Magi of the Gilded Thorn

The Magi of the Gilded Thorn is an order that seeks to draw power from the Hedge

Background
"I vow to pursue the mysteries of the Thorns until I have mastered every changeling’s first and greatest fear, and taken its power for myself."

The Thorns are one of the greatest fears of the Lost; true to the tenets of the Autumn Court, these Magi seek to understand and take the essence of that fear into themselves, becoming more powerful in having done so. The Magi then spread stories of the horrors within the Hedge to further cultivate the fear of the place, both keeping other changelings safe and making the Hedge a bit more exclusive to the order. Not all appreciate this entitlement; the Scarecrow Ministry in particular disapproves of the Gilded Thorn’s work, clashing with them when the two groups are forced to coexist.

Organization
The order is rather loose-knit, with a teacher taking, in many cases, only one student in his lifetime. This teacher will pass on much of his knowledge before leaving the neophyte to figure out the rest. Solitary by nature, if two Magi happen across one another in the Hedge, they will likely swap stories and secrets before going their own ways. In rare cases that they gather in larger numbers, these changelings form a loose fellowship of foresters, each staking out his own territory; inevitably, though, the Magi will begin to chafe at the competition and strike out on their own.

Joining and Membership
Prerequisites: Mantle (Autumn) 2, Wyrd 2, Occult 2, Survival 3 Title: Magus (either gender; though some very traditional fae use “Maga” to denote a female member of the Gilded Thorn)

Those who enter this order are often curious folk, driven by a certain need to explore and analyze the fear of the Hedge and, in so doing, dispel the hold that it has over their spirits. They must also have the basic survival skills to manage long periods in the bewildering variety of environments that can appear in the Thorns. As such, Beasts and Elementals are the most common members of the Magi.

Mien
The mien of a Magus often changes in manners that evoke the Briars (e.g. birthmarks or scars in the shape of thorny vines; small, painless thorn-piercing wounds). As Wyrd grows, vines may slither along the body, while bloody thorns poke out of the skin.

Privileges

 * Wisdom of the Thorns: Unlike other changelings, Magi do not face the usual -1 penalty to degeneration checks while within the Hedge. Additionally, the interval between a loss of Glamour to the Thorns is a number of hours equal to their Wyrd.