid ways and rampant abuses, such as the barbarous Albigensian Crusade, drove away “heretical” magi. During the Western Schism, these Antinomians fostered new movements: Waldensians, Hussites, and the Heresy of the Free Spirit. They reached out to like-minded spirits in Isma’ili Islam and the Bektashi Order; to the Majestic Kings of the Zoroastrians; even to the Hindu nationalist scholar-warriors, the Vishnudharadhara (“Vishnu’s Sword”). Such ecumenism was heretical, but Antinomians knelt to no Earthly authority, whether Church or State. And for this, they were hunted. The flames of the Inquisition burned hot. Meanwhile, in wars of words among themselves and of magick against Hermetics and the witch-folk, the Congregants faltered… if never in devotion, then certainly in progress.

A new harmony: Valoran, a French bishop hiding from the Inquisition, reunited the Messianic Voices and made peace with the Pagans. In 1461, with their gravest breaches healed, Congregants from every monotheistic faith presented a unified face to the Council of Nine as the Chœur Céleste.

Slow descending chords: as the Order of Reason rose, the new Chorus declined through persecution, massacres, and intolerance. To divide and conquer, the Cabal – and later the NWO and Syndicate – fostered centuries of culture war among the western faiths. And though fundamentalism strengthens the Chorus’ paradigm (many Sleepers still believe in miracles), it also destroys the message of divine unity

Even so, Choristers still preach that message. More to the point, they live it. Among the Traditions, the Chorus is perhaps the most compassionate… and it certainly speaks loudest, as a whole, for the welfare of the Masses. Although certain members can be fanatical, not even the primitivist Singers are religious fundamentalists in the way Sleepers understand that term. To hear more than the simplest notes of the Song – and then survive within the Council – a Chorister must transcend dogma and embrace faith. With regards to stickier theological nuances (the gender of Divinity, the limits of tolerance, the roles of Christ and the Prophet in the Divine plan, that sort of thing), modern Choristers deliberately avoid taking an official stance. There’s plenty of tension in the ranks as a result, but at least no one’s getting burned alive over it anymore!

It’s not all peace and love, of course. Old wounds linger between this group and its companions. Out of necessity and faith, the Chorus still wrangles with this tricky alliance, debating where and when to draw lines with “friends” who practice loathsome Arts. Still, the Tradition’s visionaries present the Council with proof of what united tolerance can bring. “We Sing in harmony,” they insist, “and so might we all.”

## Organization

Hierarchical since the Roman Republic, the Chorus is led by its Curia, a 17-member synod of Chancellors and associated finance officers, tribunes, notaries, and liturgical commissioners. The most respected (or best connected) Chancellor holds the ceremonial position of Pontifex Maximus. Each Chancellor commands a territorial staff of Exarchs, sometimes called bishops. Exarchs supervise local leaders called Presbyters (priests or elders), who present this Tradition’s human face.

## Sects and Factions

Singers have their own characters and idiosyncrasies, some are academics, others are healers, demon-hunters... This also means that the Chorus as a whole recognizes a very big number of factions within its ranks. A political affiliation is tied to the influence that an individual can exert and the knowledge she can gain. Differences of approach between members can give a group a split on doctrinal matters or even internal schisms. In some cases, a Singer can be aligned to various factions or even move between them and the official standing within them depends on the faction itself, with factions ranging from full conspiracies to others being just labels to group a disjointed group of Mages.

### The Guardian Orders

The most famous, most respected and the most dreaded factions of the Celestial Chorus, these guardians of faith keep the Song alive with their actions. Their names are certainly tarnished due to their mistakes and misjudgments serving to support the worst crimes of the Crusades and Inquisition, or the burnings of heretics and witches, still their guidance and protection are in demand more frequently nowadays. The Guardian Orders protect the innocent at all costs, from threats both human and supernatural, and often target large corporations, organized crime and corrupt politicians.

#### T**he Brothers of St. Christopher**

An exclusively Christian male (although they often work, travel and form cabals with women) order dedicated to protecting the innocent at all cost, even those with life styles condemned by religious groups. A young order of Christian social activists less than 20 years old, this extremely liberal Order's mission is to protect humanity.

*Specialty Sphere*: Mind

#### **The Chevra Kedisha**

Jewish group which attempts to seek out and help troubled souls and lost spirits, assisting the dead move on. Taking their name from the people in each synagogue who volunteer to prepare the bodies of the dead for their passage. This organization founded in the Middle Ages are firmly committed to doing what they believe is right and and once convinced a soul's needs their help, they will stop at nothing to see that their charges are cared for.

*Specialty Sphere*: Spirit

#### **The Knights of St. George and the Dragon**

An order founded in Syria in the 11th century and dedicated to protecting humanity from vampires and other monsters such as demons and werewolves, they admit women and non-christians freely. Emulating St. George and his slaying of the dragon, this self-professed knighthood practices the most powerful martial magicks and master the arts of war. Once the largest Guardian Order in the Chorus, fierce warriors at night, they were known as artists, statesmen and poets in the day.

*Speciality Sphere*: Forces

#### **The Order of St. Michael**

An order of religious warriors who practice social vigilantism, in other words a faction which focuses on local communities and bringing justice and mercy to those who deserve it. They strive to make the world safe for all people and bring justice and mercy to those who them it denied. They usually target corrupt governments, corporations and organized crime syndicates.

*Speciality Sphere*: Forces

#### **The Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon**

A strictly disciplined conspiratorial organization that has remained independent of the Traditions for centuries, but lately a small group of dissidents joined the Celestial Chorus. Even those are still wary of the other Singers and usually reunite in all-Templar Cabals, but some of them have begun to work with other Choristers and even members of other Traditions.

*Specialty Sphere*: Forces

#### **The Sisters of Gabrielle**

An all-female order, ancient order tasked with slaying demons and watching the Umbra. The oldest organization in the Guardian Orders (founded by a mysterious Singer named Gabrielle in the first millennium of the Common Era), many Sisters simply carry on with their daily task of fighting spiritual evil wherever they may find it, and lately have found a new impetus for collaboration with other Chorus factions and with the rest of the Traditions, where they were often only nominally associated with the rest of the Chorus before.

*Specialty Sphere*: Spirit

### The Theological Orders

These groups focus more on introspection, theology, philosophy or religious orthodoxy. These orders attract those Choristers who work more in the realms of pure thought. They often come from various religions, and have various goals. They are unified by their love of thought and debate, and often their desire for change. The Theological Orders are constantly thinking of ways to improve the Chorus, their communities, and the world – even though their ideas do not always agree.

#### The Alexandrian Society

The most radical of the Theological Orders, the Alexandrian Society it is a faction of Choristers who seek to reconcile faith and technological advancements, seeking wisdom through science and divinity in all things and fighting for each individual's right to find a balance between science and faith. Users of Techgnosticism, they believe that the division between religion and science is artificial and imposed by the Technocracy, so they strive to overcome this problem by accepting scientific ideas into the folds of religious doctrine and hoping to revive the concept of sacred science, searching for divinity in common things.

*Specialty Sphere*: Matter

#### Anchorites

Individual hermits, monks, and other loners who seclude themselves in the wilderness, rejecting human society for the divinity to be found in the natural world. Technically, the Anchorites are not really a theological camp so much as a group of Choristers who share a way of life. These mages are recluses in the Tradition, retreating from the world to pursue their own Salvation with meditation and prayer. Some Anchorites will venture back into the world if the Divine Voice calls them, or they feel they have some lesson to learn before returning to isolation.

*Specialty Sphere*: Spirit

#### Children of Albi

A sect with gnostic influence that believes the material world is corrupt and that purity is found only in spiritual things. Following in the footsteps of the Albigensians, they reject mortal authority, generally only accepting the advice of spiritual beings. Anti-materialistic dualism, in other words, believing that the world is the evil kingdom of Satan, is a prime belief of this faction that descends from the beliefs of Cathar. They follow the Gospel and other apocryphal works, and believe greatly in separation of church and state. Once persecuted as heretics, they still do not fully trust the Chorus.

*Specialty Sphere*: Prime

#### Latitudinarians

A movement to revolutionize the Chorus and remove a structure centuries old, arguing that traditions centuries old stifle the Singers and interfere with personal visions of the One. These Choristers believe that the rigid hierarchy of the Tradition must be radically changed. They fear that the ancient ways of the Tradition only encourage bigotry and intolerance. They want to decentralize leadership and promote more tolerant behavior towards the other Traditions.

#### Monists

The Monist faction emphasizes the heart of the Chorus' message: all faiths, all people, and all creations are one. Tolerance and an open mind are pivotal. To the Monists, the One can take any form, and only human limitations cause differences of opinion. The Monists believe that world religion should be formed into a syncretion of views for one set of beliefs that all people could appreciate. They wish to unify Christianity with the other belief systems around the world. The Monists are often great diplomats and debaters.

*Specialty Sphere*: Prime

#### Nashimites

A group which believes the battlefield for virtue is the Umbra, and that by actively purifying the mortal world the spirit world will be healed. This small faction shares some of the Christian Gnostic beliefs as the Children of Albi. The Nashimites believe in the possibility of a truly maltheistic divinity, for as mankind's soul becomes corrupt, so too does the One fall from purity. Since every individual is a part of creation, everyone as an influence in the final outcome of the Tellurian, so unlike the other Christian Gnostics, they seek to purify the physical world and bring hope back to the people for it to reflect in the spiritual world.

*Specialty Sphere*: Prime

#### Septarians

A variety of unaligned sects of highly traditional, strictly conservative denominations of Christianity. The most conservative faction of the Chorus, these mages want to keep the Chorus distinguished from the other Traditions. They consider technomancers as vile as the Technocracy, and they feel the other Traditions caused the downfall of the sacred paradigm deteriorated. Naturally, the Septarians can hardly get along with one another, much less with the rest of the Chorus. Other Choristers rightly consider them arrogant, opinionated and sometimes even violently reactionary.

*Specialty Sphere*: Prime

### Other Religions

While the greatest number of Choristers are from Christian churches and Judaism, they are not the entire Tradition. Since the first Grand Council, the Chorus has welcomed numerous other groups. These include Hare Krishnas, Hindus, Rastafarians, Sikhs, Mithraites, and others, as wherever there is faith in the One, there is the Celestial Chorus.

#### Hare Krishnas

Worshippers of the Hindu god Krishna, even if relatively new for the West their order dates from shortly after the first Grand Council came together. They reject the caste system and polytheism, equating Krishna to a manifestation of the One. They are strict vegetarians dedicated to non-violence. To the concerns of the most traditional Hindus, their numbers are growing and most Chorus Chantries routinely receive heralds and pilgrims who follow Krishna, so they serve as outside mediators in minor disputes.

*Specialty Sphere*: Prime

#### Hindus

Probably one of the first non-Judeo-Christian groups to approach Valoran were the Brahmin priests who represented one of the oldest continuing faiths in the world. Calling themselves the *Vishnudharadha*, they generally keep to themselves, rarely involving themselves in the arguemnts of the Tradition. These priests are among the most conservative and opinionated advocates of returning to the old ways, even proposing the separation from other Traditions like the Akashics, the Euthanatoi, the Cult of Ecstasy, Virtual Adepts and Sons of Ether. The Yogis are their contrast, rejecting the castes and living in a peaceful and open-minded austerity.

*Specialty Sphere*: Prime

#### Jains

Peaceful ascetics, the Jains follow the way of the Jinas, spiritual teachers. They hold the precept of Ahimsa, non-violence and reverence for all life, going to great lengths to fulfill it, with strict diets consisted in foods that can be obtained without killing. Many of their members have have made their way to the Western lands to try and persuade all Tradition members to pursue their way of nonviolence.

*Specialty Sphere*: Mind

#### Sons of Mithras

The Sons of Mithras make up a small but militant faction, that embraces the Roman cult of Mithraism. These soldiers still hold some grudges against the Chorus for the persecution of Mithraism by Christianity, but they serve as stalwart defenders of the Chorus, believing that all have a claim to security in the quest for the divine. Sons of Mithras are still a bit of an underground cult, but they are at least recognized by the modern Chorus. This society is a small but ancient group that considers themselves the guardians of tradition and the military leaders of the Congregation. They look for Catechumens with a military background, and are one of the more regimented and disciplined factions of the Chorus.

*Specialty Sphere*: Forces

#### Rastafarians

The newest faith in the Chorus, they are sometimes viewed with suspicion as some of their early leaders were proponents of the black race superiority while the Chorus teaches racial equality and tries to end segregation. They believe that the One, whom they call Jah, was most recently manifest in the late Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, although the emperor himself was a strict Christian. Many are also associated with Ethiopian and Coptic Orthodox Churches.

*Specialty Sphere*: Time

#### Sikhs

Sikhs rarely become Choristers, as some of their religious leaders prohibit the working of miracles or the giving of blessings or curses. Rumors say that they sill have connections with the Ahl-i-Batin, and some Sikhs in the West seek relationships with the Chorus although ongoing tensions with the Hindus have kept them from doing so.

*Specialty Sphere*: Prime

#### Sufis

While originally being tied with the Ahl-i-Batin, there are a good number of Awakened Sufis who join the Congregation in the present days. Rumors persist that these Sufi Choristers are the guardians of secret intellectual and material Batini treasures and that the remaining Batini are using these Muslim Singers to communicate with (or manipulate) the other Traditions.

*Specialty Sphere*: Correspondence, Prime

### Other Factions

#### Bat Binah

Jewish women that have chosen to study portions of the Torah and Kaballah that were forbidden to them. Some Choristers think that Bat Binah may have some relationship to an ancient, hidden group called the Lions of Zion, but nobody would know what to make of this if it were true. All mages trained in this faction begin with the study of Prime, but they almost always eventually learn something of the Spheres of Matter and Life.

*Specialty Sphere*: Prime, Matter, and Life

#### Song of the Ancients

Founded in the early 1980s to serve as a gathering place for Choristers who were from or studying tribal and other ancient religious beliefs, the Song of the Ancients is a loosely organized network of students and practitioners who are members of the Chorus. They include members of monotheistic tribal groups in Africa, members of Afro-Caribbean faiths and followers of ancient Celtic pagan-Christian synthesis beliefs. Although most such Choristers study the Sphere of Prime, a few mentors train their students to first study the Sphere of Life.

*Specialty Sphere*: Prime, Life

## Initiation

Presbyters seek recruits through social outreach in church organizations. Some worshippers spontaneously Awaken through powerful religious experiences, particularly those involving music. Each new apprentice, or Catechumen, undertakes rigorous instruction from an experienced mage called a Præcept. Like many forms of religious training, this instruction involves matters of doctrine, personal discipline, and – obviously – lots of singing lessons.

## Focus

The Arts flow not from personal achievement or intent but from faith, unity, and harmony with the Divine Will. Singing – especially many voices joined in harmony – provides this Tradition’s oldest and most important instrument. Chorister magick tends to manifest in light, fire, warmth, harmonic vibrations, and sublime music. Faith and High Ritual form the core of Celestial Chorus practices, so the group’s paradigms include Creation is Divine and Alive, Divine Order and Earthly Chaos, and, of course, It’s All Good – Have Faith.

## Glossary

* Book of Ages: The sacred scriptures of the Celestial Chorus.
* Catechumenate: An Apprentice's period of study and training.
* Curia: The Chorus' administrative council.
* Dark Singers: Nephandi. Also colloquially applied to any ill-willed mage.
* Enchiridion: (Greek, "handbook.") Portion of the Book of Ages that sums up the Chorus' beliefs.
* Faithful: The Celestial Chorus. Those mages who follow the One's purpose of placing humanity on Earth.
* First Singers: The first and most powerful mages.
* The Four Ages: The concept that divides the history into four ages that each represent a different epoch in Chorus history.
* First Age: The earliest days, the time of prehistory, when the First Singers walked the Earth. This age ended in the second century BCE.
* Second Age: The time from the establishment of the Congregation (second century BCE), to the Battle of the Milvian Bridge (312 CE).
* Third Age: The period of Christian ascendancy within the Congregation, from the Battle of the Milvian Bridge to the Convention of the Ivory Tower in 1325.
* Fourth Age: The reign of the Technocracy, from the 14th century to the present day.
* Great Adytum: The Chorus' seat of authority and main Horizon Realm.
* The Three Inquistions: The three inquisitions of the Roman Catholic Church, included due to the enormous ecclesiastical influence wielded by the Roman Church and the sea change that was the result of these Inquisitions.
* Longaevi: Alternative term for the fae.
* Messianic Voices: The Christian faction within the Congregation which, starting in the fourth century CE, rose in power to become the dominant voice.
* Office of the Inquisition: The part of the Chorus assigned the task of investigating ecclesiastical crimes committed by members of the Chorus. Power derived from the Curia.
* Office of the Academy: The part of the Chorus assigned the task of teaching new Apprentices and developing curriculum for study by the Apprentices.
* Pontifex Maximus: The central authority figure for the Chorus.
* Metempsychosis: The ancient belief of reincarnation.
* Rebels: Those who struggled against the One's authority; also known as The Defiant.
* Reconciliation: The End Times, in which all creation shall be united. The One's followers shall be rewarded; His opponents will be destroyed. Some believe that a great war will occur.
* Wesleyan Revival: Occurred during the 19th century CE in response to the excesses of the Roman Catholic Church. Converted 250,000 new followers for the Presbyterian and Methodist factions of the Christian religions. Included as first evidence of loss of secular and ecclesiastical power of the Roman Catholic Church. Confined to the West.

### Varint Terms

These terms are used commonly within the Congregation in favor of the Curia's common parlance.

* Adytum: Chantry. This term may vary to include Sanctuary, Temple, Basilica, etc.
* Catechumen: Apprentice
* Exarch: Master.
* Praecept: Mentor.
* Presbyter: Adept.
* Chorister: Mage.
* The Song: Magic.
* BCE and CE: The Chorus recognizes that not all of its members view the birth of Jesus Christ as an axial moment in time. Therefore, BCE (Before Christian/Common Era) is preferred over BC (Before Christ), and CE (Christian/Common Era) to AD (Anno Domini, Year of Our Lord).