might of steam itself. Where the industrial meets artistry and the deep hermetic spirit of inquiry, there we may perceive the flash of the spark that is purely genius. Within the Imperium, this genius is constantly at work, embodying all the possibilities of creation.
In your world, there are many myths about the creation of beings and the devising of engines, from Prometheus, who brought fire from heaven, stolen from the gods, to the story of Pygmalion, who created a woman from a statue, or Daedalus, who made wings of flight for himself and his son, Icarus, and used quicksilver (surely a precursor of anbaric energy) to give a voice to his statues; he also made the mighty fighting man Talos out of metal. In all of these we see the desire to embody what only the Gods are seen to know.
This theme of the theft of wisdom is one that has continually followed the human race in its search for the secrets of technology within our Imperium. The spirit of wisdom has whispered into the ears of inventors, artists, scientists, and explorers of the natural world, secrets that have revealed—like the fog of breath on a winter’s day—the lines, intersections, and patterning of life. When these connections were made, the sum of human knowledge started to become god-like in stature.
Within the Imperium, that discovery is still ongoing, but has lost none of the deep secrets of the artificer’s knowledge, nor the humility of craft, nor the personal hazard after exploration, nor, indeed, the bright excellence that enterprise for the commonwealth always brings. Respect for initiative and honor for those who dedicate themselves to the discovery of life’s secrets is celebrated within our world, for herein the Gods of the Machine engage humanity’s drive in the oldest search of all—for self-knowledge.
The Path of Discovery
Here, then, in this latest creation of our brightest holders of wisdom, is set forth the great mystery of making, and the exploration of the highest values and ideals of the human race. Within, you shall find the ways opening before you, as you follow the course of The Adventury, under the guidance of the Gods of the Machine themselves (so elegantly pictured by the artificer 124C) and with the aid of the Four Leagues and their honored Legates.
The shape of the Imperium is outlined in Part One, followed by The Adventury in Part Two, wherein the pathways of your exploratory adventures are set forth. In Part Three, blueprints and templates are provided for your journey, and in Part Four you will find orientation for life-navigation and advice on how to read the cards. Publications and websites that will extend your knowledge further are given at the back of the book.
The world around us is reflected in small, the microcosmic echoing the macrocosmic, as has been the case since time began. When you opened the box in which these shining images are kept—barely restrained from leaping forth of their own volition—you may have caught the aroma of engine oil, or the flicker of amber light from the anbaric protomix. These are the essential elements of the Imperium, and, to all those brave explorers who venture upon the path of discovery, we offer these words from the Divine Sator written in the years of awe 247–299*:
Those who seek are blessed by the Gods of the Machine, and by the Divine Artificers; those who turn away their eyes and close their ears, learn nothing and remain without movement. They are like broken escapements in the divine world of the Horologer. But to those who find the jewels of light that lie within the great work, they shall be blessed and progress to the very heights of the Imperium.
THE WARDS OF INFINITE WISDOM
The following Manifesto (see overleaf ), also known as the “Compact of the Leagues,” was issued by the Guild of Artificers, drawn from all four of the Leagues of the Imperium. All aeronauts, engineers, aquanauts, and navigators in this world, together with the artists and scientists, philosophers and diviners, hold this as their central tenet. The Steampunk Tarot has been formulated to follow the philosophy of the machine outlined here. We invite you to take it to heart.
* Anbaric Wisdom Era is the year count of the Imperium, the equivalent—we are informed—of 62 CE elsewhere.
• MANIFESTO •
of
The Guild of Artificers
The perfection of knowledge collected from the book of nature has ever been at the heart of all professors of the arts and sciences. The pursuit of whatever gives a clearer light and demystifies the truth is the lantern by which each lady and gentleman has made their way upon the path to wisdom. Whatever gives promise of a greater or purer light has drawn inventors, engineers, and practitioners of the many arts and sciences to expend their skills and energies to perfect a better beacon by which all beings may walk without stumbling.
In this age of enterprise, we draw our inspiration from the treasury of the aeons to both rediscover and to spring forward into ages yet undreamed. For, though much has been discovered, there is yet more to be rediscovered. Many of our number courageously pursued the light of truth in ages when the microcosm was but dimly lit by occasional sparks from the great machine. Those of our guild bravely labored amid barbaric ruins to achieve what the world now enjoys.
Lovers of wisdom and followers after the truth together hold the axiom that knowledge is for the benefit of all. To that end is our whole labor and care.
The light of the soul shines in all, but when many souls combine, that light shines even brighter. With knowledge and wisdom before us, we expect the rising of a greater illumination, as individuals and nations join together to increase the number and respect of our guild, and to partake with us in the treasures of this universe so that all may benefit.
The philosophy of our guild is no new invention, but has been received by every generation since time was first counted. Many ladies and gentlemen of high renown have wisely imparted these teachings through the aperture of their intelligent understanding, and are in agreement with each other through time and space. In every part of the universe, the truth of knowledge is peaceable and incontrovertibly itself. When this concord is experienced, it makes the whole universe one.
But when knowledge is abused or put to the servility of coining wealth for a few, without respect of the treasury which all inherit, then humanity departs from the machine and all is toil without profit. For the false-hearted who would tear knowledge apart, diminishing the light and shielding its beams from us, would make mechanicals of us all.
Those who serve knowledge will ever find each other, whatever the differences of time, place, or language. With hearts and minds as one, they set their hands upon the mainspring of life, making it all their service. This guild shall thus endure through countless ages, as it has ever done, remaining untouched and hidden from the destroyers of knowledge.
♦ PART ONE ♦
EXPLORING THE IMPERIUM
The Shape of the Tarot
“Would that it were possible for you to get wings, and soar into the air, and, poised midway between earth and heaven, behold the earth’s solidity, the sea’s fluidity, its flowing streams, the spaciousness of air, fire’s swiftness, and the coursing of the stars, the swiftness of heaven’s circuit round them all! Most blessed sight were it, my son, to see all these beneath one sway – the motionless in motion, and the unmanifest made manifest; whereby is made this order of the cosmos and the cosmos which we see of
