Elevator Operator : The Ascension

[etherial]

In recent work on creating a Mage character, it has occurred to me that I have no idea what has really happened in White Wolf's Arcplot in terms of Mages. I believe I read the relevant sections of Mage Third without learning anything that made sense.

Does someone here know a book which explains what a starting Mage would understand of the past few years of Plot?