Mage/Theme/Orders/Adamantine Arrows

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The Adamantine Arrows, The Sentinels on the Walls of the Last Redoubt

 Existence is war. Among the first of the Diamond Orders to set foot in this part of the world were the Adamantine Arrows. Their martial expertise and unflinching dedication to their cause spelled the untimely end of a great many of the Unnamed Nation before the Martyr's Tree sprouted from the earth. But as opposition defines power, this early sin of Hubris is one they have taken to heart; the local caucus no longer blindly follows the will of the Silver Ladder's thearchs. Enshrined in the silver law of the Precept of War as Recognized by the Martyr's Tree, the council may ask the Arrows to raise their banners for war, but the order to raise them may be issued by the Adamant Sage alone.

 They wield this authority with care, these days, holding fast to the notion that the best war is the one you never fight. Enlightenment is Honor are their watchwords now, having learned the lesson they believe the Martyr's Tree was meant to teach them.

Suggested Concepts: Acanthus Sniper, Mastigos Tactician, Moros Craftsperson, Obrimos Shock Trooper, Thyrsus Combat Medic.

Adamantine Arrow History

 The first Constantine to grace these shores was a product of the schism within the Arrows that arose during the Italian Renaissance. He was a proponent of perpetual war, and saw the promise of the new world as being one of glorious, unending, limitless conquest. The land was vast; so much more vast than any European had seen before outside of Russia. After seeing what there was to see, he summoned his confederates to join him in the mouth of the Delaware. And they came. The world hasn't been the same since.

 The Great Hubris of Gaveston is often seen as the sole sin of the colonial period of the consilium, but that is an oversimplification. Yes, he was Hierarch. Yes, the buck stopped with him. But he had help. He had a lot of help. And it came in the form of Constantine's caucus of war fighters. What disease and deprivation could not destroy, Constantine and his followers put to the bayonet.

 When the blood had congealed and the bodies stacked, the Martyr's Tree was standing in the place of an Archmage and the War of the Unnamed had concluded. A victory, but at what price?

 For the centuries since, the caucus has been rather ahead of the curve of the Arrows path towards progress. It took the rest of the order until 1945-- civil wars, revolutions, and two world wars --to realize what had been learned already by the Philadlephia caucus: taking sides in temporal wars for temporal ideals is a fool's endeavor. The enemies of the Supernal, they are eternal. They are the true enemy from which all other enemies derive their power. To the extent the local caucus chooses to involve itself in temporal conflict, it does so only to counter the influence of their true enemies. And only after such evidence has been produced.

 The consequence of this fact is that the Martyr's Tree remains centuries ahead of the rest of the order in terms of its learning in this regard. The Thunderbolt Guardians of the caucus are often tasked with traveling to consilii across the world to lecture on the Adamant Way as practiced in the Martyr's Tree.

Adamantine Arrow Resources
  • Camp Constantine
    • Training Yard
    • Hallow of the Victors
    • Office of the Adamant Sage
    • Office of the Banner Wardens
    • Office of the First Talons
    • Office of the Thunder Guardians
    • The Tea Room
Adamantine Arrow Members
These are the current members of the Adamantine Arrows Caucus.
Add [[Category:Adamantine Arrows]] to your page to show up here.
Active Adamantine Arrows
Active Adamantine Arrows NPCs
Inactive Adamantine Arrows
Dead Adamantine Arrows

none

Adamantine Arrow Roles
These roles are adapted from Mage: the Awakening 1.0 and are subject to revision in play.

NPC Roles

  • Adamant Sage - The Adamant Sage's role will always be held by an NPC. Yoshitsune is not a native of Philadelphia, nevermind the United States. He came to the United States in the early 2000s on orders from the Hierarch of the Chrysanthemum Throne in Kyoto Japan to find and recover the Blade of Amaterasu. His journey took him, at last, to rural Maine where the blade was recovered from servants of the Abyss. The blade has been entrusted to a Thunderbolt Guardian that now resides within the Consilium of the Cracked Stone, leaving Yoshitsune free to pursue other endeavors. Rather than return to Kyoto, and resume the role of Provost to the Hierarch there, he opted to stay within the Convocation where the blade bearer resides to help ensure it remains in the hands of the proper Awakened. Once its purpose has been served here in the states, it will be repatriated to Kyoto, along with Yoshitsune should he survive. He is among the oldest of the order heads in the city, if not the convocation, and a match for any of the councilors in pure supernal power. Offering him the position of Adamant Sage when the position was vacated by the death of his predecessor was widely seen as the obvious choice. He is a tradition bound man who still follows many of the tenets of Bushido, enjoys sake, tea, and Go, as well as watching the Masked Singer with the Talons.
    Prerequisites: Adamantine Arrows Status 4.
    Current Adamant Sage: Yoshitsune

PC Roles

  • Thunderbolt Guardian - The Order's answer to special forces taskings, Thuderbolt Guardians are specialists in various skillsets, both magical and mundane. In order to become a Thunderbolt Guardian, one must demonstrate either mastery of a combat style and its magical applications, such as with the Adamant Hand, or similar mystical and mundane mastery of some other field. Science, technology, chemistry, research, and manufacturing are all perfectly valid though not nearly exhaustive examples of fields a Guardian could hold. Thunderbolt Guardians are typically the leaders of Arrows in the field, and delegate tasks to the First Talons and Banner Wardens under their command.
    Prerequisites: Either all dots in a fighting style with the means to demonstrate its application through Magic, or 5 dots in any skill apart from combat skills that can be similarly tied to your magical practice, Adamantine Arrows Status 3.
    Current Thunderbolt Guardians: Esther
  • First Talon - If the Thunderbolt Guardians are special forces and the brass in the field, First Talons are the company and platoon level officers who get the grunt work done. They must demonstrate a base level competency in leadership under fire, and must have risen out of the ranks of the Banner Wardens by merit and achievement rather than by simply seeking promotion. It is typically fairly obvious who the First Talons will be based on their drive, initiative, and ability to inspire those around them to follow. When a Banner Warden's peers inquire why one isn't a First Talon yet, that's typically when Yoshitsune informs them that they are.
    Prerequisites: Proven aptitude in the field, Persuasion 2 (Leadership), Academics 2 (Warfare), Adamantine Arrows Status 2.
    Current First Talons:
  • Banner Warden - All Arrows defend their cadres, but Banner Wardens have made defending their cadres their primary responsibility within the Order. This is a privilege rather than a right, one that is earned through exemplary service to the Order. Their responsibilities within the camp are reduced, they typically are not mustered up to respond to threats unless those threats require reaching deeper in the bucket than the Talons and First Talons. Their service to the cadres of the consilium replaces those duties, and failure to uphold them is cause for censure and reduction of status.
    Prerequisites: Membership in a cadre, Adamantine Arrows Status 2.
    Current Banner Wardens:
  • Talon - Those who don't lead must follow. The Talons are those individuals. They form the backbone of the Order, filling out the ranks and files of the muster when it comes time to due battle with the enemies of the Awakened world. They are expected to uphold their oaths, behave as exemplars of the order's teachings, and support one another. No Talon is alone, the saying goes. Lone wolves and antisocial personalities tend not to rise very far in the order as a result of this.
    Prerequisites: Adamantine Arrows Status 1.
    Current Talons: Yisrael, Harmony, Kaminari