By Chris Kobar
The Empaths arose as a western sub-Tradition, or Craft of the Akashic Brotherhood, having been founded in the 1920's by a few American visitors to the Orient who were Awakened during their travels and sought to understand their new perceptions. Taken in by the Brotherhood, some of these newly Awakened individuals chafed at the eastern Tradition's ideas of purity, self-denial and reclusion. Eventually these early Empaths turned their backs on the Akashics and returned to the West, where they then set about developing their own understanding further. Because of their relationship with the Akashic Brotherhood, the Council of Nine has still denied them entry and recognition as a separate Tradition.
This denial has left the Empaths in an unenviable position. Their estrangement makes them easy targets for Technocracy recruitment or eradication and leaves them a fractious and individualistic group of mages. Some have begun turning to recruiting Orphans to their future Tradition, while others have sought to Awaken their own apprentices, usually without much luck.
The Empaths do not have one central repository, nor do they possess any Horizon Chantries of their own. They can be usually found engaged in further study in the field of psychic phenomenon, hiding out as professors of psychology and whatnot. Despite the group's divided nature, however, a number of Empaths do keep in close contact and will infrequently gather for symposiums, conferences and even things like pop Renaissance Festivals and psychic bazaars.
Subjective Projection (Coincidental Magick): The act of willfully projecting one's psychic desires in such a way that their reception is perceived as coincidental.
Objective Projection (Vulgar Magick): Projecting one's psychic desires without regard as to whether or not their reception is perceived as coincidence or intentional.
Psyche (Avatar): The true essence of individual existence. The "I", capable of comprehension, analysis and willful projection of intent and emotion. The Psyche is the real "person", while the physical body (including the brain) are simply incidental "housings" created by the subjective Psyches of all other individuals in existence.
Empathy (Arete): The degree to which a subjective individual (perceived being) understands his or her Psyche's true relation to the universe. This differs from the ordinary skill of empathy, which is a mundane affinity for another's psychic state.
The Psychic Plane (The Umbra): That "place" where feelings, thoughts, emotions, concepts and similar higher ideas reside. While the perceived physical world seems more real, it is really only a subjective construct of a number of powerful Psyches, while the Psychic Plane is the True Objective World, so to speak, existing for everyone and everything.
Ascension: A state of existence at which point the subjective individual has finally been discarded by the Psyche, allowing the True Self to project its Will without limitation. This is a state of pure objectivity or "realness," unlike the subjective or "false" world we perceive.
Balance (Entropy): Everything constructed by the Psyche, whether an idea or a physical body, is possessed of some innate degree of stability, or Balance. Those creations with too little are short-lived and tend to display their instability (decay, insanity, disorder), while those with too much stability are unchangeable and cumbersome (stubbornness, inflexibility, over-intricacy). Empaths seek a middle road of Balance.
Relations (Forces): Without a thorough knowledge of how two or more psychic creations are related, one is unable to fully understand the subjective world, a place of increasing reliance upon such relationships. Even a simple refrigerator magnet can be understood to be "attracted" to other objects, allowing the Empath to seem to control all manner of electrical and natural forces.
Causation (Time): One of the more difficult Virtues to grasp, an understanding of Causation enables one to literally "move through time" and determine cause and effect more readily. Such knowledge may even allow one to reorder time, thereby changing the very cause of effects, and vice versa.
Constructs (Matter): The Psyche is capable of creating subjective objects by imbuing them with a stable amount of psychic potential. By definition, such Constructs are unsuitable for a Psyche's own physical manifestation, something that requires a constantly fluctuating psychic potential.
Emotion (Spirit): Perhaps the most abstract of the Virtues, the study of Emotion relates to just that, those psychic creations that have no subjective reality, but exist completely in the Psychic Plane. While the Sleepers contribute a lot to this Plane of ephemeral existence, they remain unaware of the much more objective nature of this place and the things (emotional entities) which call this place home.
Proximity (Correspondence): By virtue of Proximity, an Empath is able to determine for him or herself just what "space" is, limiting concepts such as measure and distance no longer imposing themselves upon the Will of the Psyche.
Psionics (Prime): Because one's ability to psychically project one's Will is largely determined by that individual's psychic potential, a deep understanding of Psionics in general will enable one to much more easily access such potential. Additionally, as everything created by the Psyche is composed of this energy, or potential, a good grasp of its true nature not only allows one to create her own Constructs, Vessels and Relations, but will give her the upper hand when dealing with those created by another.
Consciousness (Mind): Empaths have awakened to the truth that the true self resides in the Psyche, not the brain. This, however, does not mean that the study of the conscious mind is a waste. On the contrary, Consciousness is necessary if "higher concepts," not simple emotions and urges, are to be constructed and utilized. A fuller knowledge of this Virtue will empower an Empath to become truly capable of not only better organizing his own thoughts, but will give him power over the thought processes of others.
Vessels (Life): As stated above under Constructs, a subjective body that does not allow for fluctuation of psychic potential is unsuitable for the needs of a Psyche (but not necessarily unusable). By creating a construct that allows for an ever-changing psychic potential, a living body may be produced. A thorough familiarity with the Virtue of Vessels will produce an Empath capable of manipulating any and all living things, including him or herself.
Sentimental Object of Target's (Consciousness/Vessel): The Empath must have in his or her possession an object that has significant sentimental value to the target of the effect. For things such as plants or microorganisms, the Empath uses some other appropriate "sympathetic" focus.
Sentimental Object of Empath's (Emotion/Psionics): Similar to the above focus, but in this case the focus must be one that is of sentimental value to the Empath.
Pendulum (Balance/Causation/Proximity): In order to properly serve as a focus, the pendulum must actually be depending freely. This can be as simple as a weight on a string if need be, though most Empaths prefer very unique pendulums if possible.
Magnet (Relations/Constructs): Representative of material objects and the forces which they interact with, magnets are the focus of choice for the given Virtues.
Psychic Nexus (Node): In some locations, such a great deal of psychic energy has been expended that it coalesces and literally "burns a hole" through the subjective world, one with immense psionic potential. This can be tapped into by those who understand this energy well enough, providing a very simple means of accumulating Psions.
Ectoplasm (Tass): Sometimes certain Nexuses have such psychic potential that if untapped they will nevertheless "leak" some of that potential out into the subjective world. This type of energy is called Protoplasm and is a very portable form of psychic potential. Measured in Psions, the potential of Protoplasm can vary widely, and is therefore highly treasured.
Incidental Paradox (Paradox Flaw): When Paradox first forms it may be immediately redirected away from the "offending" Empath. By successfully doing so, the Paradox is released into the subjective world, often manifesting in a vulgar and unpredictable manner. This Incidental Paradox, however troublesome, is still usually preferable to the sudden, uncontrollable release of a greater store of Paradox down the road.
Intentional Paradox (Paradox Spirits): Should an Empath incur a great deal of Paradox, that Empath may discover that it is released in a directed and intentional manner. This Intentional Paradox will actively "attack" the guilty Empath, though the exact nature of the attack varies widely, from a direct physical assault to a week's worth of minor harassment.
Psychic Laceration (Backlash): When an exceedingly Intentional Projection of Will backfires miserably, or a very large degree of pent up Paradox is simultaneously released from a Psyche, it can occasionally manifest as an excruciatingly painful physical/psychic injury. This Psychic Laceration will flay both the subjective individual (the flesh) and the Psyche itself, causing very serious wounds that even powerful Intentional Projection cannot correct.
Quiet Paradox (The Quiet): Perhaps the most unpleasant form that Paradox can take is that known as Quiet Paradox, or The Quiet. This manifests as subtle and convincing delusions and hallucinations that are capable of not only making an Empath appear insane to others, but may literally trap his Psyche in its own Hell of false perceptions. These hallucinations may even fool the Psyche into providing them with actual subjective substantiation, allowing them to become physical objects or beings.
Psychic Camouflage (Arcane): Many Empaths and other Awakened individuals are able to unconsciously conceal their very existence from the Sleepers and even other Awakened beings by a form of inborn Psychic Camouflage. While this allows one to remain better hidden from one's foes, it also results in what amounts to loneliness, as most who have contact with the "hidden one" will very rarely remember the individual, regardless of how often they are in each others' company (i.e. the mailman, the local bartender, a neighbor, the town gossip, etc.)
Dream: There are more things on Heaven and Earth... and the dreamstate is one of them. Some Empaths discover how to access not only the usual dreamlands that even the Sleepers may tread in the night, but also learn how to sift through the dreams there in order to pick up threads of information that might otherwise not be discovered. This "place" is not normally accessible by virtue of Ideas, and so offers a wildly unique vista for exploration to those possessed of this ability.