Under the enlightening scriptures of Ioun, the Knowing Mentor, teachers, priests, and scholars who have been drawn to the calling of truth and knowledge spend their lives training. Rather than just being located in a single physical building, the Order instead has many bastions of knowledge and philosophies that are upheld by those who follow Ioun’s teachings. The Order of the Archive is guided by a central belief that true strength is found in understanding the world around you. Despite their idealism, the pursuit of truth is hampered by the realities of life in the kingdom: politics, propaganda, and the dangers of the wilderness.

The Order of the Archive is based in Ostanza but operates throughout the entire kingdom. Temples to Ioun under the management of the Order act as massive libraries called archives, usually located in larger cities and cultural centers. Its members come from all walks of life and are expected to assist in the maintenance, organization, and protection of the archives. Its satellite archives collect artifacts and research information both historical and contemporary along the Ivory Coast and in the distant lands of Tal’Dorei, Tammemar, and beyond. Often times, these temples contain within them teleportation circles, used only by those with access, of which are limited, that connect the Order's temples across the globe.

The various locations for the Order are referred to as an Archive. Each temple, or bastion operated by the Order fall in this category and follow a very rigid chain of command.

The Order has a secret internal structure that remains hidden from the outside world so that their true purpose can continue. Only when reaching the High Archivist status can an individual join the true Order of the Archive by taking an oath and undergoing an indoctrination into the Order.

The Archivists are the base level group members of the Order and work as servants to the High Members and carry out the menial duties within each Archive.

The High Members of the Order are the enlightened knowledge-seekers of their Archive. They research places where ancient knowledge could be hidden and lead large-scale expeditions to these places.

High Archivists are among the elite knowledge bearers of the Order. These enlightened individuals have access to information that others would keep secret and use their newfound knowledge to better the world. As masters of acquisitions, High Archivists answer only to the High Septor. At this level, you are initiated into the real, underlying structure that makes up the Order, rather than just being an arm of the Curators.

At the top of each Archive is a High Septor, who dictates the Archive’s goals to subordinates and uses this power to assign marks to expositors, outline allies and enemies to their archivists, and approve the expeditions proposed by High Archivists.

The highest position in the Order is called the Oracle and is filled by only the most knowledgeable and intelligent High Septors. Those in this powerful position hold it for life and are appointed by the Oracle before them. Usually, there are a few trainees that a given Oracle my choose to have, and only one of these becomes the Oracle once the current one passes away. Oracles are cremated and have their ashes spread in Planterre Lake.

The Ostanzan Crown permitted the Order to be assimilated into the social hierarchy of the kingdom rather than destroying it. This was not an act of mercy, but a political maneuver; the Order was allowed to survive only to provide a sense of normalcy and appease the restless populace.

The Order has continued to work with and under the kingdom out of necessity, but its archivists are savvy political players — whenever possible, they avoid making moves that could put them in danger of being exploited by the Crown, or worse have their information silenced.

Goals

Untold knowledge was lost when the Second Great Reckoning brought the Age of Heroes to its fiery end.. Since that day, the Order and their progenitors have sought to recover what was lost. They hope that, in time, their tireless effort will eventually usher all societies to an enlightened future.

Luckily, Ioun's wisdom and grace has returned to the world — at least in part. Under the guidance and wisdom of their patron god, members of the Order seek to enlighten themselves through study and research. They devote their lives to studying the mysteries of the world, and turning that knowledge to protect it from another Great Reckoning. To this end, the Archives make the immense breadth of knowledge within their libraries available to anyone and everyone who seeks to educate themselves — though some secrets are so potent that they must remain hidden from the public until the proper time.

Kingdoms thrive on misinformation and propaganda, yet it is necessary for the Order to operate within the Ostanzan Kingdom. As such, the Order works to provide the truth to those who will listen, to covertly update revisionist history, and to remove false information before it can spread too far. Unfortunately, imperial agents and even spies from foreign powers have successfully infiltrated the Archives over the centuries, and some of their attempts to rewrite fact and history in favor of their own interests have succeeded. In response, the Order has had to construct a powerful, hidden force of High Septors to defend their texts from manipulation and uncover truths that remain guarded.

Relationships

The Order tries to remain autonomous, but their agents within the kingdom are under constant siege by Theolocrat Kon Bruda, a once-respected monk of the Order who is now just another corrupt lackey of the Crown. Bruda and the archivists wage a quiet battle of wills and subterfuge, each trying to outsmart and undermine the other. This situation, combined with the empire’s efforts to prevent the education of their people, has created palpable unrest within the Order.

The perceptive ears of the High Archivists often hear rumors of unwholesome practices behind closed doors within the Curators. The Order is concerned about the Curator’s secretive cabal but has thus far been unable to infiltrate deep enough to uncover anything damning. The Curators work directly to curate the knowledge kept within the libraries of the Order, and there are rumors that some agents of the Curators are undercover and deep within the Order and work to change or expunge the records and artifacts kept.

Meanwhile, a small number of volunteers from within the Order have agreed to travel deep into the Expanse and Vesper Forest in the hopes of learning more about the mysteries therein, and to understand the level of threat they pose to the people of Ostanza and beyond. None of the volunteers have yet returned.

The Archives that exist in the Turian Empire are under a similar pressure to relinquish information, but do so carefully in order to ensure the real knowledge does not get destroyed by the High Council in Turia.

Figures of Interest

Operating under the will of Ioun, and driven by curiosity and the desire to further universal understanding, the diverse agents of the Order of the Archive seek to change the world for the better.

Oracle Loman Turray, Herald of the Ostanzan Archive

(male human)

Oracle Turray has held the position of Oracle of the Ostanza Archive in Ostanza and the title of Herald of the Archive under the Crown for over forty years. He faces increasing pressure to instill his subordinates with loyalty to the Crown, and he is slowly giving in to imperial indoctrination. He fears that enforcing the will of the Crown when it contradicts the philosophies of the Order will cause his own colleagues to depose him — which only leads him further into the Crown’s protective embrace.

High Septor Yudala Fon, Herald of the Waldren Archive

(agender half-elf)

Yudala is a wise and respected figure who has spent most of their life fighting to protect and maintain the Waldren Archive. They have mastered the art of parrying the Crown’s and the Curator’s attempts to subjugate the Order and bring it under state control. For nearly two decades, they have been engaged in a battle of wills with the infuriated Theolocrat Kon Bruda — and they fear that Kon’s patience is at an end. His vengeance will be elaborate, exacting, and swift, or so Yudala fears. Their network of spies and High Members is frantically seeking to find and publicize evidence of Kon’s unlawful dealings and end the feud before it escalates further. They are under great pressure to uncover the mysteries of the Vesper Forest and bring back any information or artifacts that can lead the Order to the Temple of Life and safeguard its raw magical power from the Kingdom and the rest of Gaia. They fear that once they find this Temple, they are going to be forced into handing over the information they collect.

High Septor Sia Kresh, Herald of the Turan Archive

(Neutral good, female human)

As Yudala Fon’s strongest disciple, Sia controls the Tura Archive. She is determined to root out the infiltrators who would seek to undermine the leadership of the Order and grab power from the Order, and she is swift and brutal in her work. Those that know of her fear her, and many wonder if her methods are crossing a line.

High Septor Clanore Gildrae, Herald of the Needle Point Archive

(male human)

Clanore dedicated his life to studying the mysteries of the Expanse and uncovering the secrets that lay buried under its ice. He works tirelessly organizing and dispatching expeditions to recover ancient artifacts that may shed a light into what life was like before the First Men were created. He is under great pressure from the Oracle to find breakthroughs as his trips are expensive and his research lackluster. Clanore is getting desperate, and is willing to do more than most to accomplish his goals and break through on his research.