The Ahl-i-batin Revised

By Brian Connors (connorbd@bc.edu)

History

The Arabic magi who created Mount Qaf are an ancient order, one of the few that reach back to the Roman era. Their roots date back to the early days of the Roman Empire, when a group of mages in modern Yemen began experimenting with magick that would now be considered Correspondence and Mind magick. This cabal began to develop forms of telepathy that were unheard of even among the most learned, forms which allowed a certain persistence of a thought even when no one was actually thinking it. By 50 AD (during the decline of Emperor Tiberius) Mount Qaf had come into existence, rather by accident. It seemed that two of the mages involved in the project had been visiting Roman Palestine and had gone in town to one of the takeout shops that dotted Roman cities. A recent shipment of very expensive Italian vegetables had just arrived, and the two mages (Qadim and Abdul are said to be their names, though this was almost certainly fabricated in the 1700's by a non-Batini), had an extensive telepathic conversation with the rest of the cabal. After an hour or so, vast amounts of information on topics ranging from imported vegetables to prices of unspecified local entertainment to the seemingly borderline maniacal street preachers (who apparently made some excellent points, by the way) had become "remembered" within the web that had been created. Mount Qaf had been established.

The Ahl-i-Batin were an organization long before any other modern group but the Order of Hermes. Mount Qaf grew to an incredibly vast repository of information that virtually any Ahl-i-Batin could access with a bit of training. However, the group remained small for centuries, until the beginnings of Islam began to spread from Arabia. At the time, around 800, a group of Afghani Batini came across a cabal of Akashic Brothers from what is now Tibet. This was the true beginning of the modern tradition.

The Batini grew to become an important force among mages, and were responsible for uniting the arts of conjuration, abjuration, and divination into what would become the Sphere of Correspondence. They also picked up a reputation for being sneaky; a few Virtual Adepts claim that the "hacker ethic" they live by so steadfastly developed from the philosophy of the Batini.

It worked fairly well for a while. The Batini and the Solificati ultimately could not get along well, but since the Order of Hermes was the only group that did it wasn't surprising. However, in the 1700s a female Ahl-i-Batin named Yasmina introduced a lover of hers, a rogue Solificatus named Gerardo, to Mount Qaf. The relationship disintegrated soon after that, leaving Yasmina in shame and Gerardo bitter enough to join the Order of Reason. The defection of the Solificati became inevitable at that point, leading to the birth of the Electrodyne Engineers.

The Ahl-i-Batin were slightly shamed from that point on, but were still at least tolerated. The true crushing blow came when oil was discovered in Arabia and the Technocracy made a power grab. The Batini were forced to leave behind their council duties to go back and defend their ancestral territory. They have not been heard from as an organization since.

They continue, though, and are biding their time until they have enough power to return to the Council. The hacker ethic is wll-entrenched among them (incidentally, the vast majority of modern Batini are Christian, and of the few Moslems among them, none are strictly fundamentalist) and they in fact maintain that Mount Qaf and the Virtual Web are one and the same.

Their numbers are small now, less than a hundred. Their main chantry keeps moving (they are unwelcome in Iran and a number of the former Soviet Central Asian countries, and distrusted elsewhere); it is currently located in southeast Turkey, where there is less prejudice against Christians than in other places. They wish to have their seat back on the Council, but are more than willing to share with the Virtual Adepts if the Council will allow it. Some have even proposed a merger with the Adepts, but no one has gone to one of the Adepts' home chantries to speak to them about it.

The Batini hold the Tenth Sphere to be Paradigm. They have some interest in studying it to see if they can use it with Correspondence to channel Paradox productively.

Philosophy

There are advantages to knowing how to archive things. We realized centuries ago what the Sleepers are only now understanding: information is the key to everything. Therefore we need to know how to transport it, store it, and if need be, ration it.

Foci

Optical instruments, paper, pencils.

Sphere

Correspondence

Quote

"Perhaps the Technocracy has stolen our ideas, but our ethics are something they will never understand. Follow us and learn the true meaning of liberation."

Stereotypes

Akashic Brotherhood: We have philosophical differences, but much of our culture comes from theirs. Respect, even for those you do not like, is in order.

Celestial Chorus: They are too conservative. It is their fault we are so close to being lost.

Cult of Ecstasy: They need a focus.

Dreamspeakers: They have the right idea about information, but they go about it the hard way.

Euthanatos: Their cycle is too convenient. Life simply doesn't work that way.

Hollow Ones: I would love to know what they hold as an ideal. They are a complete mystery to me, and what I understand I don't like.

Order of Hermes: Good Lord, they need to lighten up. The whole idea of magick is that you don't have to play by the rules.

Sons of Ether: The source of the failings of the Adepts. Their love of technology will get them in trouble if they get carried away.

Verbena: Blood, blood, blood. After all these years, they're still pagans, but at least they admit it.

Virtual Adepts: What we were, they are. Though they need to realize that the VR goggles are overkill for what they do, they are truly our heirs.

Technocracy: They have gone over the line too many times. The individuals may be pardoned, but their organization must be dismantled.

Iteration X: They have it backwards. You build technology for fun. Information is what's important.

New World Order: (crosses himself and shudders)

Progenitors: Perverts. Plain and simple.

The Syndicate: I would love to know what the Virtual Adepts are up to with them. They deserve a good chain yanking.

Void Engineers: Their ambition is really rather separate from what is really practical. At least they are relatively harmless.

Nephandi: Lose them in their own corruption. You will never truly destroy them, but they're perfectly capable of handling it on their own.

Maurader: We're working on the Paradox thing ourselves, but these guys are still way too dangerous.