The arts and crafts are just the way Honorables are trained to use their talents, because they need to be skilled in the art of creation. They start off by creating objects and concepts, and eventually become skilled enough to craft life and souls. Most of what the Honorables do is meaningless. The only purpose to it is to discover the most talented among them, to be further trained in creating new reality.
1) Only the Twelve and the chosen Honorables (called Scholars) work with souls or the mirrors. Many Honorables don't know anything about what the Twelve actually do with their time.
2) They use the Mirror to examine and take apart souls, yes. It's also what they use to judge any attempts to creating Perfection.
3) They don't know. They think that if they could shift the interests of the public enough to gain their alliance, that the entirety of Eden could reject her. Especially if they could assure the cooperation of all of the Twelve, as unlikely as that seems.
no subject
1) Only the Twelve and the chosen Honorables (called Scholars) work with souls or the mirrors. Many Honorables don't know anything about what the Twelve actually do with their time.
2) They use the Mirror to examine and take apart souls, yes. It's also what they use to judge any attempts to creating Perfection.
3) They don't know. They think that if they could shift the interests of the public enough to gain their alliance, that the entirety of Eden could reject her. Especially if they could assure the cooperation of all of the Twelve, as unlikely as that seems.