scholarship of erenth: Dweomersecte

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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

History of Man -- Book 1: Westrun Part 6

In the 600 years since the proclamation of the Grand Hierophant at Dovaris, mankind had indeed proved himself to be the obvious successor to the Vyrum. While they lacked the sophistication and learning of the previous age, they had an obvious gift for fertility. Three times, the more experienced and more tactically sound Urok had been repelled by the men of Westrun. Those victories were based on attrition as much as on any other factor. While the Urok had fought themselves to near extinction after three conflicts, the armies of man were able to completely rebound within twenty years.

Not only did they have numbers on their side, but the human capacity for death and loss proved to be greater than any the Besnir had ever seen. The Urok were by no means alone in this observation. Factions of the Dwarves and Elves were horrified by the way in which many humans abandoned their dead and even failed to mourn them for the decades required in Besnir society. Among the Besnir it was not uncommon for a mother who lost a child to forego the rest of her years of fertility.

Most frustrating to the Realms was that within a decade, mankind could forget alliances and treaties and even a state of war. Agreements made between a Rane and a human king might not survive the birth of the king's first heir, let alone his coming to power. Treaties between the Mistwood and Sak were in a state of continual reinforcement, with the elder race providing reminders by way of gifts. In this way, their borders were made sacrosanct. The Dwarf of Oromir and the Lord of Sudhall memorialized their treaty with a construction of a massive keep using the artistry and craft of the Dwarves, which no man could gainsay.

Rath too was beneficiary of such an arrangement. When the King's men uncovered a centuries old well-intended, but sacrilegious burial of Dwarves, he returned those remains to Dynkyr. This single act was well-received for there were many still alive who missed their kin and wondered about their final rest. In this way, the King of Rath earned great respect and gratitude from the Dwarves though there were few enough humans who even remembered that Dwarven militias had helped at the Third Urok War. The prevailing opinion that mankind had no memory, compounded the generosity of this gesture rather than diminish it.

All was not peace in Westrun during the 36th century. Small scale war continued between what few Urok remained and the tribes of the Balduren Confederacy.

3600ey the monarchy of Treft was toppled after the assassination of its king who did not leave a clear heir. Various pretenders to the throne rise and fall before the city declares itself a democracy and the light of the world.

In 3605ey the Jarls of Northrun cast a jealous eye on the growing prosperity of Wanderhalt and Sudland. A decade of raids and war followed. During the height of these conflicts, the timber fort at Wanderhalt was taken and its lord was sent into exile, not to return on pain of death. The Lord of Wanderhalt went through the Silverlode Mountains into Sudland and appealed to the Lord of Sudhall for assistance.

In 3618ey at the Gathering of the Fraternity, the Lord of Sudhall petitioned the Rangers to retake Wanderhalt for its exiled lord. In stirring them to action, he also extracted an oath of everlasting fealty from its lord. Two years later, Wanderhalt was retaken and the daughter of the Lord of Sudhall was married to the son of the Lord of Wanderhalt -- linking the two nobles thereafter.

3622ey Arepos, the former court magician of the King of Treft resided in the Mistwood since the king's death and ingratiated himself to the ancient Llormaster and librarian there. After stealing the ancient Scrolls of Alobal and taking them back to the kingdoms of men, he ignites a war between Treft and the Elves which leads to a one year siege of the ancient ald. To resolve the siege, the City of Treft consents to surrender every scroll and slip of paper in the city, loading them on carts and sending them out to the waiting Elves. The scrolls are not recovered.

3627ey The Dweomersecte is founded with a tower in Talir. Within weeks of completion, this tower is burned by what some say are Elvish saboteurs. In 3647ey the second tower of the Dweomersecte is completed in Menea. This tower is also burned within weeks. A third tower is located near Sudhall and comes under the protection of Oromir, after negotiation between Elves and Dwarves, this tower escapes damage, but Arepos himself is found dead (believed assassinated) in 3651ey. Sarseer is declared the new Archmage of Westrun.

In 3686ey the Urok make an unholy alliance with the Dweomersecte. Under the Dread Foulness, they begin to give themselves over to simple, savage propagation -- hoping to beat humanity at their own game. This magical reproduction gives rise to animalistic goblins who hate the banishment of their forebears and eventually vow eternal war on all the other races. In one hundred years, no Urok will remain and all will have been replaced by their goblinoid descendants.

The Wars of Cinders and Silence: The Last Struggle of the Arcane

The Wars of Cinders and Silence, waged between 4992ey and 5046ey, were the series of escalating conflicts between rival wizards before the imposition of the Censure. These wars began as an outgrowth of the political contests between nobles who were employing battle mages in their retinues. As rivalries between the mages grew, their loyalties to the various lords were shifting and faltered.

In time, these mercenary wizards were more concerned with the supremacy of their own magic than the political aims of their masters. This sometimes meant the wizards were more concerned with choosing opponents that boosted their reputation, rather than those whose defeat benefitted their lords. In time, the battle mages fought arcane contests without regard for the political alliances and rivalries of their employers. The resulting wars, spanning over five decades, saw the landscape of Westrun, and even beyond, scarred by the unchecked chaos of unregulated magic use.

What began as individual wizards battling for supremacy eventually evolved into a growing divide between two opposing schools of magical philosophy. The Pyromancers of Erenth, in league with the self-styled Archflame Vaelgor the Everburning, believed that magic should be a force of absolute power, wielded by those who could command it without restraint. Their ideology saw them forge pacts with infernal entities, trading their souls and servitude for devastating magical strength. In contrast, the generalist wizards, led by Archmage Ghrylan at the outset of the war, sought to maintain structure and discipline in the arcane arts, emphasizing controlled study and careful governance over magic’s destructive potential.

What began as minor eruptions between competing mages escalated into open warfare when, in 4992ey, a conclave of Pyromancers laid siege to the city of Alduldaros of Collonia, burning it to the ground in a single night. The battle mages, unable to ignore such unchecked destruction, retaliated with a devastating counterattack in 4995ey to erase the Archflame's stronghold at Ruinspire from existence —an act that would come to be known as the First Silence.

The Aftermath and the Censure

With the Pyromancers effectively eradicated and their infernal allies banished, the kings of Westrun and the remaining arcane order realized that such unregulated magic could no longer be tolerated. In 5046ey, the Censure was enacted, imposing strict controls over the practice of magic. Only those licensed by the Dweomersecte could lawfully wield the Art, and unregulated sorcery became punishable by death.

The war also marked a shift in magical philosophy. The Dweomersecte, once a loosely affiliated society of scholars, became the official governing body of magic in the Eight Kingdoms. The kings of Westrun, who had previously tolerated a wide range of magical traditions, now became strict enforcers of the Censure, fearing a return to the devastation of the past.

Legacy of the Wars

Though the Pyromancers of Erenth were eradicated, rumors persist that some survived in exile, hiding in the lawless wastes beyond the reach of the Eight Kingdoms. Meanwhile, the Dweomersecte’s dominance over arcane law continues to shape the world, with their authority growing even stronger in the centuries following the war.

The devastation of these wars serves as a cautionary tale for all practitioners of the Art—a reminder that magic, untethered by wisdom, is as much a force of ruin as it is of wonder.

Magister Bucknard

Bucknard was a powerful human wizard, and former member of the Circle of 8. His name is a mispronunciation of Balakarde. He was described as affable, esteemed, talented and powerful, yet stubborn and headstrong. He had a twin sister named Maralee, who also was also a former member of the Circle of 8.

In 5056ey, Bucknard's sister and adventuring companion, Maralee, was slain. Bucknard never recovered from her untimely death. At the height of his power, Bucknard began deeply obsessing over ancient manuscripts relating to undeath. He grew increasingly secluded and paranoid, no longer confiding in his closest friends. He was convinced that the Dweomersecte had been infiltrated by a deep evil, but was seen by his fellow members as paranoid and delusional.

After abruptly resigning from the Circle of 8 in 5057ey he was never heard from again.

The Citadel

The Citadel is all that remains of the ancient elven redoubt of Norralnelas. Building on the foundations of that ancient ruin, and the discovered library therein, the Archmage Arepos spent his amassed fortune establishing a place dedicated to the universal advancement of magical knowledge for man and elf alike. The Citadel never lived up to its intended purpose and became instead the enclave of the Dweomersecte, a secretive and almost exclusively human society.

The Citadel is a red brick structure owing to the high content of iron in the sand of the bricks used in its construction. Built as it is in the midst of the Goblin Kingdoms, the Citadel has a fearsome reputation among the locals of being made from the blood of those goblins sacrificed to appease whatever gods dwell therein -- giving it the name, Blood Stone Temple. In the Goblin Kingdoms the building is viewed with great superstition and is only approached by the bravest of the fell denizens who lay sacrifices of animals slain upon his long stairs and then flee into the night.

The interior of the Citadel is reputed to be larger than the exterior by some magical enchantment. At the very least it is known to boast a vast library of the world's amassed magical knowledge, but rumors abound of a unending labyrinth of rooms which test the mettle of those who aspire to its interior. This same labyrinth is supposed to be haunted by the solomonus -- men whose wills and souls were crushed by the failed attempt.

The Citadel is protected by a band of 10 automatons aptly called the Rainbow Guards.

The Dweomersecte

The Dweomersecte
A Report
Prepared by Fr. Saales of the Prefecture of Peakshadow
For His Holiness Ensal, Patriarch of the Church of Westrun and All Erenth

The Dweomersecte is the name of the largest confederation of wizards in Erenth. Composed of magisters from each of the Four Lands, the Dweomersecte is led by the Archmage -- one of their order who is chosen to serve for life at a secret conclave held in the remote redoubt called the Citadel that the magister wizards maintain.

All evidence shows that the Dweomersecte began with Arepos the Great -- the first of the accomplished human wizards. Arepos had been a student of arcane mysteries, and once having made a name for himself, sought to be united in some sort of common cause with the ancient wizards (Llorfiril) of the Elves in order to further his knowledge. These ancient wizards rejected his overtures of friendship because he was not of their race. So instead he was forced to look for members from among his human peers. Though, at first,there were precious few of those of note.

The early years of the Dweomersecte only boasted a handful of wizards, but from that modest membership, has come all of the so-called magisters in all of the Four Lands.

The Dweomersecte does not act in concert, exactly. But they do certify when a wizard has reached the level of magister, they also recognize the official colleges and record their colors. Whatever political goals they have seem to be limited to their own pursuits and their own judgements.

Most importantly the Dweomersecte selects an Archmage from among its number who serves until forcibly deposed or else deceased. He is supposed to be the final arbiter between the Magisters themselves, as well as between the Dweomersecte and the various Monarchs. This confederacy works because it is apparently in the best interests of all involved to avoid open warfare of the sort that plagued the early and middle 7th Age.

I will send more when I receive it.

Your loyal servant,

Magister Vecna

aka: The Archmage. Vecna the Undying, Vecna the Long-lived
College: Peakshadow

Motto: Always start every day with the most important thing you have to do.

Sigil: A red eye on a black hand that is making the horns of power on a brown field.

Temperaments: Greedy, Covetous. Harsh.

Certain rumors persist that Vecna is dead or has been killed by his Primus, who will only answer inquiries that his master is away.

The Fifth Letter of Scot of Tols

To all the Curates and Druids of my former acquaintance

From Anavares, formerly known to you as Scot of Tols

A final letter, which may find itself to you eventually

My dear sirs, my suspicions are at long last vindicated! For many years I have striven to add knowledge and value to our pathetic little order, but you rebuffed me and howled continuously for my fruitless return.

I am thankful to myself for my persistence. I renounce my membership in your Circle. Now I seek the freedom to learn on my own. I will be encumbered by you and your impotent passivity no longer. Consider this letter and its information my parting gift to you.

Besides your most august personages and myself, the existence of the order of wizards is generally known only to each Magister and his Prime Pupil. Nevertheless, I assure you that it is not some secretive cabal as you have assumed. Rather, it merely exists to set standards for each of the Colleges and for the greater practice of Magic throughout the world.

The members of this order call themselves the Dweomersecte. It is neither hierarchical or bureaucratic in nature. Rather, they elect the Archmage from among their number and his term of office is for life. An Archmages term can be “revoked” by a unanimous vote of the order, so those that are not revoked have the tacit approval of the magisters everywhere. Now not every one of the members of the Dweomersecte are found to be fit for the Archmage's chair. The wizard who becomes Archmage, but does not prove himself may be debased most dreadfully.

The Dweomersecte usually meets once per year for their Conclave, though it is rare to see more than an handful in attendance. It is even rarer to see the same ones more than one year in a row. At the Conclave, peace is made, discoveries are shared and each Magister’s Prime Pupil (chosen eventual successor) is recognized by the rest of the order.

You have much to learn about governance and advancement. Take heed, if you have the minds to. For the Dweomersecte does not conduct itself in secret hand-wringing as the Order of the Continuous does. Rather, we set about making the most of ourselves and sharing with great collegiality the power we have uncovered.

Oh yes, I have met the terrible Archmage. His visage is at once horrifying and beautiful to behold. In my sojourn here I have come to see how much wisdom he dispenses and how much intellect he possesses. I see how superior he is in every way to our pathetic Grand Hierophant and all of his banal priests attending. If his Most Omnipotent Cerebral Grandiloquence will have me, I mean to enroll myself under his supreme teaching and gain the power which should have been mine all along. Long Live Vecna, Archmage Forever!

Farewell.

Magister Von Gasik

Greedy : Avaricious. Foams at the mouth when excited.
motto : Cut your coat according to your cloth.

Magister Tenser

Quiet : Laconic. Inquisitive.
motto : Always live and let live.

Tenser is a member of the Circle of 8.

Tasha, Magister and Sage

Tasha herself is rumored to take the form of a common street urchin so that she may come and go at will in all of the cities of Westrun. Barring that assumed appearance, she most often appears as an attractive younger woman with yellow hair and a pale complexion.

Capricious : Impulsive. Vengeful.
motto : Don't trust someone who doesn't close their eyes when you kiss.

Magister Sirillian

Moody : Gloomy. Nervous.
motto : Always make sure your tax records are impeccable.

Member of the Council of Concordant Colleges

Magister Serten

Character: 25001
Rumored to be Suspicious: Deceitful. Stern.
College Motto : Be ashamed of your faith.

Member of the White Council.

Once a prefect like Otto, Serten left the Church of Westrun and became a powerful wizard in order to defeat a growing darkness that he felt was rising in Westrun. For his defection and his relentless machinations, he has been labeled a deceiver.

Magister Rary

Quiet : Mousy. Workaholic.
motto : Never meet troubles half-way.

Rary is a member of the Circle of 8 and the Council of Concordant Colleges.

Magister Otto

Suspicious : Nervous. Thoughtless.
motto : Expect nothing, and you will never be disappointed.

Member of the Council of Concordant Colleges and the Circle of 8, Otto is a powerful human wizard. He tends to dress in fine, expensive garb. Originally a priest of Westrun, Otto soon found he had an uncanny knack for wizardry, and in 5129 left the life of the church behind him becoming a powerful and prolific master of the arcane arts.

scholarship of erenth