Erudites
Brief: With the sudden rise of magic and unexplained phenomena, groups rapidly began to come together to study and analyse it. These individuals came from both Earth (to whom magic was entirely new) and from Domus (to whom magic had exponentially changed). In the south of England, one of these large groups split down two paths in response to the use of magic in warfare. Those who favoured pure academics and felt that they were qualified to be leading experts became the Erudites.
Look and Feel: Erudites that have achieved the rank of Student or above tend to lean into scholarly and academic dress. Pins in the breast pocket or lapel signify rank.
Values and Themes: Erudites prize knowledge and experimentation above all things. They refuse to back down from magical research despite the dangers and believe that knowledge should be passed on and shared.
Evolvers
Brief: The initial Evolver movement began shortly after the Exodus of like minded thinkers coming together in an attempt to find a way to build a new society with these massive shifts. They actively welcomed Domus refugees into their ranks. As war grew worse, the movement came together in one place to discuss the future and then the black outs happened leaving the entire movement stranded.
The group is focused a lot around concepts of transhumanism, attempting to dissolve the boundaries between different genus types and attempting to forge a new society that combines both aspects of Old Earth and Domus. They embrace magic as a force of transformation, allowing people to define themselves as adaptive and in a constant state of change. Leadership is often reorganised depending on need. They encourage widespread debate and shifts in societal change.
Look and Feel: The fashions of the Evolvers aim to combine some features of Old Earth with looks based around the natural world. Self-expression is highly encouraged and so there is a great amount of exploration in clothing and looks. Non-Humans often wear things that emphasise their differences.
Values and Themes: Transhumanism, change, evolution. Evolvers believe that neither the societies of Old Earth and Domus can function in this new age so they must build something brand new.
Pilgrims
Brief: While the Erudites faced the sudden changes with cold rationalism, the people that formed the Pilgrims took a very different approach. One of spirituality. This had a number of causes and varying outcomes. Some Earth-Born folk looked to the people of Domus to guide their views based on the old beliefs of constant change, but these often struggle to work in a place as comparatively stagnant as Earth. Other Earth-Born syncretised magic with their existing religious beliefs, this is often a deeply personal and deeply individual journey. Many Domus Refugees struggled to understand magic and the world in a place like Earth and they in turn looked to the people of Earth for their guidance for spirituality.
All of this has led to a somewhat universally accepted, within the Pilgrims, set of beliefs that are realised in vastly different ways leading to a great amount of debate within the faction. This is highly encouraged; helping someone find their own personal understanding of the universe is considered a fundamental and sacred duty.
The Pilgrims are led by a loose council of various religious leaders, some coming from Earth religions (various rabbis, priests, imams, gurus) as well as spiritual leaders specialising in magic itself, many taking an approach similar to animism. They typically delegate the actual day to day runnings of the faction and its goings on to other civilian leadership bodies. The faction is extremely communal in the day to day with everyone pitching in where they can. Due to being one of the smallest factions, they don’t have nearly as many organisational or logistical issues as other factions.
Look and Feel: Heavy, simple, practical clothing, often things that are repurposed, repaired or reused. They don’t tend to wear anything especially flashy or extravagant.
Values and Themes: Magic is a living active force that has a plan that should be trusted in. It is not something to be recklessly used or experimented on for selfish means. Abusing magic is the same as abusing a living creature and retaliation should be accepted.
Survivalists
Brief: The survivalists are only a unified faction in theory however are the largest of all factions. Huge swathes of people attempted to flee the country via Heathrow Airport and were trapped when the black outs hit. These people, through sheer necessity, banded together for survival. They are made up of many different smaller groups, ruling through consensus and presenting a somewhat united front so that other factions do not attempt to take over. Most of the leadership is made up of militias due to a large amount of weapons making their way into the area post-war.
There is no consistent culture among the Survivalists beyond a need to survive. They prioritise basic necessities above all else meaning they are the best at farming and technical know-how but lacking a lot in magical knowledge and cultural resources.
Look & Feel: Survivalists tend to lean more towards practical and easily salvageable gear.
Values & Themes: Playing a Survivalist is about variety, the lack of unifying culture allows for far greater individualism in their delegates. They are bound by a desperate need and will to survive and are willing to do anything to achieve this. Survivalists generally struggle to get along with each other but will close ranks against outsiders.
Traditionalists
Brief: In response to the sudden influx of magic and refugees as well as the fall of the government, a faction rose up called Parliamentarians. They gathered and organised with the goal of attempting to return the world to its pre-Exodus state as much as physically possible. As the war increased, they did their best to re-establish a representative democracy before the blackouts isolated them from the rest of the world.
Based around the houses of parliament, this faction flourished for some time. They did their best to use as little magic as possible and recreate pre-Exodus society. They succeeded to an extent, managing to get a small amount of industry and greenhouse agriculture going. However, what began as a small group of extremists began to grow into a dominant political force; the Purists. They were of the loud opinion that it wasn’t enough to try and recreate Old Earth, they had to get back to it by force if necessary. Despite there being many non-humans within the Parliamentarians, the Purists called for the elimination of magic and all those who could not be saved from it. This caused a mass schism three years before the first summit where one third of the Parliamentarians, now decisively named Purists, split off to form a new faction and claim new territory. Those that were left behind rapidly shifted their ethos in reaction to this. Renaming themselves Traditionalists, this reformed faction focused on ideas of hospitality. Leadership enforced that it was the duty of Earthborn folk to act as good hosts and refugees as good guests. While they still prioritised trying to recreate Old Earth, it was made very clear that this would not be done at the expense of the Domus refugees.
Look and Feel: Most Traditionalists choose to wear clothing reminiscent of Old Earth with most attending events like the summit opting for business formal/business casual. They wish to show Old Earth and the Traditionalist way of life as being the most attractive option to unsure people.
Values and Themes: Following the very real truth that magic is incredibly dangerous and that Old Earth had many wonderful technologies that those from Domus had never heard of (e.g. the internet and MRI), Traditionalists want to avoid magic and its influence where possible. They understand that it is important and useful so ensure only those trusted perform it and under heavy observation. They want a home that is safe, predictable, and familiar
Purists (NPC)
Very little is currently known about the Purists due to their staunch rejection of all other factions. What is known is the following:
- They are led by a charismatic individual known only as the ‘First Minister’
- Any attempts to move near their territory has been met with incredible violence and non-Humans who stray near their territory have been known to vanish
- They were invited to the Summit but emphatically refused