The Transcendant Order, or ciphers, are a bunch of downright puzzles. They don't really make any sense from the outside, because what motivates them is anyone's guess. They move and act as if the multiverse is flowing through them, and they are always trying to move closer and closer to the ideal of action without thought. This doesn't imply that they're a bunch of people that jump to conclusions: quite the opposite, actually. Most of them strive to increase their nearness to the multiverse through meditation and introspection. Some just try to act without thinking all the time, which doesn't really bring them any closer to multiversal introspection... but they can't help it. Nobody's perfect, after all. Only the greatest of Cipher masters can truly learn how to be at one with the multiverse: most of the lower rankers just bumble along, attempting to emulate the actions of their superiors. They try too hard to be spontaneous, not realising that true harmony with the Multiverse must be gained from introspection. They're called the "Ciphers" usually, probably because to an outsider, they just don't make sense to someone outside the faction. A well-known saying is, "A Cipher is a riddle. What they're going to do next is anyone's guess." By a general rule, if a Cipher is making a sort of sense for any length of time, then they're probably not a Cipher.
How does a Cipher superior act? Their motions flow, as if they are made of water. They act immediately to outward stimuli, perfectly and unhesitatingly springing forward, backward, walking with an intent purpose in mind... or out of mind, as things are with them. Each action is guided by theCadence of the Planes, the mystical force that the Ciphers claim flows through us all, guiding out actions, showing us the way to live our lives and act without the cumbersome influence of thought.
Ciphers don't usually speak, and if they do so, they don't recited long-winded sentences and epic poems. They get straight to the point, saying only what is needed and then going off. However strange it may seem, the Ciphers actually do have some sort of concordance with the multiverse. It's as if they know what's going to happen before it does and they can act just in time. Throughout Sigil they are the mediators between the factions, and they've prevented war from breaking out in the city more than once. During the Faction War, their factol Rhys left the city just before the other factols got mazed or killed. When she returned, she and her followers were one of the most healing elements in the brave new Cage.
Their headquarters in Sigil is the Great Gymnasium in the Guildhall Ward.
Sources
The Factol's Manifesto
Planewalker Handbook
Faction War
Additional Resources
Cipher NPC's
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