Conclave of the Spheres

Bathed by the Waters of Zhan, off the east shores of Selejia, the Isles of Quinvala are home to the Conclave of the Spheres. These are the wielders of Liastrum magic and keepers of the Molech Oracle, a relic that dates back to the time of the Everlasting. To speak of the Conclave is to speak of the Molech Oracle and its original elven keepers.

During the Age of Relics, before the Fall, the Oracle was complete. It had been stolen from the Islands now known as Quinvala for its ability to predict the currents of time and taken to the golden city of Osterath, the center of the Astarian Paradux. The tyrant empire managed to subjugate the entirety of Selejia, largely due to the powers of the Relics they had taken. The Oracle was used as a means of taking control over their future and the future of those they sought to dominate. It is an Everlasting Relic in the form of a gargantuan orrery surrounded by intricate metal spheres that turn in concentric orbits around its central blue flaming core, and it took expert hands to wield it. Many of the original guardians of the Oracle, the elves of Quinvala, had joined the Astarian Paradux if only to be able to safeguard their sacred Relic from misuse. Unfortunately, much of the knowledge of how to operate the device was lost with the fall of the elven kingdom, so the elves toiled to uncover the secrets of their birthright.

During centuries that preceded the Fall, the only one who could operate the Relic reliably was the elven master Ethalizar, for his knowledge of the Oracle and its mysteries far surpassed that of any other. Without him, anyone who wished to operate the Oracle wouldn’t get anything more than cryptic messages, or worse, they would find their own destruction. The elf understood the Oracle’s nature as an Everlasting Relic and he discovered that it produced much more than a vision of what paths would come. Inside its core, the Oracle also created Liastrum, a blue magical flame with strange properties. Ethalizar discovered that this Liastrum could be used as a catalyst to access the magic of the world and produce incredible acts with it.  He learned how to wield this power, passing on his newfound magical knowledge to others of his kind. Ethalizar would only teach what he learned to his elven peers, believing the Astarians to have stolen the Oracle and kept his kin from their rightful ancestral knowledge. Those who learned from him became known as Mysteriarchs, keepers of the mysteries of Liastrum, and they would be remembered as the ancient masters of the magic the Conclave of the Spheres would later call its own.

Then, came the day of Osterath’s reckoning. The city was besieged by armies of the distant kingdoms that were tired of Astarian dominion. These kingdoms could have been easily defeated by the Astarian Paradux when they were alone, but not now, not while they were united in pursuit of vengeance and freedom. Ethalizar, as the master of the Oracle, knew that this would spell the end of the Golden Reign and much more destruction thereafter through the Fall, a cataclysm predicted by the Oracle itself. This would mean that the Relic he had spent his life protecting would be forever lost and he couldn’t accept that. Together with the Mysteriarchs, under cover of night and magic, they plotted a plan that could mean the Molech Oracle’s survival. Ethalizar and the mysteriarchs secluded themselves within the chambers of the Oracle, promising to perform a great feat of magic that would reveal the path to victory for Osterath. When the chambers were opened, they were gone. They had disassembled it and fled the city in several caravans, bound to meet again at the Oracle’s true home, the eastern isles. They left before the siege made it impossible, but not without danger. Some of them were caught, others killed or lost, but their plan ensured that the Relic would be preserved. The caravans arrived at the shores of Selejia months later, but Ethalizar was not amongst them. His apprentices waited for his arrival, but no word of him ever came, for he had been lost like many others. This could have meant the end of the Mysteriachs, stricken by this loss, but the most powerful amongst them knew their master well, he wouldn’t have failed to predict his end on this journey. If he had indeed fallen, he had done so out of sacrifice for their survival, and they had to live on, to honor that sacrifice. So it was that the remaining Mysteriarchs were now freed from Osterath and its shortsighted leaders. They were hopeful for their future in the same measure they feared for what was to come without Ethalizar’s leadership.

What followed was the founding of the Conclave of the Spheres. It first began as the Mysteriarchs and their immediate followers, elves from Osterath who wished to learn more about Liastrum magic and the wonders that could be accomplished with it. They rebuilt the Oracle and formed themselves into groups that would study the many ways that magic can manifest itself in the world. These groups were named Spheres of Mastery, with each having one of the Mysteriarchs as their natural leaders.

Over time the elves felt the stagnation that came from their limited numbers and began to search for apprentices from amongst the other ancestries of Selejia. They found humans to be cunning apprentices, learning complex knowledge that would take the elves several decades in only a handful of years. The newly initiated humans brought quick innovation, achieving magical feats with Liastrum the elves had never conceived of. The influx of new apprentices grew the Conclave into a massively powerful organization, but as time went on, this refreshing surge of knowledge became disruptive as droves of humans joined in, shifting its internal power structures by their sheer number. Conflicts arose from this divide, setting up a point of tension that would remain forever.

Through all of this, the Masters of the Quinvalan Isles have not officially expanded their domains in several centuries, nor are they likely to. The mages are uninterested in extending their land, preferring instead to operate much further than their actual territory by the use of cunning politics and their magic, growing their influence around the world in other ways. One such way is commerce, as the Conclave barters their creations and services all around Selejia, making other factions indebted to them and reliant on their magic, which is exactly where the Conclave wants them. The Legion of the Fallen may be the faction with the closest relation with the Conclave since the mages are fascinated with the ancient knowledge stored in their dead. Their relationship with the Order of the Shattered Throne is tenuous and complicated at best, with negotiations made almost exclusively under the watchful eye of Valcarists at the city of Citadel. Finally, the last power in the land of Selejia has no use for the Conclave’s constructs and fine tinkered artifacts. For their part, the Conclave understands them as too uncivilized and primitive to enjoy the superior magic.

Although the Conclave has never wished to grow their lands further than Quinvala, the alluring nature of Liastrum magic called others to come to them anyway. As Quinvala became known as a center of knowledge, thousands traveled from all four corners of Selejia towards the islands in the hopes of learning their magic, settling on the eastern coast of Selejia, a region that has become known as the Wystral. Many cities were born on those shores, built by the aspiring mages who were left in the continent, too weak of mind or magic to join the Conclave, but none of these are as great as Gateway. This city originated as a small practical post for those rejected by the Conclave, but it would not remain so for long. Ingenuity abounds here, almost as if innovation was second nature for its citizens, and beyond Quinvala, Gateway is the greatest center for magical research on the continent. The masters of the Spheres would soon take note of this and establish their bases here in order to harness the most out of this unchained creativity.

It is impossible to understand the Conclave, without understanding the means through which they produce magic. The mages wield their magic using Orbs and Gauntlets, unique magical tools that each mage creates as a part of learning their craft. The Orbs serve as arcane cages where they store and feed the flame of the Liastrum, while the Gauntlets channel Liastrum as a catalyst to produce powerful magic. Learning how to control the Liastrum is no easy task; the simplest Liastrum spells may be as easy as learning how to produce a flame, but it takes decades and a lot of study for even the most talented of apprentices to learn how to manifest advanced magic. Beyond that, even if you were to learn this magic, achieving the robes of a mage is not only a matter of study. Apprentices who wish to become full-fledged mages must test themselves against a deadly trial called the Gaze of Molech, a test taken within the main chamber of the Oracle. An apprentice will either leave as a Master of Liastrum magic or be burned out by its raw power, never to be seen again. 

The feats achieved with the Conclave’s magic have helped shape the current world, be it by developing a way to operate the transport towers left behind by the Everlasting, because of the construct designs they have developed, or through the various spells they have created.  What Liastrum magic couldn’t do, however, became the plight of all the elves in the Conclave. The more time that passed since the Fall, the shorter elven lifespan became, their longevity decreasing with each generation. They attempted to use magic to reverse these effects, but nothing worked. So they watched as the first amongst them, the Mysteriarchs, aged and died, taking with them their connection with Ethalizar, the Oracle’s original keeper. Their seats of power passed on to the Nexi, the masters of the Greater Spheres.

The more time that passed, the more Spheres of Mastery were created, all competing against the others and each researching their own strand of magic. Through the Spheres, the Liastrum-catalyzed magic became capable of great deeds, and the greater the discovery a Sphere made the more politically powerful within the Conclave they became, garnering the ability to dictate the course of the Conclave’s goals. It was determined that the Conclave would be ruled by five Greater Spheres, each led by a Nexus, the Mysteriarch’s natural successors. Which five would be the Greater Spheres could change based on the Infinite Nexus, which is what all Spheres agreed to be the theoretical center of the Conclave’s political power, fulfilling the same purpose that the core of the Molech Oracle did for its orbiting spheres. The change in a Sphere’s political power would be perceived as movement; they would either be Waxing Proximal, moving towards the Nexus and growing in power, or Waning Distal, falling from prominence and furthering from the Nexus, giving a chance for any Sphere that was powerful and close enough to the Nexus to represent the Conclave. The other Lesser Spheres fell into position, also moving towards or away from the Nexus based on their accomplishments. This could be either as Inner Spheres, orbiting a Greater one or a common goal and being affected by their influence, or as Outer Spheres, orbiting by themselves around the Nexus. Any Sphere that Waned too far from the Nexus, becoming irrelevant, would end up being dismantled.

The Conclave’s studies on the Liastrum produced by the Molech Oracle have gifted them the most powerful and versatile spells in Selejia, making them unpredictable and resourceful opponents. But, for the power-hungry mages, this was not enough, as their ravenous want for knowledge turned them towards the Malediction, the magical wastelands formed by the Fall. For centuries now, the Spheres have sent expeditionary groups to its outskirts. These expeditions seldom were successful. The fact is, despite grievous losses, with each exploration, they harvested a trove of knowledge and returned with some of their strongest assets, the Relics. The Spheres use the knowledge revealed by the rebuilt Molech Oracle in tandem with what was found in their explorations as pillars to unravel the secrets of magic and establish themself as one of the great forces in Selejia.

Recently, however, the Conclave of the Spheres has made a discovery that would change everything. The Ebbing of the Malediction has thrown the whole continent into motion and has served as the first omen that the tides of the world are bound to shift. The unbridled chaos caused by the Fall has kept the Conclave’s explorations from reaching further into the Malediction for a long time, but the chaos is giving in and the wait is over. Mysteries are to be uncovered, Relics are to be claimed and the limits of magic will be expanded. The Spheres are rushing to send their private expeditionary groups toward the unknown, not wanting to lose out on the boons this will present. Their representatives are Liastrum wielders, constructs, and spellbound creatures led by the Seekers, Relic wielders who have arisen amongst the mages, ready to carve their place in the world. The mages of the Conclave may finally uncover the mysteries of the Age of Relics and from it learn how to wield the world’s most powerful magic. When they do, the world will dance to their tune, bowing before their magical will.