The Scribes of Aether
The Scribes of Aether are a multicity order of wizards who operate all throughout Jezat. They have a chapter in the Derrian empire but their main area of operations is Jezat. They are a highly liberal bunch, seeking to break free from tradition and embrace a lifestyle more similar to that of the people overseas. As such, the Scribes are highly looked down upon throughout Jezat. They have multiple hideaways in cities across the continent all of which contain passages to their fortress in the Astral Plane: The Aether Spire. This is an enormous white marble fortress where the Scribes store all the information they accrue regarding even the most mundane of things. They research magic, the leylines, history, nature, and religion. No manner of knowledge is beyond their seeking gaze. Their foremost study is in the magic of Aether, but this is a domain of only their most elite wizards. They send out their wizards recruiting across all the continents, even though their primary focus is on Jezat. What's more, they push for greater education and less reliance on the old ways just because that's the way its always been done. As such, they are not very well liked. Nevertheless, the Scribes of Aether are the most powerful mage guild in Jezat and one of the most powerful in the world. They are massive in size, with over five thousand wizards and ten thousand scholars making up their numbers.
The Scribes were founded by Archmagus Jocelyn, The Lady of Alloys. She was among the more sociable of the seven mages, and as such had quite the large following. She began construction of the Aether Spire as a fortress and personal base for her, with her own tower as a decoy. When she was driven mad by Antoine the Terrible, her apprentices took her in and cared for her. They relocated away from Brenaurus to escape retribution from him, as their home on the Astral Sea allowed them to escape his spell to wipe the seven mages from history. Her madness manifested as an obsession with transmuting the very form of magic itself - the manipulation of Aether itself. It is from here that the Scribes of the Aether got their name and their purpose. The Lady Jocelyn yet lives as well, wailing away at the top of the Aether Spire, embroiled in her endless magical research.
The Scribes are divided into five archives which each focus their research of different aspects of magic and society. The overall goal is to collect as much information about Ithesia as possible and to use that information for the betterment of the continents. The following are the archives of the Scribes:
The Aether Archive is the largest archive of the Scribes and focuses on the nature of magic itself. Aether is the baseline element that makes up all forms of magic. These Scribes try to study its inherent properties with the overall goal of converting between different forms of Aether. As such, the scholars in this archive primarily study the physics and nature of magic. They are rarely field workers, preferring to do their experiments under controlled conditions. The Aether Archive has the most wizards of the order, and has many among its number who never leave the Aether Spire. It is also the archive most closely tied to the founder of the Scribes, with its researchers working alongside Jocelyn on many occasions in her endless study of Aether.
The Dominion Archive is an archive of the Scribes that focuses on mortal culture, history, and especially conflict. Being probably the most scholarly and the least experimental, the Dominion Archive studies various wars between mortal entities as well as methods of conflict. They also study how different cultures interact and often clash. They document an enormous variety of combat and strategy texts, with various strategies for both single combat and large scale strategy and tactics. While they mainly focus on mortal conflicts, they occasionally collaborate with other Archives to document interplanar war and have a division devoted to the study of the endless war between the Alliance and the Betrayers. Despite having rather less wizards as other archives, it has a lot of fighters and duelists that come here to train as its instruction is among the best in the planes.
The Planar Archive is an archive of the Scribes that studies the physics and interactions between different planes of existence. They study why different planes of existence are the way that they are and how they are all arranged in dimensional space. This archive does a lot of experimental field work, with many among its number being travelers of the cosmos. They are explorers just as much as they are researchers. They are engaged in projects to map the outer planes and discover what lies beyond the ones that are known. This archive is relatively small in relation to the others, but it draws many daredevils and explorers to its cause.
The Divinity Archive is an archive of the Scribes that studies the gods of Ithesia and why they are the way they are. Everything from the biology and physical traits of eternals as a species to the essence of what makes a being truly divine. Their study also extends to the effects of divinity in the creation of places such as Baator and the Abyss. They study how gods interact with mortals and how that relationship works at a fundamental level. This archive is distinctly non-religious, instead seeking to ascertain a quantitative, non biases analysis of the gods and what they actually mean in their existence.
The Essence Archive is an archive of the Scribes that studies the nature of life itself. They study how arcane, divine and true magic go together to make living things actually function. They categorize many types of creatures, discussing how the magic infused within them informs their biology and their relation to the universe. This archive is also somewhat small, being a project of a great many passionate people who do a great deal of field-work. They have studied thousands of types of living things throughout the planar cosmos of Ithesia, with the hopes of categorizing them all and understanding their relationship to existence.
While the Scribes of Aether are mainly a research organization, there are those within its ranks who advocate for more interference within the material plane. These individuals gather under a collective known as the Sentinels, which are a cross archive organization made up of those who are more doers than researchers. They are led by a council of five, and often work beneath the radar of the Ethereal Crux.
The Scribes were founded by Archmagus Jocelyn, The Lady of Alloys. She was among the more sociable of the seven mages, and as such had quite the large following. She began construction of the Aether Spire as a fortress and personal base for her, with her own tower as a decoy. When she was driven mad by Antoine the Terrible, her apprentices took her in and cared for her. They relocated away from Brenaurus to escape retribution from him, as their home on the Astral Sea allowed them to escape his spell to wipe the seven mages from history. Her madness manifested as an obsession with transmuting the very form of magic itself - the manipulation of Aether itself. It is from here that the Scribes of the Aether got their name and their purpose. The Lady Jocelyn yet lives as well, wailing away at the top of the Aether Spire, embroiled in her endless magical research.
The Scribes are divided into five archives which each focus their research of different aspects of magic and society. The overall goal is to collect as much information about Ithesia as possible and to use that information for the betterment of the continents. The following are the archives of the Scribes:
The Aether Archive is the largest archive of the Scribes and focuses on the nature of magic itself. Aether is the baseline element that makes up all forms of magic. These Scribes try to study its inherent properties with the overall goal of converting between different forms of Aether. As such, the scholars in this archive primarily study the physics and nature of magic. They are rarely field workers, preferring to do their experiments under controlled conditions. The Aether Archive has the most wizards of the order, and has many among its number who never leave the Aether Spire. It is also the archive most closely tied to the founder of the Scribes, with its researchers working alongside Jocelyn on many occasions in her endless study of Aether.
The Dominion Archive is an archive of the Scribes that focuses on mortal culture, history, and especially conflict. Being probably the most scholarly and the least experimental, the Dominion Archive studies various wars between mortal entities as well as methods of conflict. They also study how different cultures interact and often clash. They document an enormous variety of combat and strategy texts, with various strategies for both single combat and large scale strategy and tactics. While they mainly focus on mortal conflicts, they occasionally collaborate with other Archives to document interplanar war and have a division devoted to the study of the endless war between the Alliance and the Betrayers. Despite having rather less wizards as other archives, it has a lot of fighters and duelists that come here to train as its instruction is among the best in the planes.
The Planar Archive is an archive of the Scribes that studies the physics and interactions between different planes of existence. They study why different planes of existence are the way that they are and how they are all arranged in dimensional space. This archive does a lot of experimental field work, with many among its number being travelers of the cosmos. They are explorers just as much as they are researchers. They are engaged in projects to map the outer planes and discover what lies beyond the ones that are known. This archive is relatively small in relation to the others, but it draws many daredevils and explorers to its cause.
The Divinity Archive is an archive of the Scribes that studies the gods of Ithesia and why they are the way they are. Everything from the biology and physical traits of eternals as a species to the essence of what makes a being truly divine. Their study also extends to the effects of divinity in the creation of places such as Baator and the Abyss. They study how gods interact with mortals and how that relationship works at a fundamental level. This archive is distinctly non-religious, instead seeking to ascertain a quantitative, non biases analysis of the gods and what they actually mean in their existence.
The Essence Archive is an archive of the Scribes that studies the nature of life itself. They study how arcane, divine and true magic go together to make living things actually function. They categorize many types of creatures, discussing how the magic infused within them informs their biology and their relation to the universe. This archive is also somewhat small, being a project of a great many passionate people who do a great deal of field-work. They have studied thousands of types of living things throughout the planar cosmos of Ithesia, with the hopes of categorizing them all and understanding their relationship to existence.
While the Scribes of Aether are mainly a research organization, there are those within its ranks who advocate for more interference within the material plane. These individuals gather under a collective known as the Sentinels, which are a cross archive organization made up of those who are more doers than researchers. They are led by a council of five, and often work beneath the radar of the Ethereal Crux.
Structure
The Scribes of Aether are divided into different archives within their spire. These archives are governed independently by powerful mages which run these departments. These mages make up the Ethereal Crux, which acts as the governing council of the Scribes. Technically speaking, the Archmage Jocelyn is the defacto leader of the Scribes, but her madness prevents her from taking up that role in a more active sense. As such, the Ethereal Crux make much of the decisions concerning the governance of the Scribes and act as the leaders. There are five members of the Crux, each of which is tied to one of the five archives of the Scribes. They have complete control over their Archives and collaborate to discuss matters of the Scribes as a whole.
Type
Guild, Mages
Leader
Location
Controlled Territories
