I originally simply intended this article to be a call for the abandonment of Do as a skill in the Mage: The Ascension game, but as I actually began to sit down to write it, I discovered that it really was a deeper consideration of the game. In Mage, much of the excitement of the game comes from the exploration of what magic really is. The basic premise of the game is that a mage performs magic by altering reality to fit his paradigm, or system of thinking about the way the world works. As archetypal examples, we are given the Celestial Chorus, the Akashic Brotherhood, the Virtual Adepts, the Hermetic Order, the Technocracy, etc. Celestial Chorusers perform their magic by way of miracles, often supported by the religious beliefs of their followers. The Virtual Adepts work their manipulation of reality in the virtual reality they have created and download their magic into the real world via such powerful wonders as the Internet. The Akashic Brotherhood practices the advancement of their martial arts as a lifestyle to achieve mastery of the hidden arts. 

The original edition of the Mage game left the art of "Do" defined as the original martial art, sort of a blend of fighting arts and meditation. It was the art Do that the mage was practicing when he performed magic and the fighting arts and meditation practiced simultaneously were the focus for this magic. The Second Edition of Mage: The Ascension by White Wolf Game Studio updated the original game in many well considered and positive ways. One major change that came to the game was the permanent insertion of the skill "Do" first introduced in the Book of Shadows: Mage Players Guide. Do is the original martial art. It is a skill which allows the Akashic Brother to perform fantastic feats of unarmed combat and bodily control through training. It is the art from which all other martial arts arise, and they are but pale reflections of it. In the first edition, all martial arts are sort of like a piece of the puzzle, each containing elements of the original. In the second, these martial arts have become a lie, polluted water turning the mind from the true path. 

It may seem that there is little difference in these two approaches to the Akashic Brotherhood, but that couldn't be further from the truth. In their original form, the special training that made an Akashic Brother different from a more mundane martial artist was their magick. Most assuredly this magick appeared as advanced physical and mental control of oneself, but it allowed abilities deemed impossible by accepted reality. In the second edition, these impossibilities became the skill Do, and the Akashic Brother's magic became something entirely extra and different and outside of his skill. In the first system, the magic is the art, and in the second, the magic is an addition to the art.

The introduction of Do in its second edition format is the equivalent of the introduction of a skill called Omnitech for the Technocrat mage. Imagine a skill that allows a technocratic mage to create superhightech items, and combines all of the abilities of the science skill, the computer skill, the firearms skill, and the technology skill. In the first edition, the wielding of such a power would be the outward appearance of the Technocrat's abilities in Magick. However, in the spirit of Do as portrayed in the second edition, the Technocracy should have this singularly powerful talent, and their magick should be further firepower. Similarly, the Celestial Chorus might possess a talent called Miracles, which obviously endows them with the ability to perform various incredible feats. Again, their magick would have to be something even more miraculous, more stupendous. It is the nature of the Celestial Chorus magick to appear as miracles, or even mere lucky coincidences of the One looking out for his children. The Technocracy wields magick that appears as technological marvels. But make no mistake, they are performing magick. Why must the Akashic Brotherhood be different? 

Please do not misunderstand my meaning. There is certainly something called Do, and it is certainly practiced by the Brotherhood. I merely feel that it is their magical paradigm. Another way to consider this problem is to look at the ability of the mage to teach the skill. It is stated that the Do skill can be learned by others besides the Akashic Brothers, if they can find a teacher. Can one indeed learn Do and not become awakened? Similarly, can a Virtual Adept teach a mortal how to download their body into a computer lab two thousand miles away without teaching him magick? Could I learn from a Dreamspeaker the trick of walking into the spirit world without picking up the beginnings of spirit magicks? The answers could certainly be yes, but usually such limited knowledge is saved for the hedge mage in the setting of Mage. The hedge practitioner learns but a couple of tricks, and can perform them incredibly well, but learns no more. Perhaps unrealistically, but still for important reasons, the awakened Mage cannot grasp the power of the static mage. He has embraced the path of dynamism and cannot turn back. Do is presented as a static form in the second edition of rhe game, suitable for study by hedge mages trying to follow the Akashic tradition. I hope I have inspired you to at least consider the ramifications of this, to consider the return to the idealistic Do, the Do of dynamism, the Do that is the Way of Magick.