| abstract | - A Tradition is a group of mystically-oriented mages allied with the Council of Nine Mystic Traditions. That is, they believe in magic and understand that they manipulate magic to create desired effects. This contrasts with scientifically-oriented mages, who believe that they use Enlightened Science rather than magic, and this Science is manipulated to create desired effects. The Traditions' counterparts among the Scientists of the Technocratic Union (and in an earlier age, the Order of Reason) are called Conventions. Each Tradition claims a seat on the Council of Nine, representing one of the Spheres of magic. That Sphere is that Tradition's speciality. Although the Council did not technically exist until 1466, many Traditions count their origins to much earlier periods, as they existed as discrete magical societies. Many other Traditions are created from the joining of several disparate groups; as such, their formal creation may be fairly recent, but their component factions may have existed far earlier.
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