I am a newbie returnee as well, but I came back around February. As someone in a similar situation, allow me to impart some of what I have learned.

Re: Empowerment.
The help pages still say that empowerment classes are not recommended for newbs, and while that is still true, the reasoning has changed a little. Before, you could only commune your supplications after receiving empowerment of that level. Meaning that if you were empowered to level 30 only you could not commune anything that you learn after 30. That is different, as Kstatida explained. Now you can commune all of your supplications, but until you are empowered they are communed at a level below.

The other reason that I think empowerment classes are still discouraged for new players is the roleplay aspect. The raw newb is not only new to the game system, but also to roleplaying. If you are drawn to this game by RP, like I am, then you will probably do alright seeking empowerment. My first empowerment character was a shaman, and for me the empowerment was the easy part. I just finished playing a paladin, and that has been my favorite character to date. In fact, if roleplay comes naturally to you, I would recommend a paladin, as they are very well equipped to survive and explore with independence. That said, there are RP expectations as a pally, so a weaker role player might have a more difficult time maintaining those expectations.

Re: Areas.

My area knowledge isn't great, but it's coming along. I would say that knowing how to get between all of the cities is helpful, and will give you a good idea of where to go to get picked up for a group. Check out Isildur's Ranking Guide on the Help page, that will give you some places that are generally good to know, whether you are ranking or hunting. A couple of the areas on there have been since replaced but most are still around (Chessmasters tower is now Enpolad's Game Garden, etc.). For me, the world map on the QHCF wiki has been invaluable.

Re: Cabals.

Kstatida went over this fairly well, also. Fortress is pretty good for newbies, but there are some RP expectations there as well -as with any cabal. RPwise you will be more likely to encounter a helping hand with good guys, and you also have clear knowledge of who many of your enemies will be. That said, people will still help you out in the evil cabals, but you can be sure that no one in Fort will try to kill a cabal-mate and be able to get away with it. Still, true neutral characters will have the fewest enemies, depending on your race/class. Any time you join a cabal, outside of Herald, you are drawing a line in the sand and there will always be people on the other side of that line. Herald isn't a PK involved cabal, however, so you won't end up joining the cabal wars in general (There have been times in the past when this has been different, but it's a safe general rule).

Cabals are a good way to get into the game, though, and outside of Scarab and Outlander most are receptive to new players. Personally if I had it to do all over again I would consider Tribunal, but that really depends on the character concepts that you have in mind. Trib gives you a solid source of free income as well as guarantees that if you get attacked in a city where you have jurisdiction that the attacker will receive a warrant. Add to that the tentative alliance between empire and Trib as a bonus, because otherwise anyone not in the empire becomes an imperial target. Yes, outlander, Barons, and sometimes battle will be your enemies, but as I said outside of herald that is going to be a result of joining a cabal.