Editing Mage: The Awakening (section)

==Awakening==
[[Time Wizards|Mages come to be when an ordinary person going about their business suddenly undergoes an Awakening]], in which their soul goes a-walking among the Supernal Realms and inscribes their name on a Watchtower located there. It's not unlike Plato's Cave allegory, except leaving graffiti outside of the Cave gives you hax magical powers. After having done so, the person is forever Awakened to an understanding of the truth of the world.

===Supernal===
The Supernal is the metaphorical fire and objects (which we'll call symbols, from now on) that cast the shadows in Plato's cave, with the shadows here being the 'Fallen' World where everyone lives and dies. The reason it's called the Fallen World is because while it and the Supernal used to be connected, there's now a whole (un)realm of (un)reality called the Abyss between the Supernal and the real world that acts as the source of Paradox due to essentially being the anti-Truth. This happened because eleven assholes-turned-symbolic Truth didn't want anyone else to get a share of ''their'' pie. The eleven god-assholes became symbols of Tyranny; the mages call them the Exarchs (Greek for 'ruler from outside'), whom the Seers of the Throne serve because they want to be on the winning side.

Now you're probably asking "What are the Supernal Realms then?" The thing about the Supernal is that if you enter it willy-nilly you get obliterated, as in 'never-existed' obliterated- the pure Truth it embodies simply absorbs the truth of your own existence. The Watchtower you Awaken to filters the Truth, creating a realm in which a person can Awaken without being deleted from reality. In fact this is how Archmasters enter the Supernal, by imposing their own vision into it.

So to make things simple, the Supernal is the source code for reality, with the realms being programming languages, and the Exarchs are hackers that accidentally released a virus called the Abyss that threatens to wreck it all.

Normal humans, or "Sleepers", are not capable of perceiving Awakened magic because they carry shards of the Abyss within their souls; if they witness Supernal magic, they are compelled to forget or rationalize it away since the Abyss's influence in the Fallen World renders the Supernal truth unknowable to non-Awakened. Additionally, the presence of Sleepers increases the risk of Paradox as they unintentionally allow the Abyss to corrupt the Supernal symbols a spell uses, much like the Disbelief of old. Mages debate the exact origins of what they call Quiescence, but most believe it is how the Abyss prevents people from Awakening, or perhaps how the human mind prevents itself from going insane over being confronted with the Lie. 

Some people (including all other supernatural beings) are considered "Sleepwalkers": they are not capable of Awakened magic due to an inability to see the Supernal, but they are still able to see past the Lie well enough to prevent them from triggering the effects of Quiescence.

===Paths===
{| class="wikitable" align=right
|+
The Paths' Arcana
! rowspan="2" |Path
! colspan="2" |Primary
! rowspan="2" |Inferior
|-
!Gross
!Subtle
|-
|'''Acanthus'''
|Time
|Fate
|Forces
|-
|'''Mastigos'''
|Space
|Mind
|Matter
|-
|'''Moros'''
|Matter
|Death
|Spirit
|-
|'''Obrimos'''
|Forces
|Prime
|Death
|-
|'''Thyrsus'''
|Life
|Spirit
|Mind
|}
There are five Paths which one normally Awakens to. These determine your two favored Arcana (the replacement for the Spheres), as well as the Arcana you're worst at. Each Path corresponds to one of the Supernal Realms and has one 'Gross' (obvious) and one 'Subtle' primary Arcana, and a third arcana which is 'inferior'.

*'''Acanthus:''' The Enchanters entered [[Arcadia]] and found the Watchtower of the Lunargent Thorn. [[Changeling: The Lost|Not the same one as the one these poor bastards escaped from]], though the Changelings would prefer it if these mages didn't keep trying to test that theory. Anyways, they navigated through the thorns and resolved to change the destinies they once thought to be immutable even while accepting that every decision they made would have world-changing consequences. Acanthus Mages have the primary Arcana of Fate & Time, with the inferior Arcanum of Forces. Acanthus are stereotyped to be free spirits and fickle artsy types, with a little bit of the trickster archetype thrown in for good measure. 
*'''Mastigos:''' The Warlocks traversed [[Pandemonium]] to reach the Watchtower of the Iron Gauntlet. Their awakening was hell, very literally. They faced down the inner demons that had dominated their lives and either outwitted, out-gambled, or otherwise got the better of whatever was in there with them, thus taking command of their vices. Mastigos have the primary Arcana of Mind & Space, with the inferior Arcanum of Matter. Mastigos are stereotyped to be diabolical and manipulative, with an eye for identifying people's weaknesses.
*'''Moros:''' The Necromancers walked in Stygia, the Platonic ideal of death (as opposed to the Underworld, which is a shithole), and reached the Watchtower of the Leaden Coin. They let go of the things that weighed them down and embraced the process of change that affects all that exists. Moros have the primary Arcana of Matter & Death, with the inferior Arcanum of Spirit. Moros are stereotyped to be dour, resolute, and down-to-earth.
*'''Obrimos:''' The Theurges wandered through the Aether (aka Not-Heaven) to get to the Watchtower of the Golden Key. Their Awakening was all Old Testament Ezekiel - tongues of fire, wheels studded with eyes, seraphim chanting hymns to God, the works- all stemming from an intuitive leap of understanding that allows them to bring order to the imperfections of the Fallen World. Obrimos have the primary Arcana of Forces & Prime, and the inferior Arcanum of Death. Obrimos stereotypes paint them as zealous and devoted champions of ideals or whatever force they consider to be "the Divine", but prone to arrogance. 
*'''Thyrsus:''' The Shamans encountered the Primal Wild and found the Watchtower of the Singing Stone. They took a walk on the wild side and learned to understand the language that the world spoke to them in, and became what is basically the walking manifestation of nature: primordial, red in tooth and claw, and interconnected with all life. Thyrsus have the primary Arcana of Life & Spirit, with the inferior Arcanum of Mind. Thyrsus stereotypes depict them as passionate and impulsive, sometimes to the point of seeming uncouth. 

<center>
<gallery>
File:PathAcanthus.png|Acanthus
File:PathMastigos.png|Mastigos
File:PathMoros.png|Moros
File:PathObrimos.png|Obrimos
File:PathThyrsus.png|Thyrsus
</gallery>
</center>

===Other Paths===
The ''Chronicler's Guide'' has a 6th Watchtower of Brass and Flame (Spirit & Forces), along with the option of 10 Supernal Realms each with their own Arcanum, or possibly even an additional 20 different paths around two ruling Arcana for the Seers of the Throne. The Tremere claim the existence of a long-destroyed Sixth Watchtower of Fallen Blood that now only produces monsters (perhaps an Abyssal Ziggurat?), as well as a Seventh Watchtower of the Soul which has all the Subtle Arcana in a unified form as Ruling. Introduced in ''Imperial Mysteries'' within Imperium, is an ultimate ability that can create a new Realm, Watchtower, or even another Celestial Ladder.