by John Gronquist (21 Jun 94)
"Dreamer, you must always remember why Paris is the City of Lights, why the homids have turned the streets into a walkway of stars. It is the night which they fear, for were not the human's torches everburning against the dark, Paris would eternally be a realm of the blackest thoughts."
-Whispers in Darkness, Shadow Lord Philodox, Grandmaster of the High Order of the Sphinx.
"Deal with it. The Wyrm was meant to be a part of the universe. So are we. Play your part initiate and you may survive, don't and the Order has no place for you."
-Bite of Thunder, Shadow Lord Ahroun, Deacon of the High Order of the Sphinx.
Hidden within the labyrinth streets of the center of Paris lies an ancient order. Modeled after the numerous knightly orders which sprung up during the middle ages, the High Order of the Sphinx survives even to this day as a secret center for the accumulation of occult knowledge. Unlike its brother and sister organizations however, its members are all part of the great family of lycanthropes known as werewolves, and their knowledge about matters occult are very intimate indeed.
The Order was created in the early 1500's, during the Renaissance period. It was a young group of Glass Walkers, Shadow Lords, and Silent Striders who proved to the other Garou of Europe that a large group of Werewolves could strive deep within city limits. Although members of the Order, and many others, know that this was only a minor goal of the group and their true purpose was less physical in nature. Their main goals are reserved for only the Twelve Deacons to know, but are quite definitely centered on spiritual and mystic matters. For even in their early inception they began to compile large libraries of information on occult material. This can be partially explained by their chosen sept Totem, the Sphinx. The original pack which formed the order underwent numerous spiritual journeys to contact and woo the Sphinx to be their totem, and it has remained that way ever since. To this day a new member must journey through the Umbra and make contact with the Sphinx before gaining any form of title or Degree.
The originators of the Order are a closely guarded secret, for the elders believe that they still exist out in the Umbra, housed in their spiritual resting places. What is known is that they were part of a pack called the Knights of St. Denys, who were instrumental in dealing with many of the troubles facing Paris in their time. The Knights were primarily a homid pack of Shadow Lords who saw the government of man as an excellent place to justify their natural right of rule. They infiltrated the noble houses with their bloodlines and raised the Garou children through Kinfolk working at the castles and manor houses. In time the Knights did indeed come to gain access to the Kingship itself and they brought to the throne one of their own blood, Louis XII. However, they could not stay so prominent in the sight of man for long, and both their hold over the kingship and the Order of the Knights of St. Denys fell beneath the grinding heels of the boots of English soldiers. The remnants of the Knights vowed an oath of secrecy which has held ever since. They now hold themselves as Guardians of the Veil, and it is the duty of all Garou of the Order of the Sphinx to forever remember the fault of trying to rule over man.
In the centuries that followed the formation of the Order, it went through many incarnations; the Guardians of St. Denys, the Order of the Veil, the Purveyors of the Fifth Secret... But when a young Silent Strider joined the Order in 1664, he brought with him a message and a name. The message was from the home realm of the Silent Striders and had written upon it in the purest silver "Time is a riddle and Eternity is the ink..." and the name was Sphinx. The Order spent the next hundred years searching out the Sphinx, trying to reach the heart of her realm of mysteries. On this journey they learned much about the spirit world, and their interests began bending more and more to the occult as a result. Near the end of their Quest the Order had a great division of thought, and lost half of their members to the Wagnerians who were forming about this time. The remaining Garou were purified in their mission and finally reached the home of the Sphinx and solved her riddle... "What is it written upon?" This they keep to this day, and the solving of this riddle is the final step to becoming a Master in the Order.
"The fifth order beckons. Outwardly manifesting, Inwardly searching. The boundary lies on the edge of perception, determines the truth of your purpose, and falling to the boundary your soul. Look out and see inward, choose the house in which to rest your spirit..."
-Lake of Mist, Silent Strider Master of Spirits, She who writes the paths to the heavens.
The Order is organized by a system of measurements called Degrees. Each Degree is said to represent the aspect of a Garou and his relationship with the Aetherial Plane, and thus their favor with Gaia the prime spirit of the Aetherial world. Each member of the Order is given a Degree matching his position in the Order and symbolizing a relationship with a stellar object found at that 'degree' off of the horizon at a certain time and on a certain day. The days on which the degrees are measured are almost always the winter or summer solstice, but the ceremonies have occasionally been performed on the equinoxes as well. The lower the Degree, the closer the important stellar object is to Gaia in both spirit and nature, and the more importance that object represents. More often than not, the Garou who's Degree is represented by a powerful stellar force, such as one of the planets or a well known star, will go by the title of the name of that object instead of the degree. Thus 14th Degree, that of the Shadow Lord Philodox Leader is called Saturn. Although a 'chummy' friend might dare to say his Garou name Whispers in Darkness, he is commonly referred to by his order 'name' of Saturn. If a Garou performs great deeds a moot will be called to reorient his Degree and give him a new order name to match his gain in renown. Quite often Garou members will undergo the ceremony of initiation of Degree only to forget what their Degree is later, preferring either their Garou name if they are very informal, or their Order name.
The ruling body of the Order is the Celestial Council. They are all ordained the highest and most potent celestial degrees within the Order, matching the most powerful of the stellar bodies. There is a set number of twelve council members which are addressed as Deacons. An empty seat is left at each moot to represent the spirit of Gaia, and no Garou has ever been given the Degree 0, which belongs only to the spirit of the Great Mother herself. The Twelve Deacons and their positions and stellar names are listed below:
Saturn, Grandmaster of the High Order of the Sphinx, he who Whispers Through Darkness (Shadow Lord/Philodox). Saturn is an extremely powerful Shadow Lord Philodox who is much older than he appears to be, which is difficult to believe because he appears to be around 90 years old. He is, in fact, 151 years of age, and has managed to prolong his life only through the most devout service to Gaia. He jokingly proclaims that She does not seem to wish him to leave her realm just yet. Many of the less pious members believe he has breached the laws of Gaia to achieve this age, but he has gone to great lengths to prove these youngsters wrong. He is very loyal to the cause of the Order, and feels it is the greatest hope for the Garou nation that exists on this world. He is rumored to be an off-hand member of the Wagnerian movement, and has frequently invited their constituency to join in the moots of his order, but as yet has not allowed any to join the sept itself.
His real name is Nikos, and he was born in the upper regions of the Aral Mountains. He has been a great force throughout Garou recent history, and was critical in the destruction of the Great Wyrm of Geneva, which was prohibiting the foundation of the peace talks following W.W.II. He talks little of his past, and views those who dwell on past successes to be fools chasing shadows (an enigmatic phrase coming from a Shadow Lord with his namesake...). In any case, he has grown quite powerful and spends much of his time in the Umbra where his failing body is no longer a hindrance to him. Often he undertakes these voyages into the Umbra to follow young members of the sept without their knowledge to watch on their progress and devotion to Gaia. For he knows it is in the Umbra where the Wyrm will try to pry his young followers away. He has great knowledge as well, and many believe his understanding of Rites and Gifts to be almost unlimited. None have challenged his authority for many years now.
Neptune, Master of the Stories, he who Writes with Smoke (Silent Strider/Galliard). Throughout the Order's history no metis has ever proven himself more loyal to Gaia than SmokeWriter, the Metis Galliard of the Silent Striders who is the principal giver of renown amongst the Order for the past nine years. He is a quiet and withdrawn elderly man, but when he speaks all within the sept listen attentively. He supports the current policy of coexistance with the other non-Garou citizens of Paris, and is rumored to be working closely with some of the vampires to teach them respect for Gaia. His powers include some of the Theurge's gifts and he has many spiritual fetishes for protection and journeys. His Chrinos form is a powerful black and gold coated figure with a longish jackal like nose. He has used the Rite of the Jackal on some occasions for extreme punishments.
Mars, Master of War, he who Bites like Thunder (Shadow Lord/Ahroun). This rough edged Garou has battled more denizens of the Wyrm than many leaders of the other septs throughout Europe. He is the perfect warrior for Gaia, and has little humor when it comes to the enemy. However, he has also learned the value of retreat and is in no way a foolish warrior. He is vocal about the sept being too involved in research and not using its powers to fight for Gaia like he thinks it should. He is also very unhappy with the existance of Vampires in the city and is responsible for the death of no less than four in the last ten years. He disagrees with almost everything Neptune and Jupiter says, but he is loyal to the end and obeys all orders without question.
Mercury, Master of Spirits, (Glass Walker/Theurge)
Sirius, Master of the Howling, (Glass Walker/Galliard)
Centauri, Master of the Paths, (Star Gazer/Philodox)
Canopus, Master of the Domain, (Glass Walker/Ahroun)
Arcturus, Master of the Litany, (Shadow Lord/Ahroun)
Vega, Master of the Veil, (Glass Walker/Ragabash)
Venus, Master of the Breed, (Children of Gaia/Philodox)
Eridani, Master of the Mysteries, (Silent Strider/Theurge)
Cygni, Master of the Masque, (Fianna/Ragabash)
The High Order of the Sphinx is indeed a an Enigma within the Garou society as a whole. The traditional intense distrust between the Shadow Lords and The Glass Walkers plays little part in their government, lest it be like the buzzing of flies around a corpse. For it was the Shadow Lords of the Order that understood unlike any of their brethren the reality of trying to adapt to the city. They had found themselves floundering in an environment so dissimilar to their empty mountainous home lands that they eventually called out to the Glass Walkers for aid. The city dwellers welcomed the chance to enter one of the centers of human society, which until then had been protected by the previous Knights of St. Denys. To this day the Shadow Lords are occasionally reminded of this act of generosity on the Glass Walker's part, but so many generations have passed that it is barely remembered except in the ancient tombs of the library. In time, it seems, even the Shadow Lords may learn a lesson or two. As a result, however, they are generally disliked by all others of their tribe outside the Order, and the only new Shadow Lords coming into the order for centuries have been those breed by the Order itself.
The other clans which make up the society are fractious and seldom very strongly connected to those outside the Order. The Sphinx only welcomes those who dwell in a life dominated by the Enigma.
Silent Striders: They still hold a place of high regard by the leaders of the sept, and continue to prove their worth as scouts of the spirit world, par excellence. The four of them which claim loyalty to the Order spend much time patrolling the Umbra and guard the sept from its spiritual enemies far and broad.
Star Gazers: These garou started petitioning the Order after it gained the attention and loyalty of the Sphinx. They are admitted due primarily to their talent for the Unknown, but are not respected nearly as much as others because they did not participate in the Great Quest for the Sphinx yet they desire all the rewards of it. Only a few have ever made it to the Celestial Council.
Black Furies: Almost unknown within the traditionally male ruled organization. Some occasionally visit to try and learn of the sources of the "Realms of Venus" which the Order has mentioned discovering, but the Shadow Lords seldom divulge their secrets for free.
Get of Fenris: Traditionally welcomed by the Shadow Lords, the Order has little desire for their presense, however, and are not to fond of much of the Germanic culture in any case. All the history of the world lies on the shores of the Mediteranean, the French seldom look to the north for wisdom. W.W.II didn't help their attitudes much either.
Children of Gaia: Dreamers and hopefuls are often welcomed by the Enigma, they are the ones who can keep persevering even when the riddle has torn apart the mind and lain it bare. They have been instrumental to the Order at times, and have a fairly welcome place within its folds.
Bone Gnawers: Beneath the concern of many of the septs leaders. They are occasionally useful to the Order, but remarkably none have ever petitioned for admittance regardless of the fact that many exist in Paris. A puzzle that goes unsolved.
Fianna: Masters of the riddle which are welcomed, when they come... The Fianna have a distinct disrespect for the Order, seing it primarily as an unnatural thing and no fit way for a follower of the Wolf to live. Few have ever belonged to the Order, but those that do are often given renown freely and cultured for their sense of the enigmatic. Their songs are always welcome.
Red Talons: These warriors of Gaia have never set foot upon the soil of the caern of the Sphinx. They would not understand the Order's ways and might try to destroy all that it has fought for. The few that have even come to Paris are kept in the dark about the Order.
Silver Fangs: They have rejected the Order, en masse. The Fangs have never admitted why they have such an antipathy for it, but it is probably due to the attention of one of the most ancient and powerful Totems being spent on Shadow Lords. It is proof of the power behind the Order and the rivalry between the two tribes runs deep. Some of the Silver Fangs less popular members have joined the Order in the course of its long history, but none ever made it to the rank of Deacon.
Uktena: Few ever come to the over civilized lands of Europe, and even fewer embrace the city as the Order has. Only three have ever joined but they have added a great deal of knowledge to the sept. They keep to their ways, and often do not rise in rank due only to their failure to obey the ceremonies of the Order.
Wendigo: They have nothing to do with the European wyrmcomers. None have ever come.
Amongst other Garou around the world the Order has accumulated a reputation for obscurity, and some say, Wyrm taint. The Order members themselves scoff at this idea and take their close relationship with the Sphinx to be continuing evidence of their faith with Gaia. Indeed, at the current time they believe they are reaching towards a new zenith of their faith, as shown by the remarkably strong astrologic aspects of their four primary leaders; Saturn, Neptune, Mars, and Mercury. They have discovered new realms where these symbols are strong and vibrant parts, and the realms themselves breathe of the airs of Gaia's ancient past.
The Order has maintained an unusually open relationship with others of Supernatural origin for many years now. This is primarily due to the Pax Arcana, an initiative by the Vampiric leader of Paris to quell fighting and attempt to 'bring truths from out of the darkness.' A not so vague reference to the leader of the Order. The Order's response for the first period of the Pax Arcana (1783 - 1950) was dim and muted at best. They commonly saw it as only a Kindred thing, and a possible temptation by the Wyrm, but it did manage to keep the Kindred from attacking the Order and from perpetuating their terrible clan wars. After W.W.II, and the rejuvenation of the Pax Arcana with Francois' reappearance as its active leader, the Garou of the Order of the Sphinx have pledged to always make at least a token showing at political functions and agreed to the rituals of the Scaena Lamina, as long as it didn't interfere with their war on the Wyrm itself. This move caused the Order some hardship in its relations with other septs in Europe and abroad, and since then the Order has received fewer visits and much fewer petitions for membership. But, they have gained substantial knowledge about the Kindred that few other Garou can boast, and this has often made them incredibly lethal warriors against the children of Caine when need rises.
Through time the Order has discovered that not all Kindred are evil in their unbeating hearts. Many are responsible for much good brought into the world, and fight the wyrm even if it is not along the Garou's sides. Much occult research has led the Order to believe that the nature of the Kindred is a blending of all three of the parts of the Triat and is open to change by the actions of the Vampires. The specific relationships with the different clans are detailed below:
Toreador: Many of the enemies of the Order amongst the other Garou of Europe claim that the Order helped establish the Toreador as the rulers of the city. This is true in fact, but not in intention. The breeding policy of the original Knights of Denys led to many of the ruling line of France possessing the Garou gene. To cull the possibility of Lunatic offspring the Order had to secretly manipulate the deaths of more than one French noble. This gave the Toreadors the edge they needed in their battle to free the populace from the dogma of the Ventrue. While the Garou are little concerned over which of the leeches calls himself Prince, the elders believe the Toreadors to at least have a chance of returning to their humanity. The Toreadors, in particular Francois, were not blind to the unintended assistance they received from the Garou of the Order and as a result have attempted to keep the peace with them whenever possible. The great parks of Baron Hausmann were the greatest symbol of this peacekeeping effort to date. The Garou have been unresponsive to the Toreador's attempts to appease them, but no Toreador's have died by Garou claw for some time...
Ventrue: The Garou have a distinct Love/Hate relationship with this clan. Many of it's members through the past 500 years have been taken from the Kinfolk the Garou were breeding into the royalty of France, and thus fell under the Litany's right of protection. At first, the Garou response to the 'defilement' of their kinfolk was rage, but soon they learned the value of having loyal allies amongst the children of the Wyrm. This has been a contention between the Order and other Garou for some time, especially during the years of Napoleon and the Empire. Now they have very few of their blood in the Ventrue, and with the reappearance of Labianus (Ventrue clan head of Paris and rumored to be very old and powerful) from some unknown past, they believe this clan is on a headlong path towards the Wyrm. If any of the Ventrue show the signs of Garou blood however, things might change, but only if Labianus is removed from power.
Tremere: The Masters of the Order of the Sphinx hate the Tremere with all their blood. They would have destroyed this clan from Paris long ago if it wasn't for the Thaumaturgic Wards versus Lupines that the clan heads put throughout their holdings. The dispute seems to be mainly one between the Masters of the Order and the Council of Seven, and based on some offense of long ago which few in the packs are privy to. In the late 1800's the Master of the Paths, Robin's Song of Morning, was excommunicated from the order for killing an innocent Jesuit priest which he thought was a Tremere ghoul. Since then the battle has settled to one mostly consisting of words published in occult newsletters, but when the Tremere overstep themselves the Order will be there waiting for them with rage in their eyes.
Nosferatu: The Glass Walkers of the Order have done much to stave off the Garou's natural hatred for this clan. They have proven that those who look like the Wyrm are not always its servants. They are not on friendly terms, but seem to have reached a mutual agreement against killing each other at sight, and sometimes have shared information for a common purpose (usually to trap the Tremere). The others of the Order are less certain about the Nosferatu, and many of them patrol the sewers around holdings of the Order to make certain the Kindred aren't spying on them. The Order as a whole keeps well out of the areas of the sewers known to belong to these Kindred and generally the Nosferatu return the favor. Still, to many of the Ahrouns of the Order, theses creatures very obviously belong to the wyrm, and so occasionally there are skirmishes between the two forces.
Malkavian: The Order views these creatures through the eyes of their own perceptions, as Lunatics or misguided creations which are the responsibility of all Kindred to guide to sanity. Of course, the Kindred don't see things this way so the Garou must on occasion "clean up someone else's mess..." The more troublesome of the Malkavians in Parisian history were often hunted down by the Garou and killed outright for their crimes. Each time they take the life of a Malkavian who has gone beyond societies limits, they make a charge to the rest of the Kindred of the city for their services. This charge takes the form of another life, or un-life as the case may be. For it was the Vampire's responsibility to watch the Malkavians and they obviously failed, giving the task to the Garou who do not take such responsibility lightly. The Mad Kindred are being watched even today by the Order, who keeps track of their madness lest it become too extreme. The Order does not blame the Malkavians for their madness, they understand what it's like to be out of control and ruled by ones nature, and so they often befriend those that they are watching to try and help them to sanity. Of course, the Malkavians don't have a clue what the Garou want but they'll party with them anyway.
Brujah: The Order has little recent experience with the Brujah, and if they encounter one they will most likely work off of old presumptions. The Brujah of the past were partly responsible for the horrors of the Commune and the destruction and death of many Garou. The Order remembers, all too well. They will feel compelled to help any Brujah out of town, whether he wants to go or not.
Gangrel: The history between these two groups are complex and often confused. Most of the Gangrel are welcomed to outdoors moots, as long as they are not disrespectful and the Vampires stay in wolf form the entire time. More than one Gangrel has come to final death due to changing form back to that of a man in the aftermath of Garou revelry. For the past three centuries however the Order has taken the position that the Gangrel desire a return to Gaia, and thus are as cubs trying to learn how to walk for the first time. They must be bit, harassed and taunted into learning how to take their first strides towards their mother. One of the Gangrel in particular has learned much about the Garou ways and is welcomed to all but the most secret of moots. She is called by both Garou and Kindred simply as The Lady, and she is a most tragic and majestic figure of a woman. The Lady keeps her secrets well though and she is seldom seen by either Vampire or Wolf. Others of clan Gangrel are welcomed by the Order as they prove themselves.
The Garou relationships with other supernatural creatures is more distinct and less muddled by the unusual status of the Kindred. They are distinctly untrusting of Mages, of any sort, and do not understand the differences between the Traditions and the Technocracy. Mages were responsible for the raping of their first caern and will never be forgiven as a group no matter what they may do. When a Garou of the Order meets a mage it is a major occurrence for the entire order who will start to watch him auspicially. They keep record of every mage they encounter and their records are largely immune to the effects of Arcane as they are written, and protected, by the Masters of the Order. The Garou do not involve themselves with the matters of the mage however, and paradox and mage-wars are of little concern to them. If a mage were to sit down and explain the technocracy to them then perhaps they might see things differently, but for all they know all mages belong to the Gaia raping makers of Order and Science and should be watched carefully.
If there is one group of supernatural beings that the Order might call friend it is the Immortals. They understand much of the history and beliefs of this group, although it is unknown how. A rumor exists of an Immortal who carries the Garou blood, but little is ever said about this by the Masters. The leaders of the Order often know about an immortal before they ever meet it and quite possibly are in contact with the Arcanum on this matter. Just like the Arcanum the Order does not hunt down immortals, it only watches them closely from the Penumbra, keeping track of which ones they believe to be deserving the Prize. Beyond this the Order only has a professional competitive relationship with the Arcanum, which appear to them to be an organization much like theirs. The Order believes that the Immortals are their eternal counterparts in the battle for Gaia. They are what humanity was meant to be, the Clan of the Sun, fated mirror to the Garou Clan of the Moon. The Order understands that the Immortals are subject to evil, just as the Garou can be corrupted by the tendrils of the Wyrm, but just as the Black Spiral Dancers are the responsibility of the Garou of the Wyld so must the Immortals deal with their own.
"The mirror reflects what is within it as well as what lies outside it's surface. Does this puzzle you Human? What is so difficult to accept, that you are a random group of little things called molecules or that you are the distant reflection of a great and glorious spirit who even now calls to you?"
-Sirius, Master of Ceremonies.
"Decartes materialism evidenced in his Principles of Natural Philosophy fail to determine the state of existance for kine or kindred alike. In truth the minutae of indefinable smallness lies not throughout the cosmos, but rests assurdedly within said philospher's own skull..."
-Jack of the Lantern, Glass Walker Ragabash, Paris 1743.
The Order's philosophy is a complicated and unusual one for the primarily single-minded Garou. Their core belief lies in the Enigma, the Twilight of the Soul. This belief states that the Universe is a powerful and extremely intricate puzzle, which when solved holds the keys to all other puzzles. To attempt to solve this puzzle the members of the Order religiously study the arcane and unusual. Seeking in the obscure for that which the common man can not accept, the truth. The truth that the Earth is the center of the universe, and that all revolves around it and is created by it. The truth that evil is real and lies in the hearts of every man to lazy or enebrehated to deal with it. The truth that our world is only half of what it once was, that it has lost its spirit. This is mission of the High Order of the Sphinx, to solve the great riddles and prove to mankind that the world is not what they believe, but a far richer and more expansive dream of the spirit, and that the spirit is but a reflection of the world.