Strigidine Order
Structure
Public Agenda
Assets
Though not formally aligned with each other, the Strigidine Order enjoys a close alliance with both the Edic Concord and the larger Iron Empire, thus affording it near limitless access to the bountiful assets of both from monetary support to legal freedom for their experiments.
The primary concern of the Order is securing access to the numerous reagents necessary for conducting spells and experiments.
Divine Origins
Built upon the idea that anyone can achieve knowledge through application and perseverance, the Order is meant to open its doors to anyone brave enough to apply, regardless of money or ethnicity. Membership within the Order is based upon mastery of the Godtongue, a collection of seven different dialects, with the aid of reagents, both magical and mundane.
The Godtongue was once constructed of nine schools of magic in homage to Edonias's sacred number, the "Three of Threes". In the aftermath of the Crafting however, the schools of vivimancy and necromancy, offering power over life and death, respectively, were rejected from practice. Nonetheless, the number nine has remained central to the organizational hierarchy of the Godtongue with each school organizing its spells into nine levels of power.
Mastery of the seven remaining languages is virtually impossible given the incredible complexity, breadth, and mutability of each dialect; however, basic knowledge in each school is generally required before a student can begin specializing in their chosen field after mastering the third level. Specialization is typically limited to one school, however double-, even triple-specializations are not completely unheard of.
Given the incredible difficulty and power contained within the upper echelons of the Godtongue, most sages do not advance beyond the third or fourth level of mastery. Only a handful of people in each generation even manage to pierce the seventh level of mastery, while ninth level sages are the kind of once-in-a-century phenoms that underline the incredible power harnessed by the Godtongue.
The seven schools of magic with their associated dialects, objects, and people are as follows:
- Abjuration: the protection of people, places, and objects
- Language: Proturian
- Proper Title: Abjurist
- Associated Gem: Diamond
- Enclave Headmaster: Secuminatok
- Conjuration: the creation of magical effects, objects, or creatures
- Language: Creotan
- Proper Title: Conjurer
- Associated Gem: Emerald
- Enclave Headmaster: Yenik Crusimon
- Divination: the perception of people, places, and events regardless of time or space
- Language: Aspectish
- Proper Title: Diviner
- Associated Gem: Amethyst
- Enclave Headmaster: Ishkiel Zhoras
- Enchantment: compulsion of sentient beings and objects
- Language: Fascorian
- Proper Title: Enchanter
- Associated Gem: Sapphire
- Enclave Headmaster: Ocsisa Tiefel
- Evocation: the creation and manipulation of raw energy
- Language: Elician
- Proper Title: Evoker
- Associated Gem: Ruby
- Enclave Headmaster: Khadijah Raqel
- Illusion: the manipulation of perception via images, sounds, or sensations
- Language: Adlucian
- Proper Title: Illusionist
- Associated Gem: Opal
- Enclave Headmaster: Asteril Flegmor
- Transmutation: the transformation of objects and people, or the changing of one of their attributes
- Language: Convorian
- Proper Title: Transmuter
- Associated Gem: Topaz
- Enclave Headmaster: Korine Vornio
- Vivimancy: the manipulation of life energies to heal or influence emotions
- Language: Animic
- Proper Title: Vivimancer
- Associated Gem: Pearl
- Necromancy: the manipulation of bodies and energies post-mortem
- Language: Thanic
- Associated Gem: Onyx
The restricted forms of magic are:
Tenets of Faith
Knowledge is the surest path to understanding of the self and the world.
The infinite possibility inherent in all things is only limited by what you can imagine.
A life spent in pursuit of pushing the boundaries of the possible must be tempered by the needs of the people.
While necessity may be the mother of invention, curiosity is the father of discovery.
Ethics
In the spirit of furthering magical and mechanical knowledge, it is considered nigh on blasphemy to hide or tamper with a discovery or revelation. Rather, ideas are considered gifts from Edonias themself meant for the Edic People as a whole.
Worship
While Edonias accepts direct petitions and prayers, most of their worship is directed toward scholarly study and reading, putting emphasis on the pursuit of erudition.
Priesthood
Edonias does not accept formal priesthood or temples dedicated to their honor. Instead, libraries open to public use are central to any Edic settlement. These buildings are maintained by resident mages and fed by civic taxes to the Edic Concord.
Granted Divine Powers
In keeping with the tenet of pushing the possible, there is no real limit to the powers possible through the Godtongue; however, creating new spells is often a difficult and dangerous endeavor given the incredible volatility of the magical dialects.
Political Influence & Intrigue
Due to the nature of the Godtongue, sages are often scorned, distrusted, and rebuked by priests of other deities and rural folks outside of the Concord. These people view sages as blasphemers who follow no god at all, but rather steal the innate magic within the natural world to feed their own power. In larger cities however, sages and their universities tend to enjoy a more tolerant reputation and indeed have made much headway in garnering support for their Order.
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