The Constellation (CShaH)

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Admits: The Constellation is a society devoted to the study of astrology, and its membership is comprised entirely of astrologers.
Members: All members are human. The mix of men to women is almost equal, with slightly more women than men. All of the current members are at least 10th-level in experience. There are currently 15 members of the Constellation.
Initiation: The Constellation is a strict society that devotes little effort to recruiting new members. As the older members age and die, replacements are sought, keeping the number of members consistent at all times.
Description: The Constellation is devoted to the study of the stars. They spend the majority of their time sequestered within a remote observatory, taking turns scouring the night skies for any new clues to the deeper mysteries of the universe. Important astrological events, including the tracking of constellations, shooting stars, or the appearance of planets at certain times are all noted on the great star charts of the observatory.
The Constellation is ruled by a single woman, who is said to be the founder of this group. If this is true, then the Matriarch is well over 300 years old. This isn't entirely impossible, considering the magics at her disposal.
The Matriarch rules with an iron fist, assigning tasks to her underlings with little care for how they feel or their personal desires. She believes that, as the most powerful astrologer in Zakhara, all others must bow to her will. For as long as the Constellation has existed, the other members have obeyed her edicts as disobedience could easily result in expulsion from the society. No astrologer is willing to risk losing access to the great star charts that are the property of the Constellation, and they stay in line.
There are two other individuals that have a sort of power within the Constellation; the first of these, the Keeper, is the most powerful. The Keeper is custodian of the star charts and is responsible for their safekeeping. The side benefit of this position is that the Keeper gets to decide who is allowed access to the charts. This gives the Keeper quite a bit of pull with the other members of the Constellation—currying favor for a look at the charts is a time-honored tradition among members. Though frowned upon by the Matriarch as unprofessional, the practice still continues.
Below the Matriarch and the Keeper is the Scribe. It is the Scribe's task to update the star charts from time to time. As knowledge of the heavens increases, it is necessary to add new notations to the charts. The Scribe has access to the charts once a month for three days. During this time any changes necessary are made. Most of the time, the Keeper oversees the process, but the Scribe is left alone for a few hours each day. This is the source of much of the Scribe's power. Those that can't get past the Keeper can often manage to convince the Scribe to give them access to the charts, if only for a little while.
The Scribe is also favored by the Matriarch. She knows enough to keep the Scribe happy; an unhappy Scribe could do a great deal of damage to the charts in a short amount of time. It is even possible that such a person could destroy the charts altogether, destroying years of work in the process. Though there are copies of the charts, many of these are quite old and would require a good deal of updating before they would serve their function again. Because of this, the Matriarch takes care not to offend the Scribe and regularly gifts the astrologer who holds this post with extravagant items to keep him or her happy.
The charts are important because they allow an expansion of the astrologers' magical abilities. By studying the star chart for a solid eight hours, an astrologer can raise his level by one for a period of one lunar month. All spellcasting abilities increase, including the memorization of spells and the number of spells a wizard can learn per level. This can only be performed once a year, and the Matriarch is very restrictive about who gets to use the charts. As noted above, those that are refused access by the Matriarch may be able to convince the Keeper to let them use the charts. The Matriarch doesn't charge for the use of her charts, but the Keeper requires a bribe equal to the briber's level times 1,000 gp. Only astrologers may benefit from the charts; other wizards will only confuse themselves if they study them.
Besides their ability to increase the level of a wizard, the charts also allow the prediction of probable events as dictated by the positions of various stars. This ability allows an astrologer who spends at least two hours with the charts to predict the outcome of a single event with complete accuracy. For every hour spent studying the charts, the event to be predicted may occur up to a week distant. Thus, if an astrologer would like to know if a quest that will be completed in three weeks will succeed, he or she will need to study the charts for three hours. The event to be predicted must be at least two weeks distant, which limits the power of the charts somewhat. Despite this, many are the military leaders and other strategists who would like to find out if the stars favor them at a particular time in the future.
The Matriarch is very strict about using the charts to predict the future. She knows too well what will happen if various leaders were able to know when and where to strike in order to succeed and will not be responsible for that sort of bloodshed.
Other societies regard the Constellation as a mysterious power that is too far away from the center of things to be much of a threat. The Constellation is based near the Great Anvil, where nothing of importance generally occurs. (The Red Eyes know better but haven't come up with a good way to get out to the Anvil and see what the astrologers are doing. It is possible to send an invisible stalker out there, but such a creature may run afoul of geniekind and bring down all sorts of enemies on the Red Eyes. For now, the Red Eyes keep their eyes to the desert and their ear to the sand, hoping to find some way to get close to the Constellation without drawing undue attention to themselves.)
A few independent astrologers know of the Constellation and have made use of the charts in the past. These independents are all incredibly powerful (15th level or better) and have the complete trust of the Matriarch. They, in turn, respect the Matriarch, knowing full well that only this woman would be able to hold the Constellation together for as long as she has. A few of them claim to know the identity of the Matriarch, but they have so far kept the secret to themselves. It is highly doubtful that they really know. The spies of the Red Eyes have been unable to discover this secret, so it is unlikely that anyone else has either.
The Constellation has contact with the Shifting Sands when their paths occasionally overlap. The interests of the Shifting Sands are sometimes aided by the Constellation, as both seek out artifacts from the ancient past. An agreement has arisen between these two societies. The Constellation receives any texts or items relating to the stars or the magic of astrology, and the Shifting Sands are free to take whatever they will. For their part, the Constellation provides the Shifting Sands with detailed navigational aid, as well as the ability to predict the success or failure of most missions before they are undertaken. Though the Constellation does not give this aid every time the Shifting Sands take on an exploration, if there is any reason to believe that artifacts or texts of astrological significance will be found, the Constellation will provide its expertise. If it turns out that the expedition was unable to recover anything of astrological import, the Shifting Sands will recompense the Constellation with some portion of the booty that is found. This arrangement has saved both groups countless manhours and gold pieces and is mutually beneficial.
The Mechanicians' League is another sorcerous society that has benefited from the special abilities of the astrologers from time to time, and is perhaps the closest ally to the Constellation (other than the Shifting Sands). The mechanicians are able to build complex orreries that are given to members of the Constellation in exchange for services rendered. The Constellation, in turn, gives the mechanicians invaluable predictions on the likely outcome of the most dangerous mechanical experiments. Like the arrangement with the Shifting Sands, this beneficial relationship has done much to save lives and gold. Unlike the Shifting Sands, though, the Mechanicians' League is likely to go against the predictions of the astrologers if they feel the Constellation is being too cautious. This has backfired in the past, much to the amusement and/or dismay of the Constellation.
Viziers seek out the Constellation from time to time, though the astrologers are careful to insure that any knowledge these advisers gain cannot be used for military advantage. In cases where the Matriarch is not absolutely positive that the predictions will not be used for ill, the vizier is sent back to his caliph emptyhanded. The Constellation will not take the chance of igniting a war and having one side or the other come to them for retribution.
Where most sorcerous societies go out of their way to create intricate spy networks to keep tabs on their allies and enemies, the Constellation doesn't waste the effort. They rely heavily on their predictions to influence the course that they will take in a given situation, removing the need for human informants. This is the official stance taken by the Matriarch, which doesn't sit well with some of the Constellation's members. This isn't because these disgruntled astrologers do not have faith in their own predictions, but rather because it is very difficult to make long term predictions based on very little information. These men and women would like to have a few agents abroad to report on goings on that otherwise might not reach the Constellation for weeks or months. This issue is one of hot debate within the ranks of the Constellation, but debate is probably as far as it will go. The Matriarch doesn't want spies in her employ, and until she is deposed or steps down (a highly unlikely event), her word is still law. Some members of the Constellation might try to go behind her back, but this is extremely risky and only the most daring would risk expulsion from the society to gain a little more information.
In a campaign, the Constellation should be used as an inscrutable source of information. They can provide very accurate predictions, but they will ask a very high price in return. The Constellation will not attack characters that offend them, but they'll never help such characters again. The Constellation will never seek out characters, though characters may find themselves in the employ of this group through another agency, such as the Shifting Sands.
Characters will likely never have the chance to join this group, unless a vacancy comes up and the character has somehow proven himself a powerful astrologer. It is best to leave the Constellation as a mysterious organization, the finding of which could be a massive quest all on its own.
Goals: The Constellation is bent on discovering the inner workings of the universe through the stars. This quest for knowledge is all-consuming and occupies the majority of their time. They will only aid those who can bring them vital information or considerable wealth, and they do not deign to waste time on efforts that will not reveal to them the secrets they so desire. As noted above, they are aiding the Shifting Sands in order to discover ancient artifacts that may aid their cause, and this is their longest standing alliance. To a lesser extent, the Mechanicians' League is used in this way as well, but as more and more members gain the orreries that the mechanicians can build, this group will receive less and less aid. Once a group has been mined of its usefulness, it is time to move on to another alliance. While not a popular stance, the Constellation firmly believes in this philosophy (though they don't publicize it).