Correspondence from Vance to the Dweomersecte Entire

From Archmage Vance, Year 3848

To the Magisters of the Eight Kingdoms, near and far, faithful and wayward alike—

It is with grave spirit and a heavy heart that I write to you in this, the Year 3848, so soon after you have favored me with your vote.

By now, word has reached every hall and keep of the tragic passing of my predecessor, Peredik the Highborn, Steward of Vel-Brethil, friend of Art, and—though he would never have claimed it—the last and most ardent ally of those who stand against the excesses of the Grand Temple. His death was not merely a loss to his house or province, but to the fragile balance between Faith and Knowledge.

Make no mistake: with Peredik gone, the veil between pretense and ambition begins to thin. The Grand Temple, ever hungering, ever encroaching, grows bold. The Priests now whisper openly of extinguishing the Searing Flame from the Eight Kingdoms. And it is we they mean.

I speak now plainly, as all masks must fall:

The Dweomersecte was never intended to be a mere convocation of scholars or practitioners. It was—and is—a blade in the dark, turned toward the Grand Temple. Not to destroy faith, but to cut away its cancerous excess, to remind the people that wonder is not born in obedience, but in discovery.

Peredik knew this. He protected us because he remembered a time when gods served men and not the other way round.

I warn you now: be wary of priestly envoys bearing gifts, or Kings who suddenly call for unity in doctrine and law. “Unity” means dissolution of the hidden towers, “doctrine” means burned tomes, and “law” will mean your silence.

Do not go to war—but do not go to sleep. Strengthen your wards. Shelter your apprentices. Bury what must be buried, and awaken what must be awoken. Let none say the Dweomersecte faltered when the stars shifted.

We are older than kings. We are deeper than temples. And we are not yet finished.

By wand and ward,

Vance the Argent

Archmage of the Dweomersecte and Champion of the Searing Flame