Ordem Fraternal da Magia

A Ordem Mágica de Cygnar

No group of dedicated arcanists in the Iron Kingdoms is more widely known — or greeted with such a mix of respect and resentment — than the Fraternal Order of Wizardry. This order has been at the heart of great events in regional history, and its members are responsible for key inventions, without which mechanika as it is known today would not exist. Yet at times it has been consumed by internal politics, obsessed with empty adherence to tradition, rent by schism, and guilty of standing in the way of advancements in the mystical science it helped to define. The order’s masters control access to an unsurpassed trove of lore and arcane techniques, yet some question the uses to which this knowledge has been put. Rumors persist of dark cabals mastering forbidden arts beneath the facade of a socially responsible collection of superlative scholars and wizards.

The order was established in 111 AR, concealed from the Orgoth in a warren of tunnels beneath the city of Ceryl. This honeycomb of secret chambers had previously housed Immoren’s first arcane order, the Arcanist’s Academe (later renamed the Circle of the Oath), and had borne witness to the cataclysmic battle in which the Circle was defeated, taking many of the Orgoth with them to the grave.

Victor Baerd, creator of the first arcane rune plate, founded the Fraternal Order. A master alchemist and wizard, Baerd spent years experimenting with the fundamental principles of arcane formulae first proposed many years earlier by Sebastian Kerwin. In secret workshops and laboratories, Baerd took up Kerwin’s research and realized the great wizard’s ambitions. Almost two centuries after Kerwin’s death, Baerd created the first functioning rune plate.

Operating under the yoke of Orgoth occupation, Baerd worked in secret collaboration with other arcanists to perfect the nascent art of mechanikal study. His primary colleagues were a group of 12 Thurian refugees, all master artificers and wizards; it was these men with whom Baerd founded the Fraternal Order of Wizardry. All of these founders were heavily influenced by the work of Kerwin but were also inspired by the still-recent ascension of the wizard and alchemist Corben, who surprised the Immorese by joining Morrow’s other ascendants in 93 AR, after curing the Rip Lung plague. This was a galvanizing moment for the arcanists in the region, as it provided indisputable proof to the populace that their profession could achieve holy sanction.

Until this event, the fledgling art of wizardry was viewed with suspicion and was frequently the subject of dark rumors. The Fraternal Order of Wizardry was founded not solely to continue Kerwin’s work but also to spread Corben’s legacy of improving lives through the proper application of magical power. To further this aim the original order strove to carve a distinct niche for wizardry so that it could stand apart from the practices of witchcraft and sorcery, both of which had become inextricably linked to Thamar and her scions. No group is more responsible for the sharp divide between the public’s opinions on wizardry and sorcery than the Fraternal Order. They convinced the people that wizards were benevolent scholars wielding a useful power, quite separate from those born with wild and unpredictable potencies.

It is unclear when the order began its outmoded policy of excluding women. Modern progressives argue that these precepts were never formally declared in the founding charter and Baerd never endorse this practice.

This may have come from a misguided attempt to disassociate the order from figures like Thamar and her scions, Delesle and Nivara. In time the order’s notorious chauvinism became an unfortunate tradition passed down from mentor to apprentice, part of the general elitism and exclusivity that led to the turning away of the poor and those who lacked influential relatives. Until recently, those within the order did not realize how these policies were leading to stagnation and threatening to make the order irrelevant.

A few decades after the order’s inception, Maximillian Nivin, an alchemist and one of the first arcane mechaniks, unveiled before the order’s Magus convocation his masterwork: the cerebral matrix. Building on principles and innovations of the arcane accumulator created by the Order of the Golden Crucible, the cerebral matrix was a complex piece of mechanika that functioned as a “mind” for the steam-powered automaton that Nivin had constructed. Nivin’s cerebral matrix was quickly refined into more powerful and precise iterations and, only a few years later, Nivin’s apprentice Elias Decklan drafted plans for a massive mechanikal construct he called a “Colossal.” When Decklan presented his plan for the Colossals to the Iron Alliance’s ruling body, the Council of Ten, the reputation of the Fraternal Order of Wizardry as the most respected of arcanists was secured.

The order was unquestionably instrumental in the defeat of the Orgoth. Their wizards controlled the great Colossals that were critical in driving the Orgoth from western Immoren and back across the great ocean Meredius. In the centuries to come, Fraternal Order wizards perfected Nivin’s cerebral matrix and created the modern steamjack cortex.

The height of the Fraternal Order’s power and influence came in the decades following the Corvis Treaties, when they were able to maintain a tight monopoly on cortex fabrication and had yet to see a significant rival. While the Order of the Golden Crucible carved out its own niche producing and refining alchemical mixtures, including commercial blasting powder for firearms, there was little competition between these groups.

The Fraternal Order quickly spread its influence abroad, establishing lodges and branches in any city large enough to support them. At the peak of its power, the Fraternal Order had members in all of the nations of the Iron Kingdoms, with particularly strong lodges in Ord and Llael in addition to its pervasive influence across Cygnar. Gaining inroads in Khador proved to be more difficult, but a number of gifted Khadoran arcanists were eventually persuaded to join the order. The Fraternal Order would soon learn about the difficulties of trying to maintain a truly international organization in the face of the deeper loyalties of its members.

The Morality Divide: The First Schism
The rise of the Greylords Covenant was not the first schism for the young Fraternal Order of Wizardry. A decade previously, a pious member of the order named Copernicun discovered a cabal of infernalists among the brotherhood in Ceryl. Uncertain how far this conspiracy might have spread, Copernicun reported the infernalists to the local Church of Morrow in Ceryl. Copernicun was hated and shunned by his peers, less for discovering the corruption, than for taking its resolution to an outside agency. Adding to the scandal were subsequent attempts by the Fraternal Order to employ assassins against Copernicun. The reputation of the Fraternal Order became permanently tainted as accusations that they were a deeply hypocritical organization with self-serving leaders gained currency.

Fearing for his life, Copernicun fled from Ceryl to Caspia. The clergy
at the Sancteum welcomed him as a worthy inheritor of Ascendant Corben’s principles. In 233 AR, Copericun founded the Order of Illumination, which would become the foremost arcane order of the Church of Morrow, a group dedicated to hunting infernalists and necromancers.

Many of the darker cabals within the Fraternal Order flourished in the aftermath of this schism, as the order lost its most pious and civic-minded members. Senior members began to pursue power for its own sake, studying dark lore and initiating dubious experiments. Some would say that the higher principles under which the order was founded were abandoned and assumed by the Order of Illumination. Since then, the order has periodically suffered from incidents of scandal and accusations of corruption.

Fractured and Divided

Several decades after the Corvis Treaties, the Fraternal Order experienced several schisms. The most significant of these occurred in 243 AR when a cabal with ties to Khador absconded to the Motherland with the secrets of the cortex fabrication process. This group would found the Greylords Covenant and would quickly become integrated into the Khadoran military.

Since then the two groups have become antagonistic rivals. Since the Fraternal Order remains a civilian organization, it cannot rely on the backing of a national army or treasury, unlike its rival. Fortunately for the ongoing survival of the order, it does have strong ties to highly placed nobles, military officers, and merchants in several nations as well a number of formidable arcanists in its own ranks. Most of the conflict between these groups has been subtle, but the Greylords have seized opportunities for violence when they have presented themselves, such as when the Merywyn Fraternal Order branch was obliterated after Khador seized control of that city in 605 AR.

The founding of the Greylords Covenant marked the first major break in the Fraternal Order’s monopoly on cortex fabrication, a blow from which the order never recovered. In later decades, the Cygnaran military recruited a number of order-affiliated wizards, who helped guide the Strategic Academy in training its own military arcanists and soon in producing its own cortexes.

While the Fraternal Order has continued to make a substantial portion of its income from cortex production, it could no longer control pricing and was now only one of several players in the field. Despite competition, the Fraternal Order maintains a reputation for quality and is particularly skilled at creating the highest-grade military cortexes. Even with access to its own cortex manufacturing, the Cygnaran Army remains the order’s most important and longest-standing customer.

Even though Fraternal Order’s founders created some of the most important mechanikal items ever known, over time the organization became more interested in pure arcane research and theory. The Fraternal Order’s membership began to scorn “tedious” laboratory work and large-scale alchemical production, leaving such less prestigious — yet profitable — work to the Order of the Golden Crucible. Similarly, the Fraternal Order felt content to leave the greasy work of wrench, bolt, and gear to contractors affiliated with trade groups like the Steam and Iron Workers Union.

The Fraternal Order has never had a comfortable working relationship with arcane mechaniks. The order sees arcane mechaniks as an overly pragmatic offshoot discipline of wizardry, one lacking in broad and deep comprehension of fundamental arcane principles. Despite the profits gathered from cortex fabrication, the Fraternal Order has declined to capitalize on its preeminence in the field by branching out into other arenas of mechanikal invention. The order has a reputation for fabricating extremely high quality arcane weapons and apparatus, mostly one-of-a-kind works on contract, which has not led to products suitable for widespread sale. This emphasis on individual piecework allows members to become independently wealthy without contributing to the health of the organization as a whole. The secretive and isolated nature of its membership, most of whom are reluctant to share their greatest discoveries, has led the Fraternal Order to resemble a many-headed hydra of competing cabals and groups, each working toward their own ends and not interested in sharing the fruits of their labor.

Nevertheless, the order has managed to maintain a high degree of general respectability. Despite the occasional dark rumors, many members of the order are highly placed in local politics and maintain friends among the nobility. This is particularly true in Ceryl, where the order maintains the Stronghold, its central headquarters where it exercises considerable influence over Cygnar’s second-largest city. Here the six high magi who supervise the order communicate with the high magus in charge of each of their far-flung lodges. The current high magus of the Caspian Lodge of the Fraternal Order is also the court wizard of Cygnar, and therefore sits on King Leto Raelthorne’s inner council. In addition to the six high magi in Ceryl, a high magus has been appointed to each of the lodges in Berck, Caspia, Corvis, Five Fingers, Mercir, Merin, and Point Bourne. This brings the total number of high magi to 13 (once 14 with Merywyn), and they meet periodically to discuss order business at a biannual Magus Convocation.

Despite the clout represented by these and other highly placed individuals, the order has suffered from its own elitism and the difficulties it imposes on prospective recruits. Until recently the Fraternal Order has imposed a deliberately tedious and lengthy application process, used in some regions as an excuse to refuse individuals for personal rather than professional reasons. Both the Order of the Golden Crucible and Order of Illumination have aggressively recruited those spurned by the Fraternal Order, gaining some of their most valuable members from this pool.

For almost a generation there have been some progressives who have eschewed old and outmoded traditions to invite members who would otherwise have been excluded. By these “exceptions,” a number of arcane mechaniks and several women have been included in the order within the last several decades despite the objections of more conservative peers. General Sebastian Nemo of the Cygnaran Army is perhaps the most prominent and frequently heralded of such members, an arcane mechanik who has been a credit to both the army and the order. Such rare cases of inclusion have been greatly outnumbered by those turned away for trivial reasons.

The Present: A Change in Policy

In the present day the Fraternal Order maintains much the same role
it has filled for centuries: it is the most prestigious arcane organization south of Khador, and the largest civilian producer of steamjack cortexes. However, recent changes may result in long-term changes for the order, possibly bringing it back from its recent decline.

In Tempen of 607 AR, High Magus Thanos Terpwell (male Thurian Evo20), most senior of the six high magi in Ceryl, began to lose his mind. Late in the evening, members within the Stronghold were startled by an explosion shaking the building. Those investigating the disturbance discovered a large portion of the fourth floor of the towering edifice blown out by an immense explosion, with High Magus Terpwell standing unharmed at the epicenter. Due to the late hour, few were working in the area, so there were only four casualties, but the loss of books and other equipment, in addition to the cost to repair the Stronghold, proved to be considerable.

The senior magi who cautiously approached Terpwell described him as bewildered and confused. In a subsequent interview he claimed to have been under attack by assassins in the employ of the Greylords, but
no evidence of these assailants was discovered. It is widely believed that Terpwell suffered a bout of delusion or dementia, a frightening possibility given the scope of his power. After considerable delicate persuasion, the other ranking high magi in Ceryl convinced Terpwell to retire and bestowed on him the honorary title of high magus emeritus. As such he theoretically maintains his clout and standing but no longer attends meetings or votes on order business.

High Magus Emeritus Thanos Terpwell
The high magus emeritus remains influential with a cabal of evocation specialists in the order who call themselves the “Sons of the Hundred,” in reference to the famous Battle of the Hundred Wizards during the rebellion against the Orgoth. They have studied the manifestation and conversion of raw energy for military applications. A number of these disciples hope to inherit Terpwell’s legacy, including an extensive and impressive private library of related occult lore. This includes one of the most complete collections of the works of Nivara before she ascended as a scion of Thamar. This is a treasure trove that is eagerly sought not only by other arcanists but also by like-minded Thamarites.

A carefully selected group of guardians have been hired by the Ceryl branch to keep an eye on Terpwell’s estate, located 10 miles east of Ceryl. There has been some debate within the order regarding seizing elements of his library, but the high magi are not yet willing to risk his wrath and would prefer to collect these tomes after his inevitable demise from old age. Terpwell’s guardians have been instructed to protect the high magus emeritus and this collection both from outside threats and from himself.

In his retiring years, Terpwell has undergone a resurgence of Cygnaran patriotism and periodically talks about marching to the war front alongside his protégés to unleash their destructive power against the kingdom’s enemies. Given his uncertain sanity, this prospect is viewed with greater dismay than enthusiasm by Cygnaran officials. They have endeavored — discreetly — to keep him on his estate.

The high magus emeritus’ retirement left the remaining high magi to vote on a replacement, a matter brought before the Magus Convocation later in 607 AR. While one or two absentees from such proceedings are common, this convocation drew all of the far-flung magi, none of whom was willing to miss such an important occasion. What might have been an otherwise routine matter of protocol turned into a political bid for power among the order’s
more progressive members, including Cygnar’s court wizard, High Magus Arlan Calster.

The more conservative high magi did not recognize they were facing a consolidated block of their peers, and thus it came to pass that the relatively young Ansel Senson (male Thurian Wiz15) was confirmed as the sixth high magus of Ceryl on the 17th of Katesh, 607 AR. Magus Senson seemed a
safe choice, as he was noted primarily for his quiet intelligence and his skill at cortex fabrication. Unknown to the older members of the assembly, Senson harbored a deep desire for reform, a sentiment he had shared with High Magus Calster in extensive correspondence.

Three nights later, the Magus Convocation met in its present configuration for the first time. Although the stated agenda did not include a discussion of altering admission policies, Arlan Calster decided to test the waters and once more brought up his suggestion to give official sanction to the recruitment of women and arcane mechaniks to the order in addition to removing barriers related to family wealth and stature. This had been a tired topic that had always been talked down in favor of tradition, but on this occasion the winds had changed. Several of those present who had previously gone along with the majority now voiced agreement with Calster, and to this was added the vehement support of the suddenly vocal High Magus Senson.

Declining membership and associated decline in income were persuasive arguments in favor of bringing new blood to the order. The progressives proposed an overhaul to the entire recruitment review and membership screening process. The stated goal was to maintain the high standards for the arcane skill of applicants but to remove superficial barriers to entry, including reducing membership fees. Conservatives argued vehemently against this change but were outvoted, and membership reform passed. The order at large was informed of this historic decision over the next few days, with mixed reception. It remains to be seen what impact these changes will have.

The cabals that worm through the membership persist, each devoted
to some obscure branch of arcane lore, jealous of the advancements of rivals. Much of the order’s voluminous collection of texts is sequestered in private libraries or locked away in the Anthaneum in Ceryl. Gaining access to the deeper knowledge of the order remains a matter of politics and favors and requires joining the proper circles. The impact of membership reforms might be felt in time, and certainly the more progressive high magi hope they will help maintain the Fraternal Order as an arcane power in western Immoren for the foreseeable future.

Life in the Order

Officially, the Fraternal Order will accept an application for membership from any adult who shows aptitude and serious dedication in the formal magic of wizardry and who is granted sponsorship by a magus of the order. In reality, unless sponsored by a member of a progressive faction, applicants are given serious consideration only if they come from respectable backgrounds among the merchant class or nobility. The order places such a high value on its image that it will absolutely refuse membership to those deemed uncouth or vulgar.

An applicant whose petition survives initial scrutiny and interview with at least one high magus will be expected to pass several basic competency tests in his field of arcane expertise. These tests will be monitored by one of the order’s several proctors, senior magi who supervise the admittance procedure. These tests are equal parts practical exams and survey tests wherein the applicant must demonstrate an understanding of basic magical principles. The application process used to last several years but has been recently shortened to several months. The majority of applicants are rejected during the initial interviews and arcanists who proceed on to the exams typically pass their tests and are inducted into the order as novices.

The order officially recognizes three ranks: novice, magus (Fraternal Brother is used interchangeably) and high magus. All newly initiated members are considered novices, with elevation to magus requiring a broad range of proven arcane power. At any time after the probationary period a novice can petition to be tested to become a magus, at which time he must prove the ability to cast 4th level spells from at least three different schools, not including necromancy or conjuration. Enchantment, evocation, and transmutation are the most valued schools. Scheduling an audience for these tests may require several weeks. No special consideration is afforded to arcane mechaniks in this test, making this requirement particularly onerous for that class and leaving a number of highly proficient arcane mechaniks at the novice rank. High magus is not a title earned by power or test but is only given by appointment after a vote of the collective Magus Convocation. Six high magi are maintained in the Ceryl Stronghold, and major lodges in other cities are each appointed a single high magus is to lead them. Lodges where no high magus has been appointed are led by one or several of the seniormost magi in that lodge.
In addition to his other obligations, each magus is expected to prove his worth to the order by periodically distributing an arcane paper on a topic of his choosing, summarizing his research. One of these papers is expected every two years at minimum, although some magi distribute them with far greater frequency. Many magi do not write papers on their secret pet projects but fulfill this requirement with papers of lesser significance. Only a few diligent magi follow this procedure as it was intended, as a means for the order to pool its lore and approach the study of the arcane with scientific diligence and collective effort. These dissertations are typically esoteric and theoretical in nature, although occasionally one may cover a widely applicable innovation in the use of magic, such as a useful new spell or item enchantment procedure.

Although the order claims that all magi are equal, the reality is that tenure, seniority, and a proven ability to assist the order in expanding its power and profits define much of the organization’s internal hierarchy. Typically a novice or magus will make friends and colleagues among the order with similar interests and areas of expertise. Every full member is required to pay dues of 100gp per month and spend a certain amount of time each year in direct service to the order, with the amount of time increasing with seniority. Many members become involved in regular shared research projects.

The most common mandatory duty is aiding in the construction, sale, and distribution of steamjack cortexes that provide the majority of the order’s income. Even those without the skills or feats required to actually create a cortex may assist in secondary capacities, such as negotiating for raw materials or assembling some of the basic components of a cortex, or delivering cortexes to their intended destinations. Many magi view these tasks as menial and tedious, but there are those who specialize in cortex manufacture and spend the majority of their time in the dedicated manufacturing labs, both in the Fraternal Stronghold in Ceryl as well as similar facilities in Berck, Caspia, Mercir, Merin, and Corvis.

Other duties include field research at sites of arcane significance, such
as Orgoth ruins, or serving as arcane bodyguards. Members are frequently tasked with protecting the caravans or ships transporting order cortex shipments, the largest and most vital of which are those sent between Ceryl and the Cygnaran Armory in Caspia. Members who neglect to fulfill their responsibilities may face expulsion or, if a member betrays or publicly humiliates the order as an organization, even more extreme punishments.
While the Fraternal Order once feigned neutrality in the conflicts between the nations of western Immoren, open war has forced it to choose sides and has led to its greater involvement than at any point in the past.

There is no mistaking that the order greatly favors Cygnar. With the loss of Llael, Ord is now the only secondary nation that is a regular customer of the
order. It is certainly within the order’s interests to oppose expansion of the Khadoran Empire, as that nation and its Greylords Covenant seek their destruction. Similarly, the Fraternal Order has every reason to oppose
the theocracy of the Protectorate of Menoth, as the government there has been kidnapping members of the order and enslaving them to join the Vassals. In other respects, though, the political and religious views of members are considered private affairs so long as they do not compromise the reputation or security of the order.

Correspondence between far-flung members of the order is common and frequent, particularly within specific cabals or between members who are working on projects together. The order employs a variety of means, from the mystical to the mundane, to ensure the privacy and security of this correspondence, but the most vital elements of research and study are generally communicated in person, rather than being trusted to letters.

Cabals within Cabals

Members of research circles sometimes become very tightly knit. Even after the circle’s original queries have been answered, some members may choose to stay in touch — particularly if the subject of inquiry becomes a personal interest. As the uninterested leave the group for other pursuits, the remaining magi may decide to pursue related questions and mysteries. Depending on the nature of their research, these groups may eventually become publicly known groups of experts within the order. Several semi-official groups are recognized as the order’s premier experts in their fields.

These circles may come to span generations, developing their own private initiations and other conventions. Membership in one cabal does not preclude membership in others, and it is quite common for senior magi to participate in a bewildering assortment of them to various degrees of commitment. Larger and more clandestine cabals commonly have several different levels of membership.

Those involved in forbidden research customarily adopt an innocuous cover to veil deeper tasks. Senior members may require signs of commitment before allowing access to possibly incriminating texts or methodologies.

For example, a secret group of infernalists called “The One Key” may be attempting to unravel the secrets around the otherworldly entity known as the “Sounder at the Gates” and might disguise their efforts as research into linguistic peculiarities in ancient Morrdh inscriptions.

Clique AQUI PARA CONHECER AS PRINCIPAIS CABALAS

Paths of Power

The following a Greylords specializations in service of the Immoren Jewel.

Arcana Magus Paths

These Fraternal Brothers specialize on mastering and understanding the deepest aspects of arcane lore and the application of this lore to the enhancement of their spells. They draw heavily upon the works of previous great arcanists and researchers, ranging from Sebastian Kerwin to less reputable sources like Nivara. They seek the fundamental core of magic not for the pure sake of knowledge but in the hopes of magnifying the raw power they can wield.

Path of Marked Origins — Fraternal Brothers on this path do not shirk from the fact that human magic is rooted in pacts made with infernals. While not necessarily infernalists themselves, these wizards study the infernals and their powers in the hopes of gaining a better understanding of magic. They also search for any evidence of ancient human civilizations reputed to manifest arcane power — possibly with infernal aid — particularly the lost kingdom of Morrdh. Associated Cabals: Scholars of the Oath, Keepers of the Gate, The One Key, Allies of the Archive

Path of Arcanodynamics — This path is favored by students of the control of the violent energies that can be released by arcane manipulations. Certain members of the Fraternal Order have studied how to transmute these energies from one form to another by an effort of will, allowing them to exploit the weaknesses of their enemies. Associated Cabals: Society of Reduction, Sons of the Hundred, Arcanodynamic Studies Circle

Path of the Unleashed Evoker — Core principles of this path are rooted in the seminal evocation work done by Nivara before her ascension, theories that were subsequently codified and greatly expanded by Fraternal Order arcanists. This path allows arcanists to amplify their powers to unprecedented levels, enhancing several metamagic feats. Associated Cabals: Sons of the Hundred, Inheritors of Nivara, Students of the Unquenched Fire

Diligent Brother Paths

These paths relate to the more practical industries of the Fraternal Order, such as the fabrication of cortexes, selling commissioned enchanted items, or scribing arcane texts. Those who prioritize increasing the order’s coffers, or lining their own pockets, or some combination of the two, prefer these paths.

Path of the Cortex Master — Some Fraternal Brothers have learned how to assemble cortexes with considerably less personal investiture, and how to shoulder this burden as a team. Associated Cabals: Cortex Fabrication Standards Committee, Military Technologies Advisory Panel, Brothers in Service to the Maiden

Path of the Sleepless Magus — The Fraternal Order of Wizardry is the premiere organization devoted to fabrication of pure arcane items and tools, and has developed techniques to conduct this work without suffering the customary risks. This is particularly important for the fabrication of exceptionally powerful items. Fraternal Brothers endeavoring to create such singular items seek the secrets of this path. They learn exacting and precise procedures whereby additional painstaking labor is taken to avoid the pitfalls that can drain away the enchanter’s health and vitality. Some critics suggest this course is ultimately destructive to mental sanity. Associated Cabals: Orgoth Restoration Studies Group, Circle of the Word, Dedicants of the Enigma.

Path of the Arcane Scribe — Certain members of the Fraternal Order have become particularly adept at reading and copying arcane texts, boasting such a thorough understanding of their underlying principles that they can create scrolls or copy spellbooks with very little effort. After long-ingrained rote arcane inscription they can sometimes function quite well even without a spellbook at hand. Associated Cabals: Keepers of the Anthaneum, Circle of the Word, Esotero Editio Studies

Fonte: No Quarter 25