Exodus Corps

Originally a branch of the Church of the Saints, the Exodus Corps are far better known by the moniker of “The Brotherhood of Black Pages”, due to their tendency to burn and destroy any proof of magic they can find in order to keep the Sleeper World and The Art as separated as possible. Currently they are their own organization, with their own power, resources and politics.*

* They have evolved into an actual, huge Corporation in our day and age, with so much money flowing through it that they may as well be their own country.

* Their main source of income are patents from many inventions and intellectual properties.

I've always felt self conscious when reading out in public, it makes me feel like I am gloating in some strange, cosmic way. Like I am saying ‘Hey everyone, look at me! I’m such an intellectual!’ or something like that. But Mustafá insisted and insisted, never relenting until I actually opened the book as we got into a taxi.

So their actual name was ‘The Exodus Corps’, hmmm? I wonder why. An ‘Exodus’ is a massive movement of people, if I remember the dictionary correctly! What were they moving from? What were they moving towards? I really doubt they just picked a name because it sounded cool, people didn’t do that back in the day, at least not for important stuff!

I look at Mustafá for a moment, as she's distracted with the city passing beside us. There are so many questions to ask her, about the Brotherhood, about magic, about her as a person! How does she know this much? Does every mage know as much as she? The way she talks to other people makes me think this woman is some sort of big shot around here…

With a sigh, I look back down at the book.

They organize in “Covens”, one Coven being in charge of a different region of a city, or an entire City if it is small enough.

Their symbol is a Golden Apple pierced by a Silver Spear, so keep that in mind when you walk around the city. Always keep in mind the way people behave and try to identify Exodus Officers and such.*

* Most of the police are working for Exodus, so treat all cops as traitors, Mundane or not. Remember, cops are here to keep the status quo, not to protect you. Their priorities are the corporations paying their checks.

* Also keep in mind that only High Status Officers will actually carry the insignia with them. The uniformed ones keep black cloaks and attires.

A golden apple pierced by a silver spear… probably something to do with the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge? If I had to bet, at least. Maybe apples in general just have a special significance for mages or something. I remember Lucía having an insignia like that on her cloak, maybe she holds a higher rank than I thought.

Then again, she is in charge of taking care of the Overseer herself. Maybe you need to be a high level soldier for that, or something. Lucía must be quite strong!

… I don’t like her. Not at all. The way she smiled, the way she looked at me, I just didn’t like her one bit. I even shudder just from thinking about that night, too.

I have no idea what Pelafina and Lucía want, but I know that I don’t wanna give it to them.

To avoid trouble, as soon as you get this book in your hands and you become aware of them (and if they haven’t approached you yet to do this), you should go to wherever they issue driver IDs in your city, and ask for a “Business Form Number 82”. They’ll give you some papers to sign, and then take you to a sideroom to actually give you the “Arts are a secret” spiel.*

* This is still the procedure during our time! It can only be done in person. They will give you a credential, the name of the local Overseer and also directions to your local sanctioned Elysium!

* An Elysium is a place enchanted by the ELYSIUM Ritual. The bigger the city, the more Elysiums you can find. They are usually marked with a Helenian Phi.

There will be a little interview, where they will ask your opinion on several topics, they will look into your files and ask you what Rune you saw during your awakening. Answer as compliantly as you can during the opinion questions, try to make yourself as little of an issue as possible, and then be truthful about your Rune. Don’t worry too much about it.*

Alright, now we are getting to the actual answers. I assume I have to be a bootlicker in that interview, making myself a complete non-threat, smiley and embarrassed? I guess I can do that, I’ve been non-threatening to society all my life, so this wouldn’t be much of a change. Having to give up knowledge of my rune was not very nice though, I wanted to keep that as secret as I could!

“Well, they are asking for the Rune you saw during your Awakening, not the total Runes you know. So that’s an advantage.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I guess that’s a good point. If I make myself look like an absolute amateur, they won’t think I actually know more than one rune! That should keep me safe from everything and everyone, at least for a little while.

* The Brotherhood is trying to keep a catalog of all discovered Runes so far.

A catalog of runes, huh? I guess they are not stupid, they probably realize there’s more to the runes than their effects and they want to understand that. So I guess that, in a way, we are competing for the same objective huh? On one side we have a multimillionaire corporation, with probably centuries of wisdom and thousands if not millions of agents all around the world.

And on the other, we have… me.

I let out a little sigh. This doesn’t feel fair in the slightest.

* Do not mention this book or any of its contents in the interview. They will immediately take the book from you, and probably either offer you a dead end job with them or simply disappear you.

I gulp and immediately pass the book to Mustafá with a frown.

“If you knew they would try to take the book from me, why did you tell me to bring it here…!?” I have to lower my voice to not start yelling again. This woman, she simply pulls the screams out of me.

“I knew you’d finish reading it before we arrived at the DMV.” She shrugs.

“What if I didn’t though!?” My glare could probably melt ice at this point.

“Then I would take the book from you.” Her lack of concern is going to drive me insane.

The taxi finally stops by the Saüle DMV. I pay the driver, walking right behind Mustafá and stopping in front of the doors. There aren’t many people around yet, it's 8 in the morning and they are just opening after all! The old mage nods softly and crosses her arms.

“I will be waiting for you here.” She says. “So make it quick. We have lessons to start.”

Sigh. Yeah, I guess that’s for the best. It is going to be like this or, well, she would be entirely too involved in the process, there is no in between with her. With a nod, I walk into the building and pay a cursory glance to everything around me. The place is decorated with a few pieces of indigenous artisanry behind glass counters, there are many posters advertising government programs and rules, and a set of six desks all lined up and divided into two sides: One side for asking for papers, the other to receive them.

After taking a number from one of the dispensers, I take a seat on one of the many rows of chairs lined up in front of the desks as I wait to be called. It… felt a little silly, considering I was the one person waiting to be attended, but I guess these processes have to be respected.

“Number 8! Come in, number 8!” One of the ladies at the desks calls my number, staring at me as if every second that I take getting up from my chair costs her actual money.

So of course, I trip on my way to the desk. Because I can’t really spend more than ten seconds without embarrassing myself.

“S-Sorry! Sorry…” I mumble, sitting down by the desk and sighing. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, state your business please.” The woman on the other side of the desk asks mechanically. Clearly, she is underpaid for the amount of times she has to say it through the day.

“Y-yeah, uhm. I am here for a Business form number… uh… eighty two.” For a moment I panic, fearing I had forgotten the damn number.

The woman stares at me for a long time, probably thinking me mad. There’s no recognition in her eyes, just confusion, is she new!? At least she gives me the time of the day and starts checking on her computer for an answer… suddenly her eyes widen. Ah hah, now she knows.

“Yes, yes.” She says, as if she had known all along. “Please, come this way.”

We both get up and she guides me to a door on the corner of the room. Beyond that, there is a room whose walls, floor and ceiling have been painted a neat white. It is so perfectly pristine, I am actually a bit nervous about stepping in and ruining it all with the dirt on my shoes… but the woman looked at me all puffy and annoyed, rushing me in. I can’t simply wait outside.

With a sigh, I just walk in and hear how the door closes and locks behind me. There’s a pair of chairs in the middle of it all, separated with a desk with a computer, a camera and a digital fingerprint reader. Looking around, I just walk deeper in and take my seat, just waiting for minutes that feel like hours until finally, I see someone enter the room from the other side. There is another door, apparently! But I lose track of it as soon as it is closed.

The person coming in was a tall, manly man. Burly, strong, with a very thick beard and a bit of a mullet. Dark skinned like any other Wohlian, with warm hazelnut eyes and a bit of a winning smile. He is wearing a black suit, with a Brotherhood Insignia pin over his heart. I can’t help but gulp when seeing him… just because I don’t like beards on myself that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a well trimmed beard on someone else!

“Gay.”

Shut up!

“Good morning! Quite the early bird you are, huh?” The man chuckles softly, taking a seat on the other side of the desk. “I don’t really mind, honestly it is good to have something to do! Deskjobs get repetitive very easily.”

He is probably paid to make me feel at ease, but damn he is doing a good job.

“Heheh, sorry for interrupting so early… I just thought that it was best for me to solve this as fast as possible.” I mean, it isn’t a lie! I do want to get out of here as fast as I can!

“Well then, I’ll do all in my power to get you set and ready to start working in your local Elysium. You do know what an Elysium is, yes?” He blinks, tilting his head.

Okay, think Tav. If I say I know, I’d need to explain how I know. If I say I don’t, that would be like admitting I don’t have a teacher or any guidance, that that may get some eyes to watch me for even longer. Can I even mention Mustafá here? Being her apprentice may get even more unwanted attention on me, ugh…

… Wait. I think I got it.

“The lady who told me about this process told me about Elysiums as well… I actually have visited one, in Saüle University.” I rub the back of my neck a little bit, looking away from the man.

“Ah, so you were directed by someone? Mind telling me who?” The guy, of course, presses for information. But I am ready for that.

“An officer of the Exodus Corps.” I say, careful not to call them ‘the brotherhood’ to his face. “I think she was called Lucía, or something close to that.”

“Ah, yes, I know her. Well, not know know, but I have heard of her.” The man carefully pulls some papers from the desk, and immediately starts to take notes… Then he passes me a sheet to fill. “Please fill this out. After that, I will ask you a few questions.”

So far, so good. With a nod, I take my trusty pen and start filling out my personal information. Name, age, address, etc… I hesitate for a moment on Gender (M or F), but I decide to just push through and mark M for now. There are no better options for me anyways…

“There will be in the future.”

A part of me wants to believe that. The other reminds me that we don’t actually know that for sure, so I decide to just keep quiet and continue filling the sheet.