Nine masks forged by equal hands. Giants and Dragons, strife set aside, to save a dying world to make it their home. Nine masks passed down through generations, each to a worthy wielder to keep their Irma safe. Nine for order, nine for peace, nine for the beginning and end of all things.
-Unknown
History
The Council did not always exist as a formal conglomerate entity. We see the creation of the masks that are the symbol of their power and membership in
World Origins: Creation of Ashirma as formed by an original 18 creatures who were an even amount of Giants and Dragons. However, not all who created the masks were the ones to wear them once they were finished in the beginning. These first nine through one way or another handed off their masks or were made to hand off their masks to others, though all masks fell under the watchful eye of The All Scale (see
Dragons in Ashirma: Cataclysmic Deaths ) as they continued to pass on through generations.
However, not all who wielded the masks took care of them as they deserved, and soon they began to disappear and become lost as the world changed and grew to fit the migrating smaller peoples and races. They did not know about the masks, but some knew about the history of the Giants and Dragons who remained and were met with kindness.
It was not until a man by the name of Kalmore Metophas-the first person of neither Giant or Dragon origins to receive a mask-that the official Council of IX was formed. No one knows how he stumbled upon the masks, but it was he that began to gather the first official council under him. The intent was a syndicate of powerful individuals that operated in the shadows of the world to organize and protect the workings of all things and to protect the powerful items and entities that might cause all order to crumble. While all current members of the council are easily recognizable public figures, historically their only distinguishing feature were the porcelain masks, each with a number assigned to them upon the brow.
Eventually though, change had to come even for them. The first indication was when his direct descendant who wore his mask faced and was chased down by Fate's Hand-not once but twice-after he used a Wish spell to interfere with the course of history. After his fall and the members of Fate's Hand joining the council, the ripples of change began. Their descendants would rise up in their places more often than not, always joined by others to fill the 9 seats, but there was never quite the same peace. Some members sought to try and manipulate the power of multiple masks at once, others still simply to amplify for their own purposes, posing risks to the realms while still in the shadows.
And so it was finally decided by the last full table of 9 that they would bring themselves into the light for the good of the people so that they could be seen and held accountable for their actions. While this decision was made with good intent and did much to benefit the Ashirmic people, not all took to this well. One by one, masks began to disappear for one reason or another either with their wielder or after their intended successor. Now only 3 remain, the last 6 missing somewhere out in the continent, waiting for the next worthy to rise and find them.
Present
As of now, the current council members are as follows;
Each one of these members could very well bring the world to its knees. But the balance is the council as a whole ensuring that the other 8 can rise up and snuff out a potential world-ending event caused by one of the others or anything else outside of them, and now the eyes of the world on them as well. Since becoming a public entity, there have been far fewer grand threats to the security of the continent.
But just because council members are all heads of state, does not mean that they have to be. Talenthross for example hates the idea of being in charge of things, but his duty to the Ironwood outweighs his hermit nature. In the past council members have ranged from seemingly simple house partners to continental royalty, but once the mask was on all at the table were on equal footing.
From enemies to friends, others friends the whole time. They rose united in their intent to keep peace in the world that had brought them together, despite many tragic pasts. Most of them now spend their days working for the good of the nations that they hold the most investment in, but also often sneakily wandering about to meet the locals in their nations and others to get to know them or provide guidance or even to see if they can find the next potential wielders of the masks.
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