Ascension 2000 Campaign Pamphlets:  Marauders

You seem awfully calm and sane for someone who has been described 
to me as a 'Marauder', Mr. Davenport.

	The term 'Marauder' is really a rather more apt name for the 
Nephandi, than it is for those of us who are usually called such.  I 
suppose our less destructive ventures often go unnoticed, while our 
assaults upon the forces of stasis and corruption tend to be both 
spectacular and memorable.  Given that we hardly form a monolithic 
front, I can't offer you much of a better term; those of us who are 
oriented towards dynamism are torn by severe internal rifts, as one 
might well expect.  I prefer to think of myself, and my cabal, the 
Butcher Street Regulars, as part of the Umbral Underground, rather 
than as 'Marauders', which makes it sound like we're Vikings.

	If we had to pick an overall term for us, I think the name 
'Dynamic Magi' would be best.  In one way or another, all of us want 
to loosen the fabric of reality to give greater room for change, 
freedom, and creativity, and opposes stasis, which locks down 
reality, and corruption, which degrades and destroys it.  Which isn't 
to say we can't be destructive, but for us, destruction is a knife to 
carve the universe into new shapes, not an acid with which to wipe 
it out of existence.  Destruction is a means to an end, not an end in 
itself, unlike the Nephandi.  Sometimes, it may be a very large means 
to an end, but that's among the things we argue about (Those of us 
sufficiently capable of noticing other people argue about it, anyway).

Yes, but it was my understanding from what little Perdita was able 
to tell me that all Marauders were insane.

	It depends on one's definition of sanity, but I've never met a 
'Marauder' who was actually insane if one understood his 
perspective.

Eh?

	Each of us has a unique vision of reality which deviates to 
some degree from the Consensus of the Sleepers.  But so does every 
other mage.  Are the Hermetics insane for believing in the principle 
of Correspondence?  The Ecstatics for believing in Ananda?  The 
Dreamspeakers for talking to Spirits that normal people can't see?  

Well, they wouldn't say they were.

	Exactly.  Sanity is socially defined, but each of us to a greater 
or less extent, is a society of one.  We sometimes appear to act 
randomly, to talk to things which are not there, or to experience 
inexplicable mood swings, along with many other signs of insanity.  
This is not because we are crazy like a lunatic in an asylum, but 
rather because our personal vision of reality is stronger than that of 
an ordinary mage.  We are interacting with two realities 
simultaneously, which often hampers our ability to interact with 
either individually.

You're in two places at once, you mean?

	Each of us exists in two universes simultaneously.  We exist in 
the 'real world' shaped by the Shared Dream of the Sleepers.  We also 
exist in a universe we have shaped ourselves, for good or ill, as 
some of us are trapped in a nightmare of our creation, like Barrister 
Martins, who is here in this reality and trapped in Hell at the same 
time, forced to defend souls in Hell's courts for eternity.  Our 
personal universe is the one we actually percieve, but our actions 
effect both universes.  Our problem is that for some us, the two 
universes don't match up very well.  The worse the match, the more 
insane we seem to be.  Let's take an example.

	One common form of insanity is catatonia, in which the victim 
simply stares blankly without speaking and does not take any action 
except for autonomic functions.  You might encounter a 'Marauder' 
who appears to be catatonic.  The problem, however, is that in his 
personal universe, he is a buddhist monk who has transcended the 
need for food and water, and is currently engaged in a seven year 
meditation ritual which he hopes will enable him to finally 
transcend his flesh.  Because his personal reality doesn't match the 
one around him, he appears to be catatonic, but actually, if you were 
aligned to the same alternate universe as he is, you would be able to 
tell he was as sane as you.

	The key thing is that nothing we do is random, but it may be 
governed by perceptions you are unable to share with us.  Some 
among our number are formed into small groups which are all 
attuned to the same universe, but most of us have a unique link.  
Groups with a common attunement tend to be more powerful, and the 
larger the group, the larger the power.  Thus it is that the Sleepers 
are, in a sense, the ultimate 'Marauders', for their will, like ours, 
shapes this universe in a way that is free of paradox.  

Say WHAT?

	This universe's rules are set by the combined wills of the 
Sleepers, who determine what is and isn't part of static reality, 
right?  

So I'm told.

	What the Sleepers believe attunes them to a universe where 
what they believe is true.   Their connection to this other universe, 
and their belief that it is absolutely true is what protects them 
from paradox when their combined will alters the universe in grand 
ways the like of which no 'Marauder' could ever accomplish.  The 
combined will of the masses could plunge the Earth into the Sun 
without any Paradox.  This flows from from their connection to a 
common alternate universe.

	Of course, the will of the Sleepers is not really a monolith.  
They each have somewhat different visions of reality, and thus 'the 
real world' has some give to it.  One can move between the warp and 
weft of 'reality' and overcome their powerful, but unfocused will 
with a more focused vision of one's own.

Okay, now I'm confused.  Are you saying everyone exists in two 
universes at once?  If everyone is percieving a universe different 
from this one, how can anyone interact?  How did any shared 
understanding of reality ever get started?  Why isn't everyone 
experiencing their personal reality and not interacting with other 
people at all?  And are these personal realities really 'real' or are 
they just delusions?

	Let me come at it from another direction.  The combined wills 
of the Sleepers is enough to change reality to match that alternate 
reality their beliefs attune them to, which enables them to interact 
with this reality, because it now matches what they believe.  In the 
distant past, there were many discrete views of reality among 
different groups of people, often highly at variance, and each group 
could only bind its own local section of reality to meet its views.  If 
they travelled out of that region, they would have a harder time 
interacting with reality, although there were some constants 
believed by virtually all humans, part of their very nature, I suppose.

	Time passed, and certain systems of ideas spread, forming a 
framework of consistent belief which enabled more and more people 
to come into attunement with the same alternate universe, or at 
least with a small knot of closely similar alternate universes.  The 
'real world' became more and more static.  Finally, we come to now, 
when the alternate universe vision of the Technocracy has come 
close to total triumph.  If ever all the Sleepers embraced a single 
alternate universe, that universe and this one would merge, and 
'reality' would be locked down forever.

	What Magi call awakening is actually only the first awakening.  
When a Mage awakens from the Dream of the Sleepers, they are no 
longer bound by that dream, able to reach towards other realities 
and bring those realities into this one.  But their ability is flawed, 
their link to another universe only partial, for they cannot fully 
percieve it the way Sleepers and Dynamic Magi do.  As a result, they 
suffer Paradox because they do not truly believe in their own 
powers.  We are immune because we are protected by our duality, 
just as the sleepers never cause themselves Paradox.  Only those 
who are both empowered and endangered by their lack of a stable 
link to an alternate reality can suffer Paradox.

Well, that explains how Sleepers and most Magi manage to function, 
but how do Dynamic Mages manage to interact with this reality?  
What keeps all of you from being linked to some alternate reality 
with no resemblence to this one?  And what determines the 
alternate reality each of you is linked to?

	We still don't fully understand what causes us to become 
attuned to the particular alternate reality we are each linked to.  It 
seems to usually be an exaggeration of some aspect of our beliefs 
before we became Dynamic Magi.  Thus, Barrister Martins, a lawyer, 
now believes he is a Lawyer in Hell.  Miss Zhao, his companion, who 
was very fond of the legends of her native land, China, now lives in 
both this reality and in Ancient China.  

	Some of us don't interact with this reality hardly at all, 
wandering around talking to people no one else can see, opening 
invisible doors, getting stuck because we see open fields, but there's 
a door in front of us.  Others live in what might be called 'translated' 
realities, where everything in the real world exists in our alternate 
reality, but it is something different.  My friend Lord Ex is like that; 
he believes himself to be living in nineteenth century London.  And 
some of us, such as myself, live in realities so similar to the one 
molded by the will of the Sleepers that there is no problem.  

So what's the difference between your reality and the one I'm living 
in?

	I have no idea.

What?

	I can only percieve my alternate reality.  As far as I can tell, I 
have yet to fail to see anything a sleeper would percieve as real, 
although my perspective on some things is made different by my 
magickal talents.  For example, I can look at your suit and tell you 
the exact composition of the materials it was made from, the 
chemical composition of the dyes, and other things no sleeper could 
see.  But that is because I am a Mage, not because of my Dynamism.  
My wife and children haven't been able to figure out what the 
difference for me is either.

	This is why I'm the leader of the Butcher Street Regulars, for I 
am the best able to directly see and understand the reality we seek 
to change.  And change it we must.  We must do battle against both 
Stasis and Corruption, in order to ensure there remains room for 
Dynamism.  If ever the will of the Sleepers came into unison, the 
universe would be locked into Stasis.  If the forces of Corruption had 
their way, the universe would be destroyed.  For obvious reasons, we 
oppose both of these possibilities.

So how do Dynamic Mages fight Stasis and Corruption?

	Well, there are a variety of methods.  Some of us act as 'faerie 
godparents', helping out Sleepers who are acting as a force of change 
or who are opposing Stasis and Corruption.  Some infiltrate the 
ranks of our enemies and sow chaos within their ranks.  Some 
intervene in times of Dynamism to increase the Dynamism of a given 
situation.  Some of us, like the Umbral Underground of which I am a 
part, target the supernatural armies of Stasis and Corruption for 
destruction by the use of magick and especially of what we call 
'zooterrorism', attacks in conjunction with our allies among the 
Bygones, the supernatural creatures wiped from mundane reality by 
the Sleepers ceasing to dream of them.  We can bring them across 
the Gauntlet or recreate them, and with their help we can slay the 
armies of Corruption and Stasis.

	And then there's the Bai Dai.  While we take the attitude that 
the Sleepers have the right instincts, and that it's outside influence 
which leads them astray into too much stasis or corruption, the Bai 
Dai argue that the only way to loosen up reality is to massively 
decrease the strength of the Dream of the Sleepers.  Thus, they 
believe that rather than focusing on the relatively small 
supernatural forces of Stasis and Corruption, we should wipe out the 
Sleepers.  Not completely, but by about five billion or so.  For a long 
time, there was no chance the Bai Dai would accomplish this, but 
recently, the Bai Dai seem more organized, and more likely to 
accomplish some large-scale carnage, if not necessarily the death of 
the bulk of the Sleepers.

Killing FIVE BILLION people?  That sounds rather Nephandic to me!

	Well, the Bai Dai don't want to destroy all of creation, unlike 
the Nephandi.  They just want to reduce the growing strength of the 
static and corrupt alternate realities that the Sleepers are 
increasingly rearranging the 'real world' to resemble.  This would 
then, in their opinion, be followed by the rejuvenation of the world, 
the return of the Bygones, and a new golden age of Dynamism.

	The majority of us, however, think such an act would simply 
thrust all of creation down the maw of Oblivion.  The sleepers are 
not our enemies, though they may sometimes get caught in the 
crossfire.  We seek to rouse them from their slumber, that they 
might escape the tyranny of the Dream of the Sleepers and find their 
own Dream.  When the Dream of the Sleepers ceases, and every being 
possesses an alternate reality to call their own, then will all things 
come to Ascension.

So that's what a world ruled by the Mar...Dynamic Mages would be 
like?

	Rather than being chained together in a common dream, each 
would live their own dream, one shaped by their own choice, instead 
of by the choices of others.  The common reality of all would be far 
more fluid, with each able to shape it to his or her will as he 
desired.  Governmentally, it would be a true anarchy with no rules, 
because each person would be free of outside control, but subject to 
controlling themselves.  

But how could you function without any shared perceptions of 
reality?  If everyone was  a Dynamic mage, wouldn't it become 
impossible for most people to interact?  And what happens if 
people's wills come into opposition?

	I worry about that myself.  Truly, I do not expect to fully 
triumph, only to keep some room in reality for Dynamism, and to 
balance out Stasis and Decay.  They have both overstepped their 
bounds, and must be trimmed back, for the triumph of either would 
lead to disaster.  Perhaps the time may come when Dynamism in turn 
will go too far, but for now, we fight to keep it from dying out 
entirely.

So how do you do your magick?

	In a million different ways.  My own powers are psionic, while 
Senorita Abraxas does magick with machines and the arts of 
psychology and sociology.  Lord Ex simply has Awakened sight, and 
Mother Goose performs the million rites and tricks of folklore.  
Some of us are not even conscious of doing magick, but simply 
unconsciously shape the 'real world' to match the alternate universe 
within which we dwell.  I have seen Barrister Martens beat someone 
to death with a Bible that only existed in his alternate reality, but 
which produced real concussive wounds to the Pentex executive he 
was assaulting.  

	Many of us follow the methods of the Traditions, and some of 
us, like Senorita Abraxas, even use the methods of the Technocracy, 
though not as the Technocracy would intend them to be used.  Others 
follow folklore, possess psionic abilities.  Hmmm...

Hmm?

	Perhaps that is the difference between my alternate universe 
and 'reality', in that I know psionic powers to exist, while the bulk 
of the Sleepers do not.  

So how would you cure my lung cancer?

	Can we say you had a heart attack, instead?

Umm...okay.  Why a heart attack?

	I'm a trained cardiovascular surgeon and physiologist.  So a 
heart attack would be within my competence to treat.  I could try to 
help you with your lung cancer, but I don't have the equipment, and I 
would advise you to seek out a specialist in that case.  Although I 
could use my aura reading abilities to make sure you had been 
diagnosed properly.

You're a doctor?

	Yes.  The Technocracy tried to recruit me, and when I turned 
them down, they tried to murder me and my family, but I awakened 
instead and saved them and myself.  

	Oh, you were trying to see how I would produce a magickal 
effect?	

Yeah.  That was the idea.

	Ahh.  Well, I'll tell you how I would turn light into gold.  That 
sound good?

Sounds good.

	Okay.  All matter is simply energy in a different state and vice 
versa, and all particles are made out of the same basic building 
blocks, as we know from science, so that makes this an easy task.  
My first step is to gaze upon the light and focus my sight down to 
the subatomic level so I can see what I'm doing.  I then reach out 
with my brain's electromagnetic field and strip all of the light down 
to the quarks it is made out of, then reassemble them into gold.  It 
would require a lot of light to make a visible amount of gold, so I'd 
probably want to do this outdoors where the sun would keep 
renewing my light supply.  Keep in mind that a small amount of 
matter is equivalent to a LOT of energy, since you multiply the mass 
times the speed of light squared to see how much energy it is 
equivalent to.  That's what makes atomic bombs so powerful.

	Now, Senorita Abraxas would probably use an atomic 
accelerator to accomplish the same thing, Mr. Nicholas would open 
his magic bag of gifts, trap the light, then leave it overnight to turn 
into gold, Mother Goose would go find the Goose Who Laid Golden 
Eggs if she wanted gold, and Mr. Ex would go to a jewelry store.

So basically, there's no real shared philosophy of how to do magick.

	We agree more on what to do with it than how.

So what do you think of your fellow mages?

	There is little uniformity of opinion among us, especially since 
some of us can't even notice other groups of mages exist.  But there 
are a few groups we hold strong opinions about.

	Most of the Traditions are all the same to us; at their best, the 
Traditions balance stasis, dynamism, and decay, and their worst, 
individual mages fall prey to stasis or decay.   I do my best to work 
with the Tradition magi, when they don't try to shoot me on sight; 
we would all benefit from a more dynamic universe, and they don't 
like the Nephandi or Technocracy any more than we do.  The 
Dreamspeakers and Verbena share our interest in protecting the 
Bygones; we can most easily cooperate with them.

	The Technocracy would paralyze all of reality; we must break 
them before they further paralyze the Dream of the Sleepers.  They 
are not our first priority, but they are high on the list of things 
which must be broken to save creation from eternal stasis.  They 
have given themselves to the forces of Stasis, as we serve 
Dynamism.  At least they mean well, and those who leave the 
Technocracy, we of the Umbral Underground do not seek them out for 
destruction, for science and technology can be forces of dynamism, 
as well as of stasis, as I hope I've demonstrated myself.  Senorita 
Abraxas would be happy to speak more of that, if you want to talk to 
her.  The Bai Dai, on the other hand, take the attitude of 'once 
tainted, forever tainted', treating renegade Technocrats the same as 
orthodox one, making war on the Sons of Ether and the Virtual 
Adepts as eagerly as on the Technocracy proper.  And many of us are 
too lost in their alternate realities to notice.

	The Nephandi, on the other hand, must be destroyed.  The Bai 
Dai and the Umbral Underground are one on this, as are all Dynamic 
Mages.  The powers they served once fulfilled a necessary role of 
breaking down stasis and restraining dynamism in order to maintain 
a balance.  But now they have all gone mad, and seek the destruction 
of all that is.  Balance has become Corruption, and now its servants 
must be fought tooth and nail if anything is to survive.  Simply put, 
the Nephandi must die to the last man.  

	In conclusion...

	DAVENPORT, YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS LITTLE GAME SO 
EASILY.

Um, hello?  Who are you?

	I AM THE VOICE OF VENGEANCE.  I SPEAK FOR THE BAI DAI.  MY 
NAME IS NOT IMPORTANT.  I HAVE COME TO GIVE YOU THE OTHER SIDE 
OF THE STORY, TO PROVIDE THE LAST WARNING CALL FOR ALL WHO 
WOULD AVOID DESTRUCTION IN THE DAYS TO COME.  FOR THE LAST 
DAYS ARE UPON US.

(Nervously)  Are you going to kill me?

	NORMALLY, I WOULD SQUASH YOU LIKE THE BUG YOU ARE, FOR 
YOU AND ALL YOUR SLUMBERING KIND HAVE POISONED THE WORLD AND 
RUN IT INTO THE GROUND, HANDING IT OVER TO THE SPIDER QUEEN 
AND HER WEBS AND THE DRAGON KING AND HIS VENOM.  BUT I WANT 
YOU TO TAKE THIS MESSAGE TO THE MASSES, SO I WILL LET YOU LIVE.

	He is my guest!  Begone!

	KISS MY ASS, DAVENPORT, YOU HALF-MARAUDER.  YOU AND ALL 
YOUR FOOLISH ALLIES TRY TO CLING TO WHAT YOU WERE BEFORE YOU 
BECAME ONE OF US.  YES, UNLIKE THESE MORONS, I EMBRACE THE NAME 
OF MARAUDER.  THE WYLD IS A FORCE OF CREATIVITY, BUT AT TIMES 
ALSO A FORCE OF DESTRUCTION, FOR THE OLD MUST MAKE WAY FOR 
THE NEW.  HUMANITY HAS OUTLIVED ITS USEFULNESS, HAS BECOME 
TOOLS WITH WHICH THE GLORY WE SERVE HAS BEEN CHAINED.  

	HUMANITY CHAINS THE WORLD IN STONE AND STEEL, POISONS IT 
WITH FUMES AND TOXIC WASTES, HANDS IT OVER TO THE WEAVER AND 
THE WYRM.  THEREFORE, THE SOLUTION IS SIMPLE, ALL HUMANS WHO 
WILL NOT ABANDON THE WAYS OF THE WEAVER AND THE WYRM MUST 
BE DESTROYED BEFORE THE WORLD CAN BE HEALED AND THE WYLD SET 
FREE TO CREATE ITS WONDERS ONCE MORE.  THEN THE CHANGING 
KINDS WILL BE ABLE TO FULFILL THEIR ROLES AS THE SHEPHERDS OF 
MANKIND, AND WE, THE CHOSEN ONES OF THE WYLD WILL MAKE THE 
WORLD ANEW TO THE VISIONS WITH WHICH WE HAVE BEEN GIFTED.

You have no right to wipe out humanity!  This is our world!

	DID YOU MAKE IT?

No.

	DO YOU HAVE A DEED TO THE UNIVERSE?

Well, not as such.

	HAVE HUMANS POISONED THE WORLD, DESTROYED THE WORKS OF 
NATURE AND REPLACED THEM WITH STERILE STONE, GLASS, AND 
STEEL?

But we're trying to clean up the pollution now!  And you can't expect 
us to run naked and live like animals!  We need shelter and food and 
tools!

	YOU HAVE COMMITED CRIMES AGAINST REALITY, AND NOW YOU 
MUST BE PUNISHED FOR THEM.  THE WAGES OF SIN ARE DEATH.  WHEN 
YOU RELEARN HOW TO LIVE IN ATTUNEMENT WITH THE WYLD, YOU WILL 
THANK US FOR FREEING YOU FROM THE CHAINS YOU HAVE FORGED FOR 
YOURSELVES, ANYWAY.

	To kill billions is the way of the Nephandi!  You would shatter 
all of reality and open a road for them if you persist in your stupid 
plans!

	YOU'RE A FOOL AND A COWARD, DAVENPORT.  THE NEPHANDI 
WILL GO DOWN TO PERISH IN THE DARK AS WELL.  WITH THE GRIP OF 
THE SLEEPERS ON STATIC REALITY REMOVED, WE WILL EASILY HAVE 
THE POWER TO TURN THE NEPHANDI INTO PETUNIAS WHERE THEY 
STAND.  

	SO LONG AS THE SLEEPERS LIVE, WE CANNOT WIN.  THEY ARE 
THE WEAVER'S CHILDREN, AND THE WYRM'S SLAVES.  THEY HAVE 
BECOME RIDDEN WITH DISEASES OF THE SOUL, AND THE MAJORITY 
MUST DIE SO THAT THE PUREST OF THEM MAY LIVE.  

	THE TIME OF THE RECKONING HAS COME.  ALL MUST REPENT OR 
DIE.  TELL THEM THAT, WARWICK.  THE EYE OF THE DRAGON HAS 
OPENED AND HIS MAW OPENS WIDE TO SWALLOW THE WORLD.  THE 
TIME FOR HALF MEASURES IS OVER.  THIS IS THE AGE OF THE 
APOCALYPSE, AND EVIL TIMES CALL FOR DRASTIC ACTION.  

	WE ARE THE LAST ARMY OF LIGHT, THE LAST HOPE FOR REBIRTH.  
WE WILL DO WHATEVER MUST BE DONE TO ENSURE ITS TRIUMPH.  TELL 
THEM, WARWICK.  AND WE SHALL NOT MOURN THOSE WHO FALL, FOR 
ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALLEN SHORT, THEY SHALL SEE THAT THE 
WAGES OF SIN ARE DEATH.  (Pauses)  I'M STARTING TO REPEAT 
MYSELF.  YOU WILL PASS ON THESE EXACT WORDS, WARWICK.  OR I 
SHALL FIND YOU, AND YOU SHALL ENVY PROMETHEUS, WHO SPENT A 
THOUSAND YEARS WITH HIS ENTRAILS BEING TORN OUT EVERY DAY.

Right.  I'm tape recording this, so there shouldn't be any errors.  {I 
hope}

(And the Bai Dai vanishes as quickly as he appeared)

	Sorry about that.

Well, I've got extra incentive to be careful on this one, now.

	I shall have to go and see if he's made a mess again and how he 
got past the rest of the Regulars.  Any further questions?

No, I think that I need to go home and lie down for a while.

	Very well.  If you have any problems, or if you see anyone who 
might be Bai Dai lurking around, give us a call, and we'll do our best 
to help you out.  I just hope this will enable us to build better 
relations with our fellow mages who haven't sold themselves to 
Stasis or Corruption.

{I just hope I never meet the Bai Dai ever again.}