By Anders Sandberg
The Order of the Eternal Dawn, OED, was founded in the beginning of this century when several magi of Euthanatos and Verbena who, to their surprise found out that they had similar goals. They both worked on purifying the race, albeit in quite different ways. The involved Euthanatos had been working on the Messiah-project for centuries, trying to weed out the weak and encouraging the useful traits in mankind. The Verbenas had tried to purify "the blood", and had done the same thing for a long time, by increasing the fertility in some persons, while decreasing it in others. They decided to join forces in secrecy, knowing their respective traditions would not like their alliance.
The first decades of OED's existence was spent quarrelling. Even if their goals and many methods were similar, the two traditions had much trouble co-operating. After some diplomatic German mages from Order of Hermes joined them, the tensions eased a bit. They set to work on purifying the race. Their first "experiment" was the Nazis. Using the semi-Masonic lodge Thule Gesellschaft to influence them, they tried to spread their ideas and take control over the emerging Nazi party. It turned out that they were not quite as easily manipulated as the mages believed, and several members got too carried away. The "experiment" didn't work at all, the Nazis corrupted the ideas of OED and used them in their own way.
After the war, OED tried to salvage what it could. The remaining members were quite convinced that their ideas were right, but that they must be realised in a less spectacular way. Since the opinion now was firmly against any ideas of racial purity, they had to work in secrecy. Their next step was a long-range plan to slowly breed a new race without anybody noticing. They set to work, as determined as ever.
OED consists of members of Euthanatos, Verbena and a few Hermetic mages. Their number is very small, probably around 20. While they have left their own traditions (who would want to crush OED if they knew their existence), they have not created any new tradition. The mages use more or less the same philosophy and methods as their original traditions. Some members try to mix methods, with equally mixed success. To join OED, a mage must be invited by several members. Only mages who they are certain share their devotion to their ideals are considered. OED works in absolute secrecy.
In their pursuit of a new race, OED co-operates with other groups in secret. There have been contacts between the Progenitors and members of OED (some members may even be Progenitors in incognito). Another group they have had much contact with is the Priory of Sion, a secret order devoted to the protection of the royal blood of the lineage Plantagnet (which they claim is descended from Christ. Read "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" for more theories about them). Other groups involve Teutonic ice and fire mages, neonazis and some Sons of Ether. Every contact have been extremely secret, and is almost impossible to trace back to OED.
OED has several current projects. The most important is their breeding program. Using their magick, mundane methods and research they try to breed the new race. They try to discreetly manipulate persons with useful traits to mate, keep a watchful eye over families with "good blood" and constantly search for other lineages with desirable properties. (Think of the Bene Gesserit in the Dune books).
Another area of research is Orphans. OED find them highly interesting. Why do they awaken? What keeps some of them from going insane while others quickly go mad? What factors influence them, both hereditary and environmentally? They try to find out, sometimes interviewing orphans or simply engaging in conversations. They also study the families of Orphans, hoping to find useful traits.
The Euthantei in OED also weed out undesirable traits. They usually use dupes, which do the dirty work. Some mages work in hospitals, where they in secret decide who is useful and who is not. Some of them have begun infiltrating sperm-banks, swapping useless material for what they consider useful.
Other projects involve training and imprinting of the protected families and their children, political and scientific infiltration to make their views a bit more PC again and pure magickal research on just what traits are useful, and what the new race will become. They have done some experiments studying garou-lineages and the effects of kindred blood, but so far they have not proven useful to them.
OED have secret meeting places. One of the most typical is an office belonging to "Good Life Insurance" in New York. The insurance company is quite real, and controlled by one member. The office is used to store their secret documents, plans and results using several subtle magickal defences. A sleeper viewing the documents would think they are normal accounting of no interest. Coincidental effects prevent them from being stolen. An anti-magickal shield strengthens the Gauntlet and dampens all magick. Here the East- Coast OED meet, to discuss their latest findings and plans.
Follow Blood (Life 1 Time 2): The mage touches some blood from someone. The result is that the mage gains physiological knowledge about the owner, his age, condition, appearance, sicknesses, markings and so on. By tracing the blood backwards, the mage can learn how the owner was when he was younger. The mage may also continue the tracing back to the owners parents, and their parents, and so on. A single trait may be followed back to its source.
End Blood (Life 4): The mage touches the victim with some blood (very little is required). The result is a small infection rendering the victim sterile and unable to pass on undesirable traits. The victim will not notice anything.
Guardian Angel (Spirit 2): The mage summons a protective spirit, which will follow a person around. If the person is in danger, is victim to magick or otherwise disturbed the spirit will alert the summoner. This rote is often used to protect desirable families.
Find Template (Life 1 Correspondence 3): The mage searches for life matching a template (like a cell-sample, having a certain mark or a desirable trait). If there are any matching life forms, the mage will know where they are. This is used by some members to track their protected families.
Mark the Blood (Life 2 Prime 2): The mage "marks" the blood of a person. This marking will be passed on to the children, and so on. Sometimes this marking is bound to a special trait. The mark can be read by Life 1. Different markings have different meanings, and are used to keep track of certain traits. OED have also found that there exist other markings in several bloodlines, which they have not put there. Some members believe that there must have been other mages doing the same thing as they in the past. Other explain it away as a "lusus naturae", a strange but useless natural phenomenon.