Concord of Serpents

The Concord of Serpents -sometimes also referred to as Adversaries- is a Legacy among the mages of the Mastigos path that deals primary with strengthening a person by opposing them. They reward struggle in the face of tribulation, chiseling a better, more resolute self out of stark refusal to bow before the slings and arrows of the Fallen World. They deal heavily with Mind.

Mindset
The purpose of Pandemonium is to serve as a crucible, enabling the Warlock to cleanse herself of frailty through the endless ordeal of her brutal and unforgiving Path. By definition, this process requires opposition. In the absence of a tormentor, the willworker can fall victim to complacency and so fail to perfect herself through the ordeal of sublime agonies. It is not enough, however, merely to suffer through one's own demons; one must also share these hardships with others, lest they be denied the opportunities for self-mastery that only a Mastigos truly understands. This difficulty, however, is the very pillar upon which the Concord of Serpents stands, for the challenge is not to be upright for the sake of uprightness; but, rather, to empower and exalt the self, as is the way of the Iron Gauntlet. Making manifest within the Fallen World the castigating way of Pandemonium, the self-proclaimed "Adversaries" encourage others to perfect their nobler selves through the acceptance of tribulation. Like devils of old, they afflict those around them with the chance to be better, stronger people; to the Adversaries' thinking, the highest form of philanthropy. It is a simple thing to be good and to do right when no incentive exists to take the easy, wicked, or otherwise morally expedient road. More difficult, by far, is the path of righteousness opposed. The Serpent whispers temptations and strikes at the heels of those who would reach toward grace. The worthy deny these seductive promises and steel themselves against the searing kiss of the Serpent's venom, while the unworthy are destroyed, whether literally or metaphorically. Some Adversaries cleave to the way of the contrary, demonstrating the value of goodness through a caricature of sin, while others are more akin to merciless drill sergeants of morality and ethics. All, however, understand that virtue is not an end, but instead merely a means to an end. For, in the Fallen World, the downhill path is one of cruelty, pettiness, greed, and satiation; it is easily walked and erodes the inner potential of the one who treads it. To deny the animal self -- the basest longings of the human spirit -- is to swim against the current of spiritual indolence, and that is an accomplishment grand and glorious unto itself.