All souls reach for enlightenment. Traitor-Gods have chained humanity’s souls with a grand Lie, yet humanity still strives for truth and divinity. The dream of Awakened destiny will endure, even in a ruined realm of Tyrannical rule. It is the duty of those more advanced to reach down and free the others, raise their fellows up, bringing everyone to their own perfection. A helping hand is only of use if the recipient has the will to climb, though. The Awakened have hefted themselves up the first rungs on their own, but the climb — the Ladder — is all there is.
The Silver Ladder is invested in the Diamond and Pentacle as a whole, not just the goals of their Order — beyond their status as creators and definers of Awakened society, the Ladder requires them to advise other mages on the best path to freeing humanity from the Lie. The Enemy seeks to keep humanity in chains, turning their slaves towards keeping the Sleeping rabble ignorant and Quiescent. The Order defies those efforts by dreaming big, spreading the flame of Awakening and sundering the chains of the Lie. They create Cryptopolies, mystery cults that encourage Sleepers towards enlightened behavior, continually working to counter the Seers’ influence over humanity. More than any other Order, they seek out and shelter families of Proximi in the hopes of fostering an enlightened class of human.
Ladder mages (who call themselves théarchs) settle disputes between Awakened, believing in a unified mage-nation. The Ladder is the glue holding Awakened society together, including the Seers (if only by opposition). Their ethos of personal rights and mediation of conflict form the backbone of the Pentacle, the Consilia, and especially Convocations. The Ladder is even responsible for the Diamond’s legal system, Lex Magica. It was they who pronounced the sovereignty of the individual mage, citing commandments from the unseen Supernal Oracles. It was they who linked magic to an unknowable past of wonder and supremacy. It was they who created the Diamond, and then the Pentacle, by holding the other Orders from interfering with the formation of the Free Council.
Consequently, even when the mages of the Ladder don’t hold political positions, they remain interested in societal politics. A Hierarch from a different Order will often find himself picking up several unofficial advisors, and théarchs are the first to volunteer themselves as mediators and communicators.
Core Beliefs: The Elemental Precepts
The Ladder espouses a legalistic philosophy that leads members towards brash yet introspective personalities, steadfast in their beliefs yet compromising when it comes to maintaining the overall integrity of Awakened society. It’s simple, but all-encompassing. Much of the Diamond Orders’ cohesive philosophy and structures owe their genesis to the Silver Ladder. Even the name “Diamond” originated with the precept, rather than geometry (there were five Diamond Orders when first formed, thanks to the Mysterium’s late unification) Despite the complexity of the Lex Magica, the Elemental Precepts are deceptively simple.
- Thunder: Imperium is the Sovereign Right of all Humanity
- Diamond: The Awakened are One Nation
- Blood: The Sleepers Follow
- Star: The Silver Ladder is the Path to Victory
Mysteries
Théarchs look for Mysteries that give clues to the great ladder of being, especially Sleepwalkers who manifest magical abilities, ancient records of the Awakened, and Supernal entities. Save perhaps the Mysterium, the Ladder is the Order most obsessed with finding temples and artifacts of Atlantis. Despite the dangerous, oddly contradictory, and often Paradox-ridden nature of the ruins, théarchs justify their actions in search of such relics, trying to grant the Awakened pride in their past and a vision of a united future. In doing so, they hope to continually climb their Ladder. Théarchs are dedicated to the goal of freeing every soul from its shackles — Sleepers must be encouraged to Awaken, and the Awakened towards Ascension.
Magical Symbolism: Authority
The Ladder is responsible for the Diamond’s claim to wisdom from an ancient ur-culture, and it strives ever to maintain that magical symbolism in the form of the Diamond and Pentacle. They are Vox Draconis: Voice of the Dragon, priests of Atlantis, granted primacy not because of conferred authority or divine right but recognition of wise leadership. Théarchs often use the trappings of priests and other authority figures as Yantras, but they’re a humanist priesthood, exalting the potential of humanity rather than gods. As befits a global outlook, théarchs claim symbols of authority from many cultures as tools. Their symbolism incorporates badges of law and judges’ robes. Théarchs also tend to adopt the personal trappings of the strongest member of their Order within a given Consilium. The modern Order doesn’t use crowns or royal regalia. Besides being too ostentatious for good taste, it’s a reminder that a théarch’s purpose isn’t to rule, but to lead.