The Celestial Chorus
"Everyone has faith in something. Everyone believes in something. It may not be capital-F Faith, but tell me you don't believe in kindness, in good will, in your own autonomy, or hell even the fact that nothing matters. It's all a kind of faith, one that connects us all together. That's what it means to be a part of the Song.
The Pious Pinnacle of Prime within the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions, the Celestial Chorus wield faith, scripture, and the power of song and verse in their path of Awakened Ascension.
While their aesthetics and inspirations carry influence from various Judaeo-Christian religions, with greater influence on the latter half of that designation, the organization is not inherently tied to any one religion...technically. They accept any faith-wielding mage from any cultural or religious background, and do not shame or silence their practices. Their influences and areas of inspiration do still lead to most of their congregation being at the very least Abrahamic in origin still.
Going back to that technically, the faith that the Celestial Chorus does believe in wholeheartedly is in their magickal concept of The One, a 4th-dimensional creator deity of sorts who they believe sang reality into existence, and that Awakened Magick is Its power made manifest.
While the modern nights have shook up the sect worse than they've ever felt, their faith stays strong, in each other and in the world at large.
History
The history of the Awakened is a long and dense one, with some of these sects spanning back centuries if not millennia. They've also had a lot more going on than the Kindred we've been detailing thus far, who are content to stay in the background. So, with that in mind, we're going to summarize the general history of the sect a bit more rapidly before slowing down to focus on their history within the local area.
Before we go into either of those histories, the Celestial Chorus has their own creation myth wrapped up in The One. In time before time, the One existed, the pure nexus and font of Quintessence and creation. In the primordial chaos that pre-existed, It sang a perfect song that began to create, turning the void of chaos into the fertile ground of reality. First, It created companions, what the Chorus refers to as the Many which are essentially various divine agents, likened to Angels.
The One and the Many sang in harmony creating the worlds and species of reality, until some of the Many rebelled and sang discordantly, and caused a wrathful shattering to occur between the rebelling and loyal Many alike, after which the One retreated from the reality It had made and into the 4th-dimensional space the Chorus posits is the source and end-point of Quintessence and Prime as a Sphere. This led to the first Awakened, as divine shards of the shattered Many entered frail mortal beings.
One might note the similarities between this myth, especially the latter portion, and the rebellion of Lucifer against God, and in doing so notice the first of many reasons the Chorus is generally assumed to be more Christian-centric than it is in demography.
General Sect History
While faith-based Magick persisted for millennia, the first group of would-be Choristers who gathered to worship the One did so in Egypt. As Atenism was hoisted by Amenhotep IV, the monotheistic faith who upheld a single creator deity called to them, and while Aten was quite different from the One they knew of in their souls (thanks to the persistence and knowledge of the Avatar), it allowed them to find and gather each other all the same. As they gathered, they would come to establish more of their concrete doctrine and beliefs in the One, seeing other chief Gods as Its reflections in different cultures. They also constructed their first Chantries to gather, protect, and learn with one another.
Time pressed on and great Kings and nations allowed the Chorus and their largely adaptable faith to spread and grow even further, especially with the Roman Empire, with many of the ruling council among the sect-to-be being Romans themselves. With the rise and acceptance of Christianity, so too did it rise within the group, a tie it has never lost no matter how much time passes.
As time continued into the common era, Christianity became the strongest voice within the Chorus via the faction known as The Messianic Voices, pushing out all other faiths in the meanwhile, turning militant and dogmatic to boot. When Charlemagne rose and began his own empire, many of the Voices supported him, ideologically or literally lending their aid to his crusade.
Speaking of, the Crusades were the most devastating period to the unity of the Chorus, as the Messianic Voices used the message, power, and influence of the sleepers Crusades to continue their own agenda, ejecting nearly all other faiths from their congregations, even those who tried to keep the peace within the order. This stranglehold would persist for centuries, even into the founding of the Traditions.
It wasn't until 1461 when a Singer by the name of Valoran would knock some sense into the sect, as the Crusades began to hurt them just as much as any other "inhuman" group, and as they took lump after lump from their allies, the Order of Hermes and Verbena, and once-allies turned to the Order of Reason, now known as the Technocracy. This was the rise of the Celestial Chorus proper, name and all, a unified front of pan-religious faith for the good of Mages and the world at large. While Christianity among the sleepers would still splinter and divide, it would no longer be the same for the Chorus. They certainly still have extremists within their number, there's no avoiding the bad, but they are the vast minority and no longer make the decisions that run the sect as a whole.
In the modern nights, the Chorus has suffered the same massive setbacks as all Mages did at the turn of the century, but nevertheless they persist, and their arms are as open as they've ever been in a modern and changing world.
South Sound History
After the formation of The Nine Traditions, communication began with Mages the world over. This allowed all manner of Mages to interact with the indigenous people in the Americas centuries before any mortal would, including Christian missionaries. While the Celestial Chorus was breaking out of its radical Christian era, their early views on indigenous faiths were varied and often simplistic, including among the coastal Salish people that included most tribes in the South Sound region. While this relationship mostly improved by the time settlers started to come to America and the Washington region, the sleeper missionaries left the people...divided, to say the least.
Not every indigenous American was a part of the Dreamspeakers, their magical methods were diverse and many branched out to the new paths opened to them but they still held a mass amount of power in the region, and most of them did not care for the religious missionaries, which caught the Choristers a lot of backlash as a result, even members who weren't supportive of the missionaries goal. This only worsened with the atrocities that settlers and missionaries would come to commit. Even when people willingly converted, including influential leaders, this did not ease tensions, especially among the Dreamspeakers who wanted the Chorus to do something, since they had known each other for centuries, and the Chorus knew better.
But the Chorus did not. On one hand, the increase in faith would lead them to find those who Awakened on their own path, and give them more opportunities to gain from and hide among the parishes and cathedrals. On the other hand, they did not want to shame any potential path for finding The One, no matter what mortal circumstances lie behind it. So they did nothing but verbally shame amongst themselves, and did not attempt to sway the sleepers minds, in direct or subtle ways. This was not a popular choice, and many Dreamspeakers and tribal Mages of different sects refused to work with the Choristers in the area for this reason. It even led to a period of frequent skirmishes between the two sects, known as The War Song Years, but by the early 1900s with increased presence from all traditions in the area, they were forced to cease direct conflict with one another.
As the 20th century marched forward, the Choristers would have a series of ups-and-downs. Many religious buildings were built within the area, some being iconic historical monuments that still stand to this day, but the war industry brought the Technocracy in quickly and powerfully. Many great Mages awakened in the region and joined them in their song to serve the people of Tacoma, but when a spectral storm in late 1940 racked the Umbra, they lost many chantries and Mages to the event. While they were not the only ones who suffered, come the late 1990's the Avatar Storm greatly ravaged all Mages, decimating their number and their connection to all layers of the Umbra, and more locally the great Game Over Massacre of Y2K not only directly claimed upwards of 300 lives, Mage and Sleeper alike, but many Choristers maintaining the Paradox of it gave their lives to prevent further disaster.
As of the current time, the Celestial Chorus has not regained their past greatness in the region. No Tradition has, as the Technocracy gains even more strength, the Weakness of Tacoma still impacts them, and various incursions by supernatural forces and the government Project FIRSTLIGHT take no distinction between the "non-humans" they target. But, the Choristers still remain faith, and keep singing the song through this life and the next, no matter what happens. When all else is lost, and you need something to keep yourself going, you'll find something to have faith in.
Structure
Internal Structure
The Hierarchy of the Chorus has been static since it's early days, and isn't too complicated to dive into. Due to the original ranks being very Catholic in their origin, many have taken a more musical and secular theme instead, which we shall be recanting here:
- Conductrice - A council of 17 of the eldest Singers of the Chorus as well as the Primus and Pontifex Maximus that meet to keep peace within the Congregation, having members of a variety of differing faiths and beliefs, as well as managing the broad-scale operations.
- Primus - A rank within the Traditions rather than just the Chorus, they are the representative to the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions and sit on the Horizon Council.
- Diva Résonner - A respected and influential Singer who has shown a great mastery over their Magick and care towards their fellows. They lead the internal workings of the Tradition, and lead the various Songs and Sermons as well as being the point-of-contact for orders and decrees.
- Voix Magistrales - Local leaders and masters of their Magick, they are the leader of a wider territory surrounding a primary sanctuary and chantry.
- L'Ensemble - Middle management between the Voix Magistrales and the unranked yet initiated members of the Chorus, they lead smaller congregations and specific outposts in a territory, and assign duties more directly to those working with/under them.
- Nouvelles Mélodies - Recently Awakened Choristers who are undergoing training and instruction under L'Ensemble or more experienced unranked members.
Factional Structure
Unsurprisingly for a faction with a wide and divisive demographic, there are many different factions within the Celestial Chorus. Unlike The Akashayana we talked about previously, there aren't any factions-within-factions we can brush over until later, so the list below will be quite lengthy.
In the broad strokes, however, they are divided into three categories. The Guardian Orders are the factions that are actively fighting against what they see as dark and baleful entities, even when that's led them astray in the past. Then there are The Theological Orders, focused more on ideology and philosophy than physical maneuvers.
There are a plethora of various factions that spawn off of different religions that are part of the order, however due to the intense Christian supremacist past of the sect that still colors much of it to this day, they are far more niche and spawn off of gatherings and chantries of their own predominant faiths.
In the Puget Sound region, one can find just about anyone of the common factions, and even a handful of the uncommon ones, but there aren't any area-unique factions save for one, The Faithful Skeptics, an order of atheistic Choristers who, despite not believing in God or even The One, have faith in unity, intersectional community outreach, and the Quintessence that connects us all. In essence, they believe in the meaning behind The One rather than the figure Itself.
(Of the names below, an * next to the name will indicate a change from their canon name (no pun intended) aside from minor spelling corrections if they arise)
The different factions within the Celestial Chorus
- Guardian Orders
- The Brothers of St. Christopher: A recent order founded in 1996 focused on whole-heartedly fighting for the good of mankind and the oppressed, no ifs ands or buts. Official membership is only for Christian men, but they make no qualms about protecting, working with, or traveling with anyone. They prioritize the Sphere of Mind.
- The Chevra Kadisha: Meaning burial society since the 1800's and connected to the term for sacred society before then, this order was created by Jewish Choristers who were oppressed by the Christian supremacist attitudes before 1461. Their goal, then and now, is to aid wandering spirits to help them move on to their various afterlife, as well as dealing with malevolent ones. While all official titled members are Jewish by faith or heritage, they often work with non-Jewish people. They prioritize the Sphere of Spirit.
- The Knights of St. George and the Dragon: Founded in the 1200's, this order deals with militant combat against the monsters of the night, such as Vampires, Demons, and Werewolves. They admit anyone who aligns with their goal, no matter their demographic or faith, yet their numbers are lacking in recent years. They prioritize the Sphere of Forces.
- The Order of St. Michael: This order, founded in the 1950's, are literal social justice warriors, fighting corrupt companies, crime rings, and other forms of oppression while supporting disenfranchised communities. This sect doesn't often take newly awakened recruits, instead focusing on established members of the Chorus who want to be more active. They prioritize the Sphere of Forces.
- The Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon: A radical order of Christian-Only Templars that fight their enemies with no regard for The One or the Ascension War, instead fighting for God as the Christian understanding would have it, and against the monsters that would enact apocalypse. Technically they are a part of the Disprates, but in modern nights disorder within the group has brought some members back into the Chorus, albeit with caution. They prioritize the Sphere of Forces.
- The Sisters of Gabrielle: An all-female order founded before the others mentioned above, the Sisters deal with spiritual evils rather than ones on the mortal world, taking the fight to the Umbra and dealing with psychic demonic entities. Their numbers, like the Knights of Saint George, were decimated by the Avatar Storm wrecking the Umbra, but they still exist and are more directly working with the rest of the Chorus. They prioritize the Sphere of Spirit.
- Theological Orders
- Alexandrian Society: An order that seeks to embrace modern science and technology alongside their faith in The One, reasoning that all items in creation were made via Its plan and therefore should be used. Since the Sect has historically had conflicts with the Technocracy and its predecessors, they are not an internally popular order, although they are very present out in the real world. They prioritize the Sphere of Matter.
- Anchorites: Much like their namesake, these are Choristers who wander the world and seclude themselves from modern society, something harder to do with each passing day. Nonetheless, they believe The One is found best away from the trappings of the modern world, unlike the previous order. They often specialize in the Sphere of Spirit, often communing with spirits rather than other humans.
- Albigensians*: Still-living believers in their namesake, this order is made up of those who believe ALL physical matter in the material world is malevolent and corruptive, and that physical mortals do not rule them. Instead, they work to ascend beyond that state into a pure spiritual world, and the only orders they purely trust are those passed down from divine agents. This leads them to be quite radical within the sect and a bit untrustworthy themselves, since they'd rather act on orders from an unknown divine spirit rather than a knowing and honored human any day.
- Choirs Without Borders*: A revolutionary order that work to subvert and remove the hard-line rules and Christian-centric nature of the sect, voicing that it stifles people of other faiths and/or cultures, and interrupts their path to Ascension and The One, especially when so many orders and past grievances work to oppress them. They are considered too radical at times, or accelerationist, but history has proven their point many times over.
- Monists: This order is the most adherent to the spirit of the Chorister doctrine, the idea that everyone is connected by The One and that they should not judge, shame, or be prejudiced against the ways others might interpret that belief. They are regarded as some of the best diplomats of the sect as a whole due to their open nature.
- Dualists*: Much like the Albigensians, this order has beliefs that fall into Gnostic lines of thinking. Specifically, they believe that since The One made/is in all things, that means It contains good as well as evil. They do not see a dichotomy between the physical and spiritual, and instead accept it as all intermixed from the start, and so have no problem in working with/for the people of that physical world, especially since they believe that each piece of the physical affects the spiritual world, and saving the physical will cleanse the spiritual.
- The Adherents*: The opposite number to the Monists, the Septarians are hard-line conservatives who follow the particulars of their chosen faith to the letter, and do not feel inclined to engage in loosening those particulars. While this leaves them very orthodox and unfriendly, they aren't bigoted (usually), and much like how the Monists are seen as the best diplomats, the iron will of the Septarians is seen as the best asset for tactical minds, warts and all.
Culture
Group Culture
As has been stressed throughout the article above, the main culture of the Chorus is faith, no matter what it is faith in. Supremacy, prejudice, bigotry, and hate still exist as even Mages cannot remove themselves from the easy-to-satisfy hateful impulses, but the spirit and word of the Chorus alike don't draw such divisions.
The cultural goal, then, is for the Chorus to unite the entire world in their Song, to rid the divisions and illusions of necessity that separate one human from another, and to unite everyone under the banner of the universal One in all Its variations and facets.
Magick Culture
Core Paradigm
I have beaten into the ground at this point how much the Celestial Chorus revolves around faith, and this extends into their Paradigm as well. Rather than magick coming from ones self, they merely channel the divinity of The One, or whatever facet of life they have genuine faith in. These channelings can take a variety of forms, but come down to either speaking to The One through prayer, or connecting to their fellow humans and Mages through all kinds of communal gatherings, especially shared songs.
Chorister Understandings
- Avatar: Most Choristers see the Avatar as synonymous with a humans soul, a fragment of The Many when they shattered in war at the dawn of creation which carries with it the love and power of The One Itself.
- Ascension: As all came from The One, Choristers see Ascension as reuniting with The One and returning to the great stream of life and energy that all things started as. In a sense, it is apotheosis by way of surrendering back to The One, the Source of life.
- Prime: Continuing from above, the Choristers see their representative Sphere as that selfsame source, the energy of The One disseminating itself throughout all of creation, physical or otherwise, including through them.
Chorus Understanding of the Awakened Spheres
In their paradigm of the divine One and it's many emanations and filters, the Celestial Chorus understands the Spheres of magick like so:
- Correspondence: The One exists everywhere and in everything, and Spacial Distance is just a part of a pattern only It can comprehend fully
- Entropy: Two primary schools of thought exist. Either the sphere of Fate and Misfortune is the One knowing all and planning each bump along the way, or it is the happenstance of a universal sandbox the One created for Its children
- Forces: The different energy patterns are seen as aspects of Angels that serve the One and Its creation
- Life: Two primary schools of thought exist. Some say that physical life is loved by the One and the sphere of healing and living beings reflects that, while others say that the physical is an illusion and can be controlled as such. Either way, those who focus on Life tend to focus on quite literally treating the body as a temple
- Matter: The same schools of thought from above apply to Matter as well, the physical yet nonliving sphere. Unlike viewing the body or living creatures as sacrosanct or illusory, they see physical objects as just another layer of illusion or as the framework of life built by the One
- Mind: As the One is said to have thought reality into being, the sphere of thoughts and the mind is seen as a reflection of that creation aspect. Use of this is common, especially in growing closer to others, but needs to be done carefully lest one risks being seen as arrogant or blasphemous
- Prime: Prime, the sphere of pure magickal energy, is seen as the embodiment of the One and Its power, and the river of life all shall rejoin eventually. This is the primary sphere of the sect
- Spirit: Spirits, both former living and magickal manifestations, are included in the creations of the One, and many of the devout Choristers define them as Angelic or Demonic
- Time: Time is seen as the physical dimension we all interact in, and mastery over it is stepping outside of that dimension similar to how the One exists
Demography and Population
While the doctrine behind the One is Monotheistic (with wiggle room) and the aesthetics of the Chorus is steeped in Christianity, the sect is not denominational. It is a path for any who understands magic through faith, no matter what that faith is.
While the common sect culture still brings in more monotheists and citizens of their primary demographics within any given chantry, you'll also just as commonly find other groups reflecting other faiths in the region.
For the Puget Sound region itself, this means you'll find plenty of Buddhists and Muslims singing with the Chorus alongside agnostics and atheists, paradoxically enough.
Public Agenda
While the Chorus is very faith-based and wrapped up in the organization of religion, their agenda is actually quite secular. While they may proselytize about the One and Its meaning, their primary goal in doing so is more to show people how connected they are with one another, and to motivate them to step beyond false limits and embrace compassion. Depending on the Chorister, these limits could be prejudice, fear, national borders, or the literal perceived illusion of the physical world.
Assets
While the organization as a whole has money aplomb, their greatest assets come in the immaterial trust they have in the One and each other, and materially in the vast amount of holy scriptures, songs, and artifacts they have, many of which can smite faster than you can say "do re mi".
Notable Local Choristers
- Marybeth "MB" Monday - Leader of The Faithful Skeptics, works as a youth counselor
- Kilian Kříž - Belongs to the Order of St. Michael and member of the Defiant Chantry, designated as "Sister" Cottonwood
- Hiếu Võ - Belongs to the Alexandrian Society, freelance exorcist
- Adella Odell - Monist, Leader of Faith at the Harstad Chantry of Faith and Reason
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