BR hae gee a era) La <> a B ©. Oe% 5 ORDER oFThe Emperor. By STEPHEN ITICHAEL DIPESA AND PHIL BRUCATOAuthors: Stephen Michae! DiPesa and Phil Brucato. World of Darkness created by Mark Reine Hagen Storyteller game system designed by Mark Reine Hagen Development: Bill Bridges Editing: Ana Balka Art Direction: Aileen E. Miles Interior Art: Leif Jones, Jeff Laubenstein, Alex Sheikman, Melissa Uran. Aileen E. Miles Layout and Typesetting: Aileen E. Miles 1554 Lirton Dk STONE MOUNTAIN, GA 30083 USA Came STUDIO ©2003 White WolfPublishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheets, which may be reproduced for personal ue only, White Wolf, Vampire, Vampire the Masquerade, Vampire the Dark Ages, Mage the Ascension, Hunter the Reckoning, World of Darkness, Exalted, and Aberrant are registered trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. 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Check out White Wolf online at hattpsfworw.white-wolf.com; alt-games.whitewolf and rec.games frp storyteller PRINTED IN CANADA, ivi Ate! Wun OL[ek A Ter ee a Pon te OR OD Fok HERMES GENTENTS PR@L@GUE; RENEGADE INTRODUCTION: PHOENIX FROMTT THE'FLAMIES CHAPTER I; LIGHTNING AND\SERPENTS CHAPTER II: THE WVILL AND THENX/ RD CHAPTER II]: THE W/ Ay OF PYTTANDER EPILOGUE: DANCE W/ITH THE DEVIL;I ard bara tng tf letorwn c Bg) reeccinoncof he dspertepeamcnadaes Erenhis roy sven na ainoed ite blood os ea oe ic ar wes or ft tcc sundane, Hesmiled weakly ashetumedtoface Augustus, FN brushing a few stray locks of hair out of his face with bis tinbloodied left hand. Peobrale,” he sid casually, as if headdressed a ; ‘workplaceeslleagueen routetothe elevator. Augustscid ; rat relax, did noe akehis rind off the Glock 17 hollered at his hip ' “Richa it's tne to go” sacl Augustus Tevelly, br forcefully “Jus moment, Pembroke” replied Richard Pris, bani Flambeau" haveafewnore things toseetoher beloe {head out be more shanbppy toleave with you then. This wil sttake me another five mites 6s. Augustus sly drew gun. Something nthe Flambgausrone rod him that sldhough he was perfectly lucid, he had no incfton of avin beforehis work here wasone. Pointing his un downwaforthemoment, the Tyalan pressed. "Richard, 'stime toleave now. Yowae not faishng that you eae here to do Lean’ et yo F ‘Richard absently studied an unremarkable expanse of corde wall. bc seed shaken fiom his contemplation by Augustus statment. He : anced oyeratthecthermage, sighing with an empy smirk figured you say that sad, oo. Texpected you gounderstand. Sheen gstofftie “The words stung Augustus, though he allobed his face to betay Bo bhine oft He had ureered these very words Richard just over hee yeahs Pfs theshe mun ad rena il ee onl OF ‘when he petitioned fr membership in House Flambeau 2 Year bate, jst two weeks afte Technoctatic raid they had preven ore than happy 79 acmit anv dee verging on Mastery ntosheir rank Richard continued, *Nknow what alb&offollsin the Onder aay aketieme after the cannery incident ail especaly afte the blackout but Lea see, in my heart, what necds to be done. If it were vengeance, ‘Augussas I'd be hunting down thefaniliesofTechnocras, wouldn't I?m just luitraring co the Sleepers tft the tools of the Technocracy are Uuldmately no more trustworthy oF benevolent than the Order of Reason ‘nce made cis ways out to be, Sey, jou can see the logic in hac "Bur a nuclear power Hatt, Richard?” Augustus hissed, now grip the gun tightly, “You'l kill hundreds — no, cens of thousincof people.” *Tknow," Richard whispered, locking pained and ashamed, though ‘soli "ve sen what x nuclear blast does t6 those at ground 3x0 and ‘whatiedces to those caught in the fallout sane. Lam not proud of what Pm boing Pembroke.” "Then sop dong i weapon, You know, Pembroke,” Richard retorted, neVer losing that hellow and hearesshall- sail, I recall saying almost that vey thing tothat Man sn Black night before e sbot my baby gi in te faces Please, op. I all Augustus replied, easing off the’ safety of his I Spi cig. We ees cl a eames res ms oh incr fbx to meal Mingd shatter his word” Gi pet Set tvean a eat re ged dae ih be hoy grainy ara ogh drs Vit Saratoga bbe Cc Retr bed Hoen a peat Mien of interes ofthe Ar Potente, fut now his command of the Order's iene clat svt cine ores catia bstacvicte ie beseie tnt pushing them, Pembroke” Richard bid, a though > planing the mtr toa chi Tm tyingyghelpghem pierce the dision econo nfery tot ranglng he Bah Time el agin we have age ory ond che inne oui ees Ewe to mi the Sleeper tochangeperpective. Do youseestharwe have adtytopotect them: Pembroke” Ofcourse? the Tyan eed ig chicka ily. “Andwhafyouhadtosllowharm cone so. choad cf chem in oner to ave a milion the arength to sve Rel oes What does your Tyla training el you abou bung anay est Net sail ofthe ite: pcan” Augistus asked He chen returne Richart’ blk sin. “ee ls eth your xn isaveaknesswithinrOnderandthat 3G cotaien febtion dies wright” _Jugethen, however, Augustusslippedup. Inthe courseofmentally reciting es counters ety ceed voll ofhispel aud eve Splice thn a ehic Ad Mnbt Angs dil pox debt Richard Spe lh naoncrag es ft enc el He Lr And, strangelyfhe did not appear to be concemed in the slightest, Be Aap tht Richard Pix, while determined, wat not rants Hiseontel ofthe Ar Viru did no outstrip he Tyaln'sown ty Ie thar cul’ to dari Apa rap 3 completely. Bur what was his angle? As Richard closed is eyes and spoke side Ehochian command under his breath, lamin igs bud in the Fp re rmgee cgi real The Tlie his pi and fired three cots cishing the fs fragrant ol in his ace pocke with islet hand ashe dd, weaving Prime eountermagi ig Richart strpe wo bum out he Petes cfhebulletsglaneedoffo gut powel spell and ewo sha tok him, ince thighs While the hid Nic himtin che tomach, Ax he crumpled in ates [yee tor: powctfl coctecrmcte coezing Cs feneal antimagic on Richard. The Flambeau loked up. Ace od ging tal a Augustus knocked imunconscious with alow tothe ead fromthe bunt of his ltl. "That forthe Questor to deck "He wookhisceluar rhonefromhisjacket wth isbeedingfthand andl cumberrm fomensy. jalan ited aedaptive? ie Asaspatial distortion opened in the air and Augustus Pembroke, bani Tye the Seutrook Nulor Peer Plane wth he cxpivglang ver Tisstoull rca fplar wane ohat wma peel orc, tne what wa on. PROLOGUE RENEGADE 5EUR UM Un Youth is the fl merely polish on blu — Master Porthos Fits-Empress, ignites the future. Power is 1 Fragile Path SolT Is DONE Nec pulvis ‘Nec.flamma. NEC tempesta ‘Nec timor (Nor Dast. Nor Flame. Nor Tenipese Nor Fear.J NeTATIEN @& DUST (Qur'stronghola lies in ruins Our enemies are ascendant:ji] stones. Even if those stones crumble, the ys design remains. A tumbled tower can be rebuilt. And purpose resolute. Time is on our side — time, and the wisdom of the ages. ‘Webearthe threefold name of Hermes He who was the god of messengers and thieves; the Thrice-Greater One who shaped the Cor- pus Hermeticum; and the Thrice-Greater-Than-He Hermetic spirit who crackles even now in the tenor of our times. All chree lend inspiration to the workings of our Art. All three are immortal. And all three bear the flame of insight and the seal of secrecy. Hermes, in all aspects, is thought. Speed. Luck Trickery. He's the truth behind illusions that leads to ‘more illusions still. A living labyrinth, he whips across the cosmos in paths too puzzling to comprehend. Like the thunderstroke of the Kabbalah, Hermes flies from godhood to matter; like its serpent, he climbs again back todivinity. He islightningand serpent, clarityand trickery. Heis gold and quicksilver, flashing brighteven oon the darkest days. ‘And we share his light, even in the darkest worlds. Tothose who think they know us, we aregraybeards and eaters of dust. Wrapped in brocade and sequestered in crumbling archives, we're said to mumble away our years in ancient nonsense. At times, such conceptions have seemed true. But now, from the ashes of our forebears flies a new Hermetic Order — one that shall ignite the era that has dawned. For now, more than ever, we live in the age of Hermes. Ideas hurtle the length of a world in seconds; sheer will crafts worlds of light and formulae; children play with toys chat leap time and space, and their elders design their lives around such toys. That such play- things ape the cools of Technocratic rivals cannot disguise the Hermetic truth behind them: knowledge is reality — and neither one has limits. Hermes is master of thought and vision. He scoffs at mortal boundaries. And like him, we leap obstacles that clog the paths of lesser men. We are the wind in the lock. The spark within the sun. Each droplet in the sea calls our name; each stone upon the earth lends us strength. No chains of matter or magic can shackle Hermes. And none shall hinder us. The only limit we accept is Will. And no one understands true Will ike us. "TH®USAND~YEAR SURVIVORS Having conceived that nothing's impossible to you, consider yourself immortal and able to AJ understand everything, all art, all learning, IFA the temper of every living thing... and when M@S) you have understood all these at once — times, places, things, qualities, quantities — then Jou can understand God. — Mind, from the Corpus Hermeticum For over 1000 years, the Order of Hermes has been the mystic Tradition, The Akashics may boast an older fellowships the witches might prac- tice elder Arts; the shamans can date their ways to the dawn of time. Regardless, itis the sons and daughters of ‘Hermes who define the western magical tradition, ‘whoseshadowshave loomed overeveryone from Aleister Crowley to Harry Potter. So what the hell happened to them? In the last decade, while other groups watched their stars rise in the cultural firmament, while the Sleepers themselves ‘embraced magic in ways not seen since medieval times, the Houses of Hermes trembled to their foundations. Devastated by attacks from without and treachery from 8 @RDER @F HERTS within, the Order's proud wizards have been force-fed humble pie and generous helpings of crow. And yet. Anyone who counts the Order out is very badly mistaken. Despite catastrophes, Hermes’ descendants remain one of the most potent forces in the magical world. Like acorporation whose ranks have been purged by scandal, the Order has retrenched and reorganized. Outsiders might see the same old wizards huddled in their robes, but there’s a new heart beating beneath those vestments — the lion’s heart of true survivors. For the Hermetic magi have always been survivors. ‘When Gnostic sages composed the Corpus Hermeticum, they considered themselves last bastions of Egyptian wisdom; the founders of the current Order preserved their Arts in a barbarian world; the wizards of the Convocation boasted noble lineage in a world spinning out of control; and now, with magic steeped in pop culture, the Hermetics of this Reckoning Age know it’s their determination alone that keeps the ancient se- crets strong.