The Faceless
Some mages, including more than a few Guardians, have commented that there’s something cold about the members of the faction that calls itself “the Faceless.” It might be the fact that, to quote Gertrude Stein, “there’s no there there. ”The Faceless so regularly use the Masques, in concert with other techniques of persona manipulation, to assume roles and imitate others that faction members often lose track of their original selves. Many of these mages seem to wind up as mishmashes of echoes of the roles they have assumed during the course of their Awakened careers. While that might be a frightening concept to some, the Faceless see this loss of ego as just one more sacrifice they make during the course of their duties to the Diamond Wheel.
Most Faceless seem strangely serene about their loss. As far as they’re concerned, the notion that any portion of an individual’s psyche is truly stable or inviolate is little more than a comforting myth, and that myth is easily debunked in the space of a single week with only a handful of simple reprogramming techniques — and that’s without magic. Identity is a lie, and it’s one the Faceless tell with infinite variations.
The term for the members of this faction derives equally from the fact that their frequent use of the Masques leaves others wondering about their true faces (or if they’ve ever seen them) and the fact that, like all Guardians of the Veil, their duties in service to other mages and the Diamond Wheel cause them to suffer shame, or the loss of face. They are the Dalits — the Untouchables — of Awakened society, so low that they can slither under every wall in pursuit of their quarries. Other mages sometimes refer to the Faceless as “the defaced” or “the debased.”
It’s not surprising that some mages, even among the Guardians, fi nd the Faceless disturbing. These cunning and inscrutable mages are the ones who earned the order its reputation for assassination. Interacting with one of the Faceless is like talking with someone with multiple personalities who keeps getting distracted by something you can’t see — at least until she has cause to stay in character. When one of the Faceless is playing a role for real stakes, her self-control is absolute.
Note that membership in this faction is especially popular with mages following the Subtle Ones Legacy; the Legacy’s innate stealth abilities perfectly complement the other deception skills mastered by the Faceless. Mages on the Paths of Ecstasy and Scourging are also well represented among the Faceless’ numbers.
The Faceless show almost as much zeal as members of the Messianic faction; the Faceless just don’t find it necessary to frame everything in spiritual terms. Nonetheless, they have made it their special mission to combat the Abyss, whose primary incursions result when arrogant mages allow Paradoxes to overwhelm them; the Faceless do this by “correcting” mages who incur too many Paradoxes or who make frequent and blatant use of vulgar magic. Initial requests lead to stern warnings, which lead to sanctions. Those mages spoken with might get angry, but most know better than to argue with the hounds of the Guardians. While some mages survive these “sanctions,” the majority do not — and almost none of them ever see these “sanctions” coming.
Members of the Faceless hold mages personally accountable for their hubris. The Faceless do not accept excuses like “everyone does it,” “no harm done” or “it’s no big deal.” They are steadfast in their belief that the Fallen World is imperiled by the actions of vain and careless mages, and the Faceless harbor a deep resentment against each and every mage who’s too stupid, irresponsible and vain to adjust her magical practice to reflect the dire reality of the situation.
There is one group of offenders that the Faceless take particular delight in stalking, and those are the perfidious mages of the Seers of the Throne and the tainted of the Scelesti. If the Faceless had sufficient numbers, they would target these mages, all of them, for extinction.
As it is, Seers and the Scelesti take great pains to avoid the notice of the Guardians of the Veil for fear of the quiet wrath of the Faceless. Though the war mages of the Adamantine Arrow might be fearsome, it is always the enemy you don’t see coming that is the most terrifying.
When, after weeks or months of stalking, one of the Faceless kills an enemy, the Faceless revels in the experience and lets the exultation of a well-executed murder wash over her in ecstatic waves. If there’s anything that remains consistent about these mages, it is this joy at the moment of triumph. There’s no point in denying the dark and heady glee that comes from depriving the target of life. The damage to the Faceless’ karma is already done by that point, and she inflicted it knowingly, willingly and in the service
to a higher goal — and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Even so, other mages who have seen the Faceless at this moment have described the experience, typically in a low whisper, as disturbing.
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