"How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress."
Niels Bohr

It's amazing the things that you hold onto when you're fighting to keep your memories. Just ask John Doe, Bani Xaos.


The first memory is pain. Extreme pain. And a thousand thousand screams of pain, anguish, torment, love, lust, hate, confusion, curiousity, laughter, all the emotions possible. Each of them tearing into his skin, flaying his skin and soul bare, causing him to feel both that pain, and the emotion that was causing it, at the same time. It was Chaos. It was Hell. (Later, he learned from his Mentor, it was the Avatar storm, and he was one of the first victims. And he bears the scars to this day. Every inch of his body was touched, torn, scourged. It was like being skinned alive, inch by inch.)

But it had an interesting effect on him. Instead of driving him insane, it drove him past Insanity, into the clarity that lies on the other side. But only for an instant. He saw the place where Chaos becomes the Order. And in that instant, part of his mind opened up to the path to power: Turning Chaos into Order. When his mind retreated back into his body, the clarity of that moment was lost, but he found that the part of the mind that had been opened dealt with his senses, and everything was more powerful, more stimulating, and everything threatened to plunge him into Chaos. And even now... even now, it does.

The second memory is from before the pain. There was someone before the pain, a woman. Mother, lover, aunt, sister, grandmother, he doesn't remember. But she was there. There are conflicting emotions for this woman, both love and hate, devotion and revulsion. He can't put a fact to the woman, her face is lost in the chaos of his memory. She was beautiful, astoundingly beautiful, and chaotic. He loved her, and feared her, for he could never tell when she would love him, and when she would hate him.

Then there was his Mentor. She found him when he was laid bare, newborn in this world again. She found him in the Shallowing, his own skin around him like some hideous afterbirth, in a lake of his own blood. She nursed him back to health, strengthening his broken body, spirit and mind. She put the pieces into enough order that he could regain part of what he lost, and in turn, she initiated him into the newest Hermetic House, House Xaos. Nominally part of Ex Misc. A joke, among the other Hermetics, but a power nonetheless. The Sane always steps lightly when Chaos is near.

Was he a member before? He doesn't remember. He doesn't remember much of the time before the pain, at least, he's not sure if he does or not. He knows he wasn't part of Xaos before, that much is certain. There are very few of them, and all are known to each other. He is none of them. He may have been a Hermetic before, he came in with an intuitive knowledge of Hermetic systems, and a basic knowledge of Enochian. Those are rarely taught outside the Order. But who he was, where he was from, none of these are known.

There have been many women in his life. Or at least, all the life he can remember has been puncutated by powerful chaotic women. Or maybe it's all his *lives* that have had it. Maybe some are remnants of the Avatars in the Storm, the Avatars that tried to scourge his soul into nothingness. Maybe something else was the reason he grabbed onto those memories, more harshly than the other ones, even the memory of his own name.



Appearence: Doahe is a tall man, but not exceedingly tall. An inch over six feet, with greying black hair, and a greying black beard. At one time, Jon may have been quite a handsome figure, and there are glimpses of the dashing figure he used to be. Shadows that pass over his face, in the right light. But now, he is gaunt, and has a dangerous gleam in his eye. And while he is not hidieously scarred, he does not have the most pleasent appearence either. His most noticable feature are his eyes... terrible and bright.


http://www.knightsofthesport.org/jack/breakfast.html

Paradigm

In the Beginning, there was Nothing. The Nothing was Everything, and Everything was the One. When there is nothing to show any differences, then Everything and Nothing are exactly the same.

Then came The Thought. And with the Thought, Chaos was unleashed into the Nothing, and from Nothing, came Everything. When did this happen? No one can know. It happened, that is as much as we can comprehend of the event. It was a time Before. It was a time before Bodies, before Spirits, before Souls, before the Mountains, the Planets, before the Rules and Laws we routinely break. It was a time before the Consensus. It was the time of Creation, where All was Possible, and All existed.

It is a time that is incomprehensible to Mankind. And to all who came After. Our very existance is locked into the rules that were set down during Creation, even if we, the Awakened, have a second set of rules to allow us to change the general ones. We're tied to physical bodies, we're tied to the urges and impulses of our minds, we're locked into a continulally forward-moving life, tied into sets of rules! How can we comprehend true Chaos? How can we comprehend what it would be like to exist outside of time, outside of a physical body, outside of a location? How can we comprehend the ability to do this without trying, because there were no Laws saying it was wrong, that it was impossible?

No, we cannot comprehend the time Before, the time of Creation. We can only accept it. We cannot go back and see it, for what separates Before from After? Time. In Before, Time had not gained the control it has now. We are from After, beings limited by Time. We cannot go back to Before, to when Time was not ascendant, for we are limited by Time. We require Time in the same way that we require Air; without it, we die.

Quiet, young one. There is a time for impertinance, a time for sarcasm, and a time for scorn. This is not that time. But yes, I will answer your challenge, that we are able to bend reality to the point where we should be able to see Before. Three blind men sat in a field one day, when something came in between them. The first man reached out a hand, and found something long, many pointed, and hard. "Ah-HA!" he exclaimed. "It is a Warrior! With many weapons, well honed, well kept, and strong! I cannot move them, he resists without effort!"

The second blind man felt something soft, and comforting. "You fool!" he exclaimed to the first blind man. "It is not a warrior at all! It is a female, a mother. Feel the smoothness, feel the softness, and the gentleness. It is for raising young, to nurture and comfort them."

Then the third blind man reached out and felt nothing at all. "Delusional fools." he exclaimed to the other two. "There is nothing there at all. It is all in your minds."

Very good, very good. Sarcasm is appropriate now, for you think you recognize the story, and how I have told it incorrectly, yes? You expected three blind men and an elephant, and instead, heard three blind men and something different. Can you tell me what it was?

Keep guessing.



To control Chaos, one must understand Chaos. To understand Chaos, one must become Chaos. That is what Xaos do - they become Chaos, to understand Chaos, and control Chaos. That is what Jon Doahe does - he becomes Chaos. He steps out of himself and then becomes Chaos. When he does this, he can impose his Will upon the Chaos, directing it in ways he see's fit to. He becomes Chaos, in order to control Chaos.

A Note: Jon requires 2 extra successes for every effect he uses, due to his Paradigm. Every effect must have a 2 success Mind 1 effect, Multitask, for him to keep part of his mind in the Ice, and part of it into the Fire of Chaos.

Chaos Spheres: These are the three sphere's that are Chaotic in nature. They have no set forms, are always fluid, and are never truly stable. These are the Heart of Chaos. They are in Triumverate, of course; The Idea, the Metaphysical, the Physical.

Entropy, "The Idea of Chaos" (Ars Fati): Entropy is Chaos Incarnate. It is soul of Chaos. It is Pure Chaos. It is the force used to direct and control Chaos in general, responsible for the random and the ordered in and between everything.
Foci: Discord. By saying something, writing something, or simply doing something that goes against the set pattern (Screaming out of key, saying "Fuck you." instead of "Hello.", writing arcane patterns on the ground then smearing them, so they're in chaos), Jon can cause chaos in a set target. Sometimes it's as easy as screaming at someone, out of the blue, causing them to be nervous. That will affect everything they do, and nothing will go right afterwards. Sometimes it's Vulgar, sometimes it's coincidental. He can also say something that's just a bit off: Victim: "Isn't it a beautiful day?" Jon: "No. There's no such thing as a beautiful day." This doesn't work as well, as it doesn't cause immediate chaos, but it is more subtle, and normally is coincidental. To use this method, though, he'd have to be longer in his casting. Two, three, more commments, or an entire conversation.
Prime, "The Substance of Chaos" (Ars Vis): Prime is the metaphysical substance, the only common thread in the Chaos. In a way, it's also the Fuel; by using it, by itself, it is possible to cause Chaos in other systems. In essence, Prime is the basis for Chaos; without Prime, with the Quintessential Energy that makes up Everything, then the force of Chaos would not exist. It would have nothing to influence, for there would not be anything.
Foci: Infinity Symbol. By tapping into the Eternal and Infinite nature of Prime, Jon can see the patterns of the Chaos, and can make minor alterations, mostly to his own internal chaos.
Forces, "Physical Chaos" (Ars Essentiae): Fire is the physical representation of Chaos. It is the force which instigates change, which causes one thing to become another. It is a powerful tool, one which is very easy to lose control of.
Foci: Fire, drawing on the pure chaotic energy of Fire, in all it's various existances. When released into the Pattern Spheres, into the Material world, Fire causes change and destruction to all material things. By focusing on the flame, Jon can see the Fire within.

Geometric Spheres: The Anti-Chaos. The Static, physical forms that Chaos coaleses into. These are the forces that bind the Chaos into forms. Each of these need to be understood, in order to be able to inject Chaos into it, or to release the Chaos inherent in them, and to direct the Chaos inherent in them. And again, a triumvarate: The Living, the Non-Living, and the Spiritual.

Life, "The Static form of Organic Chaos" (Ars Animae): This is the force in Organic patterns that binds the Chaos in them together. Jon understands how this could be manipulated and controlled, though he has yet to figure out how. Though it might have something to do with Yoga, and the "Chi" in the body. No word on that line of reasoning, though.
Foci: NONE
Matter, "The Static form of Physical Chaos" (Ars Materiae): This is the force in Inorganic patterns that binds the Chaos in them together. Jon understands how this could be manipulated and controlled, though he has yet to figure out how.
Foci: NONE
Spirit, "The Static Form of Spiritual Chaos" (Ars Manes): This is the force in Spiritual patterns that binds the Chaos in them together. Just as Organic and Inorganic have static physical forms, so does the Spiritual, the Spiritual. Spirit is the power over the Static form of Spiritual Chaos. It is the force that keeps the Chaos in a Spiritual form. And while it may seem like a paradox - spirits are inherently non-physical, how can they have forms akin to Life and Matter patterns? - it is true. Spirits have their own forms, which follow their own laws, and the power governing these forms is the Spirit Sphere.
Foci: Enochian. By speaking the words, and drawing the arcane symbols that represent the barrier between the worlds, then obscuring them, Jon can break down the barriers between this world and the other world. It lets him see, and communicate, with the Umbroods. He doesn't do this often, and never without a great need, as the memories of Pain, and the Storm, are always close when he does this. Why he learned this in the first place is a mystery; he learned it before being flayed and scourged by the Storm. And it's likely this is what lead to the flaying, scourging, and the "Enlightenment" that it brought.

Separation Spheres: These are the spheres that are responsible for keeping a separation within the Chaos. These are responsible for the differences in distance, in time, and in thought. Three forces without form or substance, but powerful forces nonetheless. Possibly more powerful because of the lack of physical forms.

Mind, "Separating the Thoughts" (Ars Mentis): The Thought is the First of the Separation Spheres. It was the first to separate, the first to be affected by Chaos. "I think, therefor, I am." Mind is the basis for understanding and controlling Chaos; without Mind, there can be no control.
-Mind is his Anchor, the Rock he chains himeslf to, to keep himself sane while he is causing Chaos, so it does not reflect back into his own Mind, and cause him to be lost to Chaos. Mind is the rock, the Anti-Chaos, that keeps him grounded while he becomes Chaos, and releases Chaos into the world.
Foci:A tattoo of the rune Isa on his chest and back. It's a very simple one, simply a single, straight line, going up and down both the centre of his spinal column and the centre of his chest. Isa represents the opposite of Chaos, it's Stasis. It's name means Ice. By concentrating on that, Jon is able to keep his true self centred and focused, frozen within him. It is also a symbol of his Avatar, a block of Ice with Fire burning within. Chaos entrapped.
Time, "Separating the Moments" (Ars Temporis): The Second of the Spheres of Separation, Time is what separates the Events of Chaos, so that not all Chaos occurs at the same instance. It is what keeps each Event separate, allowing Chaos to expand and grow, to coalese and solidify into the Physical forms. It allows the Thoughts to be separated.
-Jon hasn't bothered to learn much of this one yet. He doesn't understand how it is affected, or affects, Chaos. It most obviously does, but he doesn't know how. Everything exists in some sort of time frame, it seems. Being able to change that, or to step outside of time, is more chaotic than he can comprehend right now, or control.
Foci: NONE
Correspondance, "Separating the Physical (Ars Conjunctionis): Everything exists apart from others, even within itself, there are separations. The hair is separate from the skin, which is separate from the muscles, which is separate from the blood, which is separate from the nucleous, which is separate from... etc. Each page of a book is separate from each other, each letter is separate from each other letter within the same word, and so on.
Jon hasn't bothered to learn much of this one yet. He doesn't understand how it is affected, or affects, Chaos. It most obviously does, but he doesn't know how. Again, he doesn't know how to incorporated it into his Pardigm at this time, hence his lack of knowledge in the sphere.
Foci: NONE