In the instance of arcane arts, the Veritas Convention are a strong and premier instance of the power of the mortal mind. — Lord Cara'loth Moorelane
The
Veritas Convention is a collective of extremely powerful magic users in the
Ossalimarian Empire. They are primarily based in
Grantour but have been known to be spread throughout
Ossalimar.
History
In the wake of the
Ossalimarian Conquest, many of the magic infuesd noble families from the conquered regions of the newly formed Empire and the arcane users that followed the Ossalimar banner during the defeat of
Malithan Bornate, found themselves at odds surrounding the ideals of the new Empire's magical presence.
However, this drastically changed in 439 AR where the collective of magical users found their own way of understanding and a collection of the most powerful among them took on the title of archmage, a role that would be expanded further in the coming centuries. These first nine members were charged with developing a name for the collective and developing a charter and purpose for the collective.
These first archmages chose the name "Veritas Convention" from an ancient tome that spoke of an
Arvadian ideal to "seek out the truth." This was known as the Veritas Convention among the found Arvadian texts at the time and as such was adopted as both the name and initial goal of the collective.
The Night of Silver was the most dramatic change of course for the Convention. The
Saitodian had been formed within the first two decades as a dedicated group of spies and minor militia working alongside the Convention. On the Night of Silver, some group attacked both Saitodian and Convention members, culling the Convention to only ten and destroying the Saitodian.
In the days following the evening, there were many individuals who enlisted with the Convention as a matter of attempting to regrow its ranks. WIthin a year the Convention was able to restart
Blackstone Keep and expand its influence into further parts of the Empire. Additionally, it was after this that many smaller villages and settlements would vie to send their children to one of the Convention led schools.
In secret, the Saitodian were restarted under the direct hand of the Convention rather than as a seperate group. The Archmage of Influence was given the formal position of head of the Saitodian, however this information has remained private since its creation. The Saitodian were under the direct control of a number of the Archmages, though publically and even privately in the Convention there is no known information that confirms how many, or who else controls or is involved with the Saitodian.
In the wake of the Night of Silver, the Convention attempted to blame a rebellious faction of individuals from the eastern region of the Empire as the perpetrators of the Night of Silver. As a result, several families of known radicals were rounded up and executed by the
Crownsguard. This didn't sit well with many of the settlements on the Daunka Shore as many of them were sympathisers with anti-Empire propaganda.
Over the next five decades, the sentiment of the Daunka Shore gew stronger against the Empire with even crown appointed political figures and Crownsguard members pushing against the Empire. As these sentiements grew, the Convention made a stronger and more consistent push in these regions for Convention propoganda. This infuriated many people on the Shore as the Convention taking advantage of their feelings for their own means.
At the start of the Religious Rebellion, members of the Daunka Shore started to worship a variety of different gods, particularly of note to the Convention,
Thoura. The Convention used the start of the Rebellion as a chance to show the force of individuals who worked alongside the Convention. Additionally, as the Crownsguard leant in and attacked the region, the Convention lent over several different select individuals to attack the people across the land. Some records note that while the Crownsguard would act as soldiers, even the generals were forced to listen to the members of the Convention who acted as the true generals of the battles.
One brutal battle was the Battle of
Zhora. In the northern region of the Daunka Shore, the city of Zhora was ground zero for a major attack during the rebellion. It was thought by the Convention to be the home base for a significant number of rebels. As such Lord Cara'loth Moorelane sent a strikeforce of three powerful magic users, one with an intense skill in Evocation magic, one proficient in Blades and Weaponry that are infused with Magic, and the last said to be proficient in manipulating the blood of an individual. These three magic users decimated and destroyed all but the most central component of Zhora, raising it to the ground. Thousands died and led to the condemnation of the attack by the Convention and the three mages being diavowed from their ranks. All three were never seen from again.
By the end of the Rebellion, the diplomatic peace talks had garnered support on either side. However, it was the
Daunka Province who requested that the Veritas Convention remain out of the peace talks as much as possible. In the eyes of the Province, the Convention were not a political power and should not be treated as such. As a result, only one member of the Convention was involved, Lord Cara'loth Moorelane.
I like the view of them as a necessary evil. I kind of get that impression from reading about them. Great article.