Jacob's Ladder Earth

Known Characters From This World

• Calypso Hecate Dranias

Magic

Magic is dangerous. The merest mote of magical ability or experimentation opens the door to a world of hazards and risks most are not prepared to handle. That door is not easy to close. One cannot simply walk away from magic. Spirits and demons clamor at the gateway to the world of flesh the magus represents. The unfathomable entities of nonbeing that reside within the Qlippoth hunger for the destructive potential of the magus in their quest to unmake the world. For this reason magic is hidden from the general public, only misleading and adulterated manuscripts managing to filter down into common knowledge. For mutual survival, magi have banded together into secret societies and policed their own ranks to prevent discovery of potentially catastrophic knowledge. All of this occurs under the direction of the surviving Grand Masters, magi who if the tales are to be believed have passed the test of the Dweller on the Threshold and seen the face of God.

The Laws of Magic

Magic is the act of imposing one's will upon reality. Even so, simple will is not enough to enact change. Reality has vectors upon which it is accustomed to force traveling. The most common of these are the physical laws which science is quite familiar. Correspondingly, magic has similar vectors upon which the application of will is most effective.

The first thing one must understand is that the world as it is perceived is actually the result of a waveform being winnowed down from its absolute origin at the Godhead down to the manageable and material creation that mortals reside in. In its journey to the material world, this emanation passes back and forth between two extremes, often likened to the two pillars of the Temple of Solomon. Rebounding between Jachin the Pillar of Mercy and Boaz the Pillar of Severity, its zig-zag path is known to magi as the "lightning flash." In the tension between these two opposites, the whole of the potential of reality is contained.

Magi take this tension within themselves as a means to working their will. In emulating the conflict and potential contained within this model of reality, they provide the medium in which magic is possible. Each magus embraces a paradox, be it the tension between life and death, masculinity and femininity, order and chaos, or many diverse others.

If paradox is the medium within which magi work, they still must be mindful of the vectors upon which will is applied. Just as pushing a boulder up a hill is difficult, reality balks when it is forced in unaccustomed directions. The Laws of Sympathy represent the corpus of what magi have discovered of how to grease the wheels a bit.

• The Law of Contagion is the first and simplest Law of Sympathy. It represents the enacting of will upon physical vectors, albeit ones a bit more abstract than mundane science deals in. The Law of Contagion states that even after separation from the whole, portions of an object still have ties to the whole along which magical effects may travel. The most classic application of this law is the common "Voodoo Doll," an effigy made from the clothes or hair of an individual which allows a magus to work magic upon the subject from a distance.
• The Law of Similarity is the second Law of Sympathy and represents further abstraction upon the concept. It deals in symbols rather than physical traces, such as the symbolic connection between the metal gold and the sun, or silver and the moon. A complex system of occult correspondences has grown up around the application of the second law, incorporating astrology, metallurgy, and ritualized dramaturgy. Magi will often incorporate extensive costuming, timing of rituals to the day, hour, and minute to ensure maximum advantage.
• The Law of Naming is the third and highest Law of Sympathy. At its most abstract, this is magic worked at the level of linguistic correspondences. Just as Adam and Eve were given dominion over the inhabitants of the Garden of Eden by naming them, names carry power over the things they represent. Most magi are reluctant to give their full names, and even embellish them with titles to make them more difficult to divine. Knowing a being's true name grant's dangerous amounts of power over them, to the point of control or even destruction of the individual if properly applied.

The Spirit World

Spirits

There are many types of spirits, and dizzying variety within each type. One common factor is that all of them are painfully aware that they aren't corporeal, and covet the pleasures of the flesh.

• Ghosts - The spirits of the dead. There is some debate as to whether these are actual human souls, or merely a manifestation of the memory which the living retain for the dead. Support for the latter theory exists due to the fact that some are gradually twisted as tales about them grow. Many are not aware of their demise, and confused by their current state.
• Numina - Nature spirits, location spirits, and the spirits of legendary objects all fall into this category. If kept close in the minds of humans near them, they perform their stated functions. In the absence of this, they can wither or occasionally turn feral or dangerous. Cannibal spirits such as the Wendigo are examples of neglected spirits that have become hostile to humans.
• Ultraterrestrials - These beings are constantly curious about the human condition, and often mischievous in learning more. Many breeds have been recorded, but some insist that these distinctions are artificial as Ultraterrestrials manifest based off of the perceptions of those who witness them. Examples of Ultraterrestrials include the many myths of faeries, as well as the more recent stories of alien abduction.
• Fetches/Tulpa/Egregores - These are artificial spirits, built from thoughtforms and bound to the will of their creators. Conjured by a mage or a cabal of them, they are usually intended for one or more purposes before being dispelled. The longer a Fetch or Tulpa exists, the more willful it becomes, as it knows it isn't quite "real" but desires to become more. If not destroyed fairly early on, dispelling them becomes progressively more difficult as they gradually take on a life of their own. This process is often accelerated if the mage or cabal which created them dies before they can dispel it. As well, the more individuals that witness a Fetch or Tulpa in action, the more "real" it becomes. Once they are free of their masters they can become potent spirits in their own right, and quite dangerous. In recent times, many magi have started to produce AI which combine aspects of computer programs and Tulpas. Though these new creations have yet to slip the leash due to their newness, more experienced magi have expressed concern about them.

Demigods

Demigods are spirits that have been elevated in power by the belief of humanity. In this elevation they have for the most part lost their hunger to manifest within a corporeal body, but their new roles and power bear restrictions based upon the beliefs which power them.

• Eidolons - These are elevated ghosts of noteworthy individuals. No longer truly spirits of the dead, they have been warped as the stories about their lives (or their hauntings) have grown into myth. Many are heroes, many are monsters. Though their power is considerable, it comes from what humanity believes they can do. These abilities aren't quite magical, though they are often legendary feats of strength, dexterity, or cunning. Oftentimes Eidolons can also be formed from potent Numina or unbound Fetches.
• Angels - Though not strictly true in all cases, "angel" is a blanket term to describe the servants of the gods. Either created whole cloth or elevated from a lesser spirit, angels derive their power from the myth of the god they serve, and are under the same restrictions as that god. Their primary hope of having their power increased is pleasing their patron, though some noteworthy exceptions have managed to accrue legendary deeds of their own and break free from their masters. Gods are understandably wary of this occurring as a servant once freed often becomes competition.
• Djinn - The Djinn are essentially an elevated variety of Ultraterrestrial. They have distinguished themselves from the infinite varieties of Ultraterrestrials by building their myth as an entire race. As such while their appearance does vary somewhat these beings of smokeless fire have more consistency than their lesser bretheren and considerably more power. They are fairly hostile towards humanity, but must adhere to a rigid code of conduct regarding their interactions with mortals. To date this has prevented them from acquiring too much mundane influence within the mortal world.

Gods

Gods are beings which personify concepts or myths which affect the majority of humanity. They can exercise significant amounts of power within their respective domains, but are utterly entwined in their roles and cannot see beyond them. Being a god means being one of the greatest beings within creation, but it also means being a slave to what you have become.

• Aethyrs - These are the gods of celestial objects. Their ranks are fairly stable, as human belief in their physical representations is much less mercurial than the concepts other gods draw their power from. The gods of the sun, moon, planetary intelligences and astrological decans are all considered Aethyrs.
• Eikones - These are gods of more nebulous concepts, often without physical representations. The lower ranks of the Eikones are often quite fluid, as archetypes rise and fall in importance within human society. Stability increases as the significance of the concept does, as the greater archetypes do not shift in the collective subconscious so quickly. More than one Eikon of a given archetype can exist, though their relevance in society dictates which must give way if there is a conflict of interests. Many Eikones are elevated Eidolons or Angels.
• The Invisible Clergy - These beings are the most culturally relevant holders of the greatest archetypes within the human subconscious. Each has power over dozens of Eikones and thousands of Angels. Though every Eikon has a desire to one day supplant one of the Invisible Clergy, their ranks are largely stable, a given archetype usually only changing hands once an Aeon. As well, the opportunity for an old archetype to lose relevance and leave the ranks of the Clergy or a new archetype gaining prominence enough to join their ranks is generally once an Aeon. Any changes within the Invisible Clergy are cosmically significant, and represent a fundamental change within the paradigm of the world.

The Qlippoth

The Qlippoth is Not a Nice Place. The dark mirror of the world, it's where things go when they no longer work. Dead gods, lost empires, and most significantly the entirity of History B. It is home to an entire ecology of carrion-spirits that are noteworthy due to drawing power not from what humanity is and believes, but what they aren't and what they've discarded. These beings can occasionally escape into the mundane world at sites of great death or destruction.

• Adimirim - Non-sentient leech spirits, these beings find their way into reality at scenes of great slaughter and bloodshed. When first manifesting they appear as some of the larger varieties of mundane leech, and always in swarms. If the stimuli which allowed them to escape the Qlippoth continues, they grow in size, sometimes as large as a human being. They must be starved off in order to prevent the infestation from continuing.
• Satarim - Able to creep into the mortal world at sites of great filth and offal, the Satarim manifest as roughly thumb-sized cockroaches. Individually non-sentient, they take on a low cunning as their numbers increase, and a swarm can interlock its carapaces to form a roughly humanoid body. Such swarms will often conceal themselves in baggy clothing and prey upon vagrants and runaways.
• Tzaphirim - Summoned into the world by great pandemics, Tzapharim are plague spirits that manifest as what at first glance appears to be a black or brown rat. However should one engage them it is revealed that their mouths can open roughly half their body length, revealing crooked rows of sharklike teeth. They maintain a foothold in the area they infest as long as the disease continues to spread.
• Zevuvirim - The buzzing of these fly-spirits is often heard in places where madness holds sway. Summoned subconsciously by broken minds, these spirits are flies with human mouths and the shape of a face upon their wings. In swarms their droning sounds like profane whispering, and they will often spread madness in their wake by inciting riots and other disorder.
• Choronzon, the Dweller on the Threshold - A powerful demon of the Qlippoth, Choronzon is a danger that every mage must face. Though a singular entity, its personality is difficult to pin down because it draws substance from the mage in question. It is an anti-self, representing every doubt or misgiving the mage has, every shortcoming the mage fears. In their quest for enlightenment, all magi encounter Choronzon eventually. They must best it, or they will be annihilated or worse still become a tool of the Qlippoth.

History

The Aeon of Isis

The primordial state of the Earth. Though named after the fact by Thelema mystics, the actual Queen Archon of this Aeon was not Isis but the dragon-goddess of the oceans, Tiamat. This era comprised all of nonhuman history as well as early human development. Several pre-human empires rose and fell during this time period, including a significant culture of reptilian beings that revered the dragon-goddess. The remnants of this culture are remembered as the lost city of Irem within the Empty Quarter of the Arabian Peninsula. Tiamat defined this Aeon as one of natural law, with the elements ruling a harsh world.

Sired by her consort, the river dragon Apsu, Tiamat gave birth first to the dragon Qingu, then to the gods known as the Anunnakku. These children were strange to her, not dragons at all. Enki, eldest of them began to foster the primitive anthropoids that would become humanity, teaching them the divine language that would later become known as Enochian. Humans began the first primitive practices of magic during this period. As humanity developed, the power of the Anunnakku grew, as unlike their forebears they were closer to the fledgling race, and shaped by their budding beliefs. Apsu feared this development, and set out to devour his children. However Enki proved a match for him, and he was slain. This angered Qingu, and he convinced Tiamat to appoint him her general to wage war upon the young gods. Marduk son of Enki led the Anunnakku against Qingu's armies and slew both Qingu and Tiamat. From the blood of the primordial ancestor of the gods, Marduk created the Tablet of Destinies, a blueprint for the world and everything in it.

History B

This is the world Marduk created, a realm of perfect, antiseptic order dictated by the Tablet. All humanity worked in the vast city-ziggurats on clockwork-precise schedules, each according to their caste and purpose. Obedience to the Anunnakku was written into the human subconscious via extensive and complex memes, and the potential of human language was limited. Marduk feared the power that had been awakened in humanity by his father, and did not want to risk a new generation of gods supplanting the Anunnakku.

The Reality Quake

Marduk's understanding of humanity was incomplete, and he could not fully contain the race's potential. The Tablet of Destinies began to fracture, and finally shattered under the stresses placed upon it. With it, Marduk's world of order also passed away, as if it had never been. On human calendars, this event occurred in 535 A.D.

The Aeon of Osiris

This is the history that was retrocreated after the Reality Quake. Due to the memes and linguistic controls that lingered from History B, Marduk was still a god, and a significant one at that. Just as Tiamat represented natural law, Marduk was a lawgiver, and the Archon of the new Aeon. Throughout the centuries of this Aeon, Marduk was able to remain prominent in many cultures, most prominently in his guises as Baal and Moloch.

However humanity slowly recovered from the limitations imposed upon it in History B. Magic flourished, and new gods arose as new archetypes became prominent in human culture. Still fearing this, Marduk waylaid and imprisoned his fellow Anunnakku Ereshkigal. Her fearsome purpose in holding the archetype of Death meant that should humans forget him, she would be obligated to remove him from creation. Even as powerful as he was, he could not deny her this.

Gradually, the memes which bound humanity and kept Marduk as the Archon of the Aeon began to decay. Secular societies began to develop, human science and technology grew by leaps, and magic increasingly realized the power of humanity. As learning spread, occult groups moved behind the scenes, and the first Grand Masters emerged.

The Aeon of Horus

The Aeon of Horus was born in blood and fire. Ushered in by the building conflicts that led to World War I, the last of the old order was passing away. However this was an Aeon that was very nearly stillborn, lacking an Archon as Marduk could not pass away as long as Ereshkigal was bound. Marduk clung to power desperately, continually seeking for ways in which to repair the Tablet of Destinies and restore what he saw as a world where humanity would not suffer as it had. Increasingly, he found that the nature of how the Tablet had been crafted was his own undoing. In his folly he had scribed his own name upon it, as well as the secret names of humanity. This meant that nothing of the world could restore it.

The answer came in the form of four individuals who were not of the world. Sensing the ripple in fate that had brought them there, Marduk sent agents to retrieve them and set them to the task of recreating the Tablet. Unfortunately not all went as planned, and one of their number rebelled. Found by a small cabal of magi, the stray offworlder managed to free Ereshkigal. Though Marduk frantically pushed the remaining three to finish the Tablet, they were unable to do so before the goddess of death arrived. Marduk finally acceded to his fate and let Ereshkigal enact her duty.

As the Archon of the prior Aeon had finally passed, lesser gods of the lawgiver archetype vied to prove that their vision was fit to define the Aeon of Horus. Among them was Nabu, son of Marduk, who had acclimated to the modern age by becoming White Man's Burden, the god of Western paternalism. Though quite relevant to first-world society, he was ultimately bested by the Lord of Misrule. As the Archon of the Aeon of Horus, the Lord of Misrule defines the era as one of self-determination. He breaks taboos and purposefully enrages those around him as the wise can determine their own morality upon seeing wrongdoing.

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