Charlemagne takes off his jacket and sunglasses, loosens his tie and moves to help Himiko with the student. With the comforting costume gone, the illusion finally shatters to present a man in his mid-thirties with light onset of pattern baldness. His eager smile shows a crooked incisor despite many repeat dentist visits, and his ears are clearly just a bit too large for his head.
When he speaks, even his measured monotone is gone, replaced with a light Southern drawl.
"Thanks, ma'am, I'll start on the paperwork rightaway. As for, as you put 'em, "tricks," well, don't you know, the ol' Witch-hunter doctrines set up by Abe Lincoln's regime still work just fine today. I try not to bring out the hat and armor too often, and the sword stays put with them, but they're a nice deterrent if someone decides to get downright feisty. Ol' Abe wrote it himself," Charlemagne's voice changes to his official one for the quote, "It is not proper for a man of the government to be threatened by the very forces he deigns to manage."
He grins again and winks at Himiko. "It means that the President himself decreed that folks like me can't be harmed by magic when pursuing our duty. And there's no greater power than that."
[I want to fit in somehow that the law and protocol that Charlemagne knows so well also have some supernatural element to them and only work when applied properly - but work very well when they do, but that fits far more to a later reveal based on the narrative structure we have going.]
After managing to prop up the still-sleeping Alec up in the wardrobifier, she returns to the group that has gathered around the small round table and takes her seat.
Hinako pulls out a bowl shaped like a sherlock pipe, meticulously packs it with a herbal substances, and takes a long drag.
"Let me tell you all a story."
"In the dark ages, prior to the inception of the modern day Technocracy, they were known as the Order of Reason. Their primary concern was always oriented towards the non-magic user, as one of their core philosophical ideologies was that the non-magickal people should not be marginalized simply because they did not have access to the same 'talents' that the Awakened population had access to. They were mages that believed that the rampant dynamism left unchecked would result in the collapse of consensual reality as we know it, and would ultimately result in the destruction of the human race whether Awakened or not."
"A grand symposium was called among the most prominent members of the old Order of Reason to decide how best to shepherd the Sleepers and to decide the party line between regulation and flat-out prohibition of 'magic, magick, voodoo, and the supernatural'. In a narrow 5-4 split among the Order of Reason's leaders, a decision was made that the currently the course of action to ensure the survival of creation was to unite the world under a single paradigm and remove opposition, so that ultimately the distinction between sleepers and non-sleepers (awakened Mages) would cease to exist. From this decision came the modern day Scientific paradigm and the establishment of a government that would continually evaluate the best course of action and decide whether a prohibition or regulation approach best suited the current time. Those who supported prohibition became known as the Technocratic Union, while the people who supported regulation became known as the new Order of Reason. Collectively, they would become known as the Technocracy. "
"The modern day Democratic Party and Republican Party are the public manifestations of the checks and balances system that was established in the dark ages by the former Order of Reason, as a way for the sleepers to unknowingly decide the government's stance and actions towards the supernatural. "
"In the modern day, both groups are at each other's throats. Each side accuses the other of foul play and unacceptable manipulation of the sleepers that threatens their free will. The Order of Reason suspects that the Technocratic Union has violated a number of conventions regarding voter fraud, and is challenging the recent Romney election in every way that it can, with vote recounts and independent Federal investigations. "
"The current political climate between the Order of Reason and the Technocratic Union is reflected in the fierce conflict between the radical right and left. The two groups represent diametrically-opposed ideologies over the fate of the supernatural in the United States and the rest of the world by extension."
Hinako turns to address Charlemange.
"The Order of Reason has also decided that the best course of action would be to strengthen their connection with the Tradition mages in opposing the Technocratic Union's machinations for control. This is why they sent you to me, to assist me in any way I see fit. To give you a history lesson and catch you up to speed, and ultimately to coordinate the actions of the Traditions and the technocratic mages supporting regulation over prohibition in a way that benefits all."