Mage: The Ascension

Celestial Chorus

The Celestial Chorus' factions include:

Alexandrian Society
This faction believes that the division between religion and science is artificial and imposed by the Technocracy. They strive to overcome this problem by accepting scientific ideas into the folds of religious doctrine and hoping to revive the concept of sacred science: science used to prove religious beliefs.

Anchorites
These mages are recluses in the Tradition, retreating from the world to pursue their own Salvation with meditation and prayer. Some Anchorites will venture back into the world if the Divine Voice calls them, or they feel they have some lesson to learn before returning to isolation.

Children of Albi
Anti-materialistic dualism -- believing that the world is the evil kingdom of Satan -- is a prime belief of this faction that descends from the beliefs of Cathar. They follow the Gospel and other apocryphal works, and believe greatly in separation of church and state. Once persecuted as heretics, they still do not fully trust the Chorus.

Latitudinarians
These Choristers believe that the rigid hierarchy of the Tradition must be radically changed. They fear that the ancient ways of the Tradition only encourage bigotry and intolerance. They want to decentralize leadership and promote more tolerant behavior towards the other Traditions.

Merovingians
Unique in the Chorus because it's a hereditary faction, these mages hearken back to the Frankish Merovingian dynasties that were attributed mystical powers. They tend to be clannish and secretive, but aid the Tradition by becoming involved in financial and political affairs of the Sleepers. In legend, the Merovingians' powers were attributed to their long beards; many members let their hair grow long today in symbolic association.

Monists
The Monists believe that world religion should be formed into a syncretion of views for one set of beliefs that all people could appreciate. They wish to unify Christianity with the other belief systems around the world. The Monists are often great diplomats and debaters.

Nashimites
This small faction shares some of the ancient Gnostic beliefs. The Nashimites feel that the One God is a God of multiple possibilities, including the capacity for evil. They believe in duality, and that good and evil is not fixed: the world can go either way. And they reason that God can go either way, becoming dominated by good or evil. So they struggle more than most to recruit forces onto the side of good and seek to defeat evils before it's too late.

One Voice
This faction is comprised of a growing number of Choristers. Here rank those of the Chorus who are not Christian. Jews, Muslims, and even Hindis and Buddhists flock to the ideals of a modern Chorus. There are no recorded animists in the Chorus; most are far more comfortable among the Dreamspeakers. The number of Jews and Muslims dwarfs the Hindis and Buddhists (who usually join the Euthanatoi and Akashic Brotherhood respectively), but all five major world religions can be accounted for in the Chorus these days. Though they may use the trappings and lexicon of their own religions, the traditional Chorus finds that the One Voice sings the same song. Not surprisingly, most One Voices are also Monists or Latitudinarians.

Order of St. George & the Dragon
Emulating St. George and his slaying of the dragon, this self-professed knighthood practices the most powerful martial magicks and masters the arts of war to slay the wolf instead of protecting the sheep. And they hunt down the evils of vampires. They don't bother much with other villains usually, preferring to concentrate on the Kindred. Esoterists argue that the Knights misunderstood the tale's metaphorical lesson as a road to self-purification. These same esotericists believe a clandestine order of the knights exists that does seek that spiritual cleansing.

Septarians
The most conservative faction of the Chorus, these mages want to keep the Chorus distinguished from the other Traditions. They consider technomancers as vile as the Technocracy, and they feel the other Traditions caused the downfall of the sacred paradigm deteriorated. The Septarians are divided on the One Voice, however.

Sisters of Gabrielle
This sisterhood focuses on the protection of the Tellurian from Nephandi, Infernalists, and the demons with which they truck. They emphasize martial magicks, combat skills, and Umbral lore with which to oppose these dark enemies. Only female Choristers of any religion may join this society, which boasts its own private Horizon Realm that reflects the splendor of ancient Greece.

Sons of Mitras
This society is a small but ancient group that considers themselves the guardians of tradition and the military leaders of the Chorus. They look for Catechumens with a military background, and are one of the more regimented and disciplined factions of the Chorus.