The Honorable Network of Lore-Masters

### Group Size

estimated about 900ish at height; currently it is unclear if any continue the traditions of The Network

### Notorious Members

Elrig Pasth; Tieriesias Amphos; Medius Argoyn; Carcineus Geryones

## History

The Honorable Network was an ancient Society made up of hundreds of sages that inhabited Arcanums across the lands. The Society was created shortly after Arcanums sprouted up in various lands as an attempt to collecct records just as The Grand Arcanum had begun doing in Great Vassos.

Created by a man now referred to as "Lore-Master Primus," Plautum Ios recruited hundreds of sages from universities all across Uvonor and gave them positions in many different Arcanums. In return for being able to study within the arcanum as well as take residence there, the Lore-Masters would make sure that important documents and records were being kept and anything unneccesary was being removed.

## Hierarchy

The Network had a type of hierarchy of members it would seem, at least according to records of their society found within The Grand Arcanum itself.

### Lesser Sages

The sages listed below are known as 'The Lesser Sages.' They are called this because their responsibilities and knowledge, though great, are incomparable to what are referred to as 'The Higher Sages' in thier knowledge of the multiverse and their responsibilities to The Arcanum and Their Nation.

Further, Higher Sages are not as segregated in position as The Lesser Sages are. The understanding of Lesser Sages is that it is like a pyramid, with The Great Sage at top, Scribes below, and Tome-Dusters on the bottom. Higher Sages however, are like a well-oiled machine, they work best not when one particular part is in control, but rather when all parts move and work together to produce a single desired goal.

#### Tome-Dusters

The lowest tier of sages were nothing more than simple janitors. Tome-Dusters they were called - they were responsible for keeping the Arcanum absolutely immaculate. Should any of them slack or fail in their duties to keep the arcanum clean the entire group of Tome-Dusters would be punished.

Tome-Dusters, though looked down upon by most all, were in fact the reason that Arcanum's were such magnificent and extravagant sights to behold inside and out. There are many accounts which detail in length the awe-inspiring sight of a pristine Arcanum. Tome-Dusters would recieve orders from a High Tome-Duster who would be elected by a Great Sage, and there usually would be a fairly large group of Tome-Dusters in any Arcanum.

Tome-Dusters were not always necessarily Sages, but often Slaves or Poor who would be given shelter in the most cramped space of The Arcanum in return for their services.

#### Scribes

Above those who would keep the place clean were simple Scribes. Scribes would transcribe basic records and documents that had been approved by higher sages to add to the library of their Arcanum. Scribes would also organize and keep track of the tomes, making sure they were ordered according to Carcineus' Code. Scribes took orders directly from a Great Sage and there was usually a small and tight-knit team of Scribes in small Arcanums, and a large unified group in larger Arcanums.

Scribes were usually given a single large room with multiple beds, sometimes with dividers between them, and a small cupboard and chest to keep personal items in. Most scribes valued the knowledge they were allowed to learn and most would spend a decent amount of spare time reviewing relevant modern texts to determine whether it should be submitted for publication in the Arcanum or not.

#### Great Sage

Directly above the Scribes was The Great Sage of the Arcanum. Almost every Arcanum, with the exception of The Grand Arcanum, had only one of these (The Grand Arcanum would have anywhere from 3-5 Great Sages at one time). In smaller Arcanums the chain would stop here, and a Great Sage would rule the Arcanum. These Arcanums were usually nothing more than record storehouses and rarely held any artifacts or items of significance. In bigger Arcanums, The Great Sage was sort of a managing type position that would oversee The Scribes and Tome-Dusters, as well as deal with the public aspect of Arcanums. Answering queries from citizens and scholars, making public to those in need certain documents, and regulating things such as library hours, tome selection, and other such responsibilities were the main concerns of The Great Sage.

The Great Sage received his own room, though it was not particularly big, and was allowed to furnish it however he wished. Usually these rooms became cluttered with many different tomes, paperworks, and maps sprawled out over a number of desks and tables. Great Sages' were known to have cramped living spaces due to their busy schedules and often had very small beds - some Great Sages famously didn't even sleep in beds, but rather swaddled in thick furs on the hard floor.

### Higher Sages

The Sages listed below are men and women of great knowledge and responsibilty. It is said that the work of The Grand Lore-master, The Oracles, The Loremasters, and The Vaultlockers were of great importance not only to the people of Uvonor, but to all the multiverse.

#### The Oracles

The first of The Higher Sages are a small group known as "The Oracles." The Oracles were a small mysterious group of sages no more than 6-7 members large. The Oracles were experts in history and politics, and were duty-bound to have an encyclopedic knowledge of these subjects. The Oracles were also spoken to by none except for by kings and leaders across the lands. The Oracles would study past events and politics, and use this information to try and predict the future of kingdoms.

The Oracles were notoriously good at their jobs, so much so that it was written that they could actually see into the future. Whether the Oracles truly had any supernatural predicting ability is unknown and most likely lost to time, however whether they could truly see into the future or not, their warnings and advice was heard by leaders all across Uvonor.

The Oracles lived rather sheltered lives, studying in a library that no other Sages were allowed in and sleeping in a communal living room that no sages could see.

#### Vault-Lockers

Another class of High Sage were the expert wizards that studied in The Arcanums. Though they had many names - Trap-Layers, Rune-Carvers, and High-Wizards chief among them, they are officially referred to as "Vault-Lockers." Arcanums, being a place of much knowledge, were unsurprisingly an attraction to wizards, artificers, and other seekers of magical knowledge. A special class of wizards, mostly those who seemed to have extraordinary psionic abilities, were chosen to act as guards to the Arcanums.

Even further, Vault-Lockers were tasked with keeping the knowledge of the Deep Sanctums hidden and safe. As a result, the most powerful artifacts of Arcanums are hidden behind many powerful magical traps and runes. Some famous items from these "vaults," as the ancient ones called them, are ones like Cleo's spirit eye or [REDACTED].

Not much more is known about The Vault-Lockers, but it is known that they had grand and luxurius rooms hidden at the absolute deepest depths of their Sanctums. No person has even made it far enough down into the Sanctums to observe their lairs - perhaps excluding Cleobulus and Ezekiel Malachi (due to exhaustion and disorientation they did not know their exact location, but they were deep in the sanctums). It is believed that they are ginormous, cavernous dwellings of absolute beauty and elegance. It is also believed that this is where the most forbidden knowledge of The Arcanum is.

#### Lore-Master

At the top of the tower, so to speak, were the Lore-Masters. Lore-Masters were in charge of the Lesser Sages as a whole, and acted as the Great Sage's direct superior. Lore-Masters would set the standards for what texts to allow into the arcanum, organize public affairs; circus-like events, displaying objects and people with incredible power to raise money; and work on other large-scale projects. The Lore-Masters were also responsible for reporting any concerns about the Higher Sages to The Grand-Loremaster, who had final say on just about everything.

Other than this, the Lore-Masters were responsible for managing the politicking for the arcanum in their respective regions, countries, kingdoms, or provinces. In general, there were three types of factions that were most important to befriending. Firstly, local law agencies. It was the fear of some early sages that nobles and local leaders would become angry at the education of the submissive masses, and try to slander and outlaw their knowledge. So, they though it might be wise to lend aid to and befriend the guard so that if their fears were realized not only would they have peasant civilians to stick up for them, but armed guards; however, it has been said by many historians that although the plan seems to have mostly worked, the reason that they rarely saw political scandals was less because of that and more because of their generally submissive behavior - Arcanums tended to assist and submit to the state, which was criticized by many classical cynics. Secondly, Lore-Masters would try to ally with some local mercenary company. This was imperative, for having no strong warrior or fighting caste themselves, the Lore-Master would need to hire these mercenaries to go on dangerous quests for powerful magic items and information in return for vast sums of coin. Lastly and most intuitively, Lore-Masters would keep tight-knit relations with any and all local universities, colleges, wizard enclaves, artificing schools, and any other circles of higher knowledge. The purpose of this, was to ensure a good number of steady applicants to work as Lesser-Sages, and possibly even as a Higher Sage.