Of having power, but not really having power.

I was made Deputy Hierarch. Me. And our new hierarch could not be in the city during our gathers for a few months. So, where did that leave me? As a puppet, simply put. Young apprentice, whomever you are, I hope your mentors have taught you about the responsibility of power. If they haven’t, skip this journal entry until you understand responsibility of power. Let me tell you about council meetings. First, there are a lot of them. My first gathering as Deputy Hierarch, I had no less than three council meetings... And people continually talk in circles without resolving to actually do anything. It is infuriating. Several new mages came into the city, and are planning on staying here. Most were thyrsis. Most were arrow. Something tells me I should be very worried. The balance of power within this city seems to be tipping. Be weary of this, young apprentice. Power always changing, but too much power in one direction can shift things in ways that are unpredictable and can cause great difficulties for the city as a whole - not just Mage society, but all who live here (including the cryptids). I foresee a power-struggle in the future, as two different individuals sent the Thyrsis (both new and old) on the same mission. I will freely admit, there was one Arrow whom I am ready to despise. She is apparently a member of the highest order of the Arrow; and as such, she feels that she is both above the city's laws, and that she has no need to observe them. At the very least, she claims her previous vows keep her from swearing to anything. She even openly mocked the city's Lex. I will admit, when the entirety of the welcome speech from the Council changed from "use your common sense and avoid causing any undue harm using magic" to "don't get caught", there are large issues. I am very tempted to create a new Lex and present it to the council. But back to the main point... how can one be trusted if one will not agree to live by society's laws? And does she not understand that one can be bound by several oaths that do not conflict? Can she even consider herself a member of Canadian society if she will not hold to an oath of Canadian citizenship? Does she believe herself to be above all laws, or just the ones of our city? She must be watched very carefully. There was business that was discussed. Primarily, it involved the fate of the girls who were kidnapped. Apparently, one became a Banisher. This was dealt with easily enough, though it was time consuming. And, unfortunately, required the use of arch-magic to remove her status as Awakened, use of Fate magic to determine if she could ever Awaken as anything other than a Banisher (she couldn't) and use of Mind magic to help keep her from Awakening in the future. At least she will have a close relationship with God - though I would rather her join the Jewish faith than an orthodox Christian faith... We also had an issue where the Sentinal and the Hearold were both accused of working the the Seerers. As one investigates the other in situations like this, it was problematic. Although we gained some information from each of them with regards to what the Seerers were up to (independently verified by the Guardians, I should add), the idea that they are spies for us was quickly abused when one of the Seerers called. I don't know how this new leader of the local Seerers got Sherlock's phone number... possibly through the phone book, possibly through other means. (Let that be a lesson to you, young apprentice - keep your mundane ties away from your mystical ones if you can help it. And if you can't help it, then set up protections that they won't be used against you.) A new Sentinal and new Hearold were chosen with due haste. I personally approve of the selections - especially since I was the one who recommended them to the council. What I do not approve of is the old Hearold becoming the deputy Sentinal. We will see what Fate has in store with this development, and how many curses I will have to utter. Finally, there was another meeting that dealt with a new artifact. I am blunt in my beliefs - both mundane and supernal - and will say openly, I don't believe in fairies. Where our old sentinal got a particular trinket and how he got it is a mystery. He could not have gotten it from fairies... Truly he couldn't. And why did he leave the Silver Ladder? The new Hearald and Sentinal are investigating.