They have been with us since before the beginning. Before Atlantis called. Before apes learned to walk upright and pile stones atop one another to make their caves. Before man chose to set himself apart from beasts and trees and rocks, they knew the truth: that the circle of life is broad enough to include all things “organic” and “inorganic,” that this great wheel turns easily from one form to an other, that man and beast and tree and rock are one.
It was they who first took to the grazing-fields, to follow the comings and goings of the herds. And when they had learned the steps of the herd-dance and could sing the words of the herd-song, they put on themselves the skins of the herd-dress and slept in the cold and rain until they became part of the herd itself. It was they who first ran with the wolves and learned the worth of honesty when the wolves pointed toward unseen prey in hopes of sharing the kill. And it was they who stalked against the great cats and learned the value of deception, letting other hunters pass by in hopes of keeping the “lion’s share” of the kill for themselves. They it was who flew with the birds, crept with the vines and slept with the stones.
They went where others could not go and did what others could not do. They learned the lessons that life taught from every angle and brought their knowledge back to their tribes to teach the business of living. They sought wisdom to lead their tribes out of darkness and cold and hunger, and set mankind on a path that would eventually lead to civilization. But mankind mistook its new powers of stewardship over the land as mastery, and regarded the animals, plants and rocks only as resources to be plundered rather than as partners in the circle of life. In their hubris, they forgot the wisdom that they had taught and dismissed their utterances as backward superstition.
They who had sacrificed the semblance of their humanity for the greater good were now cast out. Ostracized and despised, they were relegated to the status of monsters and bogeymen used to frighten unruly children. The mighty warriors who had once donned hide and claw and fang in the service of their people were now cast in the role of bloodthirsty murderer. Those who lived by the old lore of leaf and stone were hunted down and torn to pieces or burned in public spectacle. The horns and hooves of the most sacred were denounced as emblems of evil.
All the oldest languages of the world once had a name for them, most now forgotten. In modern English, they are known as the Orphans of Proteus, for their metamorphosis ability. Some say they, not the Atlanteans, were the very first humans to Awaken, and some even go so far as to suggest that all other types of magic are derived from theirs. Whether that is true or not, many now consider them to be a dying breed. Marginalized by the encroachment of civilization, they are usually found only at the fringes of mage society. They engage in few formalities, and the kinship of spirit they share is something that is felt, unspoken, deep within their souls.
Inheritors of the Proteus Legacy can be unnerving, not only to other mages, but to those who know nothing of magic. Social customs and mores — at least, those of the modern civilized world — mean little to them, and they may at times break laws, cross boundaries or ignore table manners and dress codes without compunction. This is not to say that they are dumb brutes. Members may exhibit as much intelligence and compassion as any other sorcerer. They tend to be plainspoken, even rudely blunt, and act impulsively upon primal urges known only to them. For those who have experienced the non-human world directly, such phrases as “nature red in tooth and claw” or “the force that through the green fuse drives the flower” are no mere poetic conceits, but the very bedrock of reality.
Doctrine
Parent Path: Thyrsus
Prerequisites: Life 2, Animal Ken 2, Survival 2
Initiation: Connect oneself with the Primal Energy of the world
Magic
Ruling Arcanum: Life
Yantras: Succeed on a Survival or Animal Ken test relevant to the spell (+2), spend time contemplating your subject from a “natural” perspective (+2), disregard societal convention (+1), pursue a naturalist state (+1, +2 if this causes a Negative Condition).
Oblations: Perform a sacred hunt, ritually act out the behavior of an animal, ceremonially offer food to animals (like feeding pigeons, hilarious), ritual arrangement of rocks and stones, or sacred gardening.
First Attainment Animal Tongue
Pre-Requisite: Initiation
The Orphans of Proteus first learn how to seek wisdom from the natural world, and with a scene’s worth of activity can communicate with a specific breed of animals in their own language of behaviors, with grunts, growls, cues and/or markings. This Attainment grants a bonus to Animal Ken rolls equal to the mage’s dots in Life, and permits them to communicate as freely as their subject animal. This does not however render the subject capable of comprehending advanced topics, and all communications should be framed as such. Mechanical: Mimics Beast Speech but with Free Instant Cast and Indefinite Duration | The Orphans of Proteus are not truly as primitive as believed by many, in fact according to their legends they were some of the first mages to seek mankind to advance civilization, but were ultimately disregarded by those they helped out of fear at their bestial nature. Modern Orphans have learned how to use this power to shape the inert world as they did in ages past, smashing boulders with their hands, and breaking chains with but a single movement. After a scene’s worth of inspection, an Orphan of Proteus may determine the full composition of an object as well as its structural weak points. An attack made immediately after discerning this information temporarily decreases the target object’s Durability by 1 point for the purpose of that attack per dot the Shifter has in Matter Mechanical: Mimics Discern Composition But with free Instant Cast and free Reach to lower Durability |
Second Attainment Snake Skin
Pre-Requisite: Initiation
| The Orphans of Proteus also learn how to quicken the passing of injuries from their body, shedding their skin
and wounds faster than others would believe. So long as the Shifter maintains frequent periods of
communion with nature, they decrease their healing time for Bashing and Lethal wounds by half for each
Dot in Life they have. For example, a Shifter with Life 2 would heal 1 Lethal damage naturally every 12 hours,
and one Bashing damage naturally every 3 minutes and 45 seconds. | Optional Arcanum: Matter 2
Understanding the basic tools of Man by the clues left in their composition, the Orphan is capable of using
any item through an instinctive understanding of its purpose. This Attainment takes an Instant Action to
activate, and indicates to the mage the solution to puzzles, the combination to safes, but also the purpose of
incredibly advanced technology, and provides mage an 8-Again on all attempts to use that tool for its
intended purpose. This attainment lasts for rounds equal to the Mage’s dots in Matter. |
Third Attainment Call of the Wild
Pre-Requisite: Initiation
The Orphan at this stage can lean back their head and make an unearthly call, summoning to them specific living creatures. The potency of this call requires the mage to undertake a scene to harmonize with the natural world, and summons living organisms as specified by the Shifter. The call lasts for a day (rising to a Week at Life 4) or until the Mage ceases it, and without specification will attract all living beings incapable of resisting the call, which may cause issues. This Lure will attract all living beings within the designated category with a Resolve less than the mage’s dots in Life. Mechanical: Free upgrade to Duration and free Reach to switch primary spell factor | Optional Arcanum: Matter 3 The tools of man are blind to an Orphan sufficiently knowledgeable in their nature. With an Instant Action, the Shifter may render themselves invisible to all inert sensory equipment. Cameras do not display them, microphones do not pick up their voice, heat sensors cannot see them, they even do not register on motion detectors. This Attainment lasts for a duration equal to the Mage’s dots in Matter on the Advanced Duration table. Mechanical: Mimics Machine Invisibility with Advanced Duration |