The Order of the Weave

Some folks across Evarencia believe that magic itself is sentient. Along with this school of thought people also claim to have been visited by an Arch-Existence that called themselves "The Weave". As the belief grew and grew The Order of the Weave was founded. The Order would become one of the most highly respected Mage Guilds in Evarencia. It became home to scholars and academics but also sorcerers and those magic came freely to.

## History

### Founding

The Weave had been an Arch-Existence since the beginning of time but kept to themselves as it had the sole task of spreading magic throughout Evarencia. As the population grew and more and more creatures and people began receiving the gifts of magic The Weave began feeling over run and felt their gifts slowly slipping away. The Weave being one of the most intelligent beings outside of The Gods of Above or the Land knew it was time to enlist help or magic as humanity knows it would come to a halt.

The Weave could have chosen anyone to found the order but sought out a young mage's apprentice. A young half-elven woman named Lavender Grimm. Lavender had much to prove but had faith in what The Weave told her. She completed her studies and with The Weave's help grew to be a powerful magus. Lavender had no interest in continuing at her current academy and was the founder of The Order of the Weave. As Lavender now had a strong reputation she gathered other strong magic users who The Weave then revealed themselves to establishing faith in the Arch-Existence and finding the truth source of all free flowing magic in the world.

The Weave told Lavender Grimm to seek out 33 strong wizards for the first crop of the order and Lavender followed instructions to a tee.

### Original Goals

The Weave told the founding 33 members that learned magic would soon cease to exist unless the order intervened. For centuries The Weave had been the only one spreading magic far and wide but could no longer shoulder the burden themselves. The Weave was seemingly a benevolent creature and only cared for the preservation of their creation.

The founding 33 were charged to spread magic freely and share it broadly. Teach new pupils and expand those who practice learned magic. The catch was the The Weave would be using the magic of the first 33 to shoulder some of the burden and redirect their magic into the Arch-Existences own supply. The founding 33 were given three days to make their decision and in the end all 33 pledged their resources to The Weave so magic could be preserved forever. The deal was the 33 would begin teaching pupils and acolytes to take their place and when the 33 died of natural causes their excess magic would then flow into The Weave to become the battery for every wizard for generations to come. Since the magic was freely given and agreed upon in advance The Weave took manna after manna from the passing members of the original 33. Following order members have not had to make the same sacrifice upon death as the essence of the original 33 still fuels young wizards today.

## Modern Responsibilities

As the power of the Order of the Weave grew so did it's responsibilities. It didn't take long for governments to notice a large group of mages holed up in towers together. Some governments saw The Order as a threat and sought to abolish it while others saw it as a boon and began a relationship with them. Quickly The Order spread across the world aiding governments who needed a guiding hand in the world of magic.

The Order over the course of the next decade worked with governments to assign a member of the 33 members to willing governments. The members would act as advisors and moderators in potential international conflict.

On top of the advising work with kingdoms members of the 33 also teach classes to the younger generation and began passing on knowledge to those hungry enough to seek it out.

Many kingdoms see The Order of the Weave as one of the greatest weapons humanoids have against other worldly forces.

## Structure

### 33 Members

Not only out of tradition but out of necessity The Order of the Weave must always have 33 members to help spread magic efficiently. The Weave claims that this is the optimal number to allow the latent magic of the original 33 to continue spreading.

### 33 Apprentices

Each member of The Order of the Weave is also responsible for selecting an apprentice. This apprentice learns everything they can from their assigned Order Member. Members of the Order of The Weave must always have an apprentice. When a Member of The Order of the Weave passes away or is no longer granted their position members of the order can elect their apprentice for promotion if they are deemed ready. A vote is had and apprentices are promoted or not. Apprentices do not necessarily have to take over for their own mentor. It has became one of the greatest honors a young mage can be granted.

### Acolytes

Below Apprentices are Acolytes. Acolytes are those fortunate enough to take classes from members of the order. Even being an acolyte is an honor to mages but very rarely guarantees apprenticeship. People line up in troves to gain access to a weave taught class at various academies across the world.

## Gifts

Members of The Order of the Weave are given certain gifts from The Weave when they are inducted into the order.

### Day of Death

* One of the gifts Order of the Weave members receive is a sense of their approaching death. The Order member does not gain access to how they will die just when. This gift was granted to the original 33 members of the order so they could begin the process of willingly gifting their magic to the Arch-Existence. This gift was passed down to other members of the order even though they do not need to gift their magic unless they want to.

### Expanded Spell List

* Members of The Order of the Weave are granted access to spells that only the order has access to. Many of these spells are not destructive and instead intended to create.

### Affinities

* Some members of The Order of the Weave display incredible affinities towards obscure branches of magic. These gifts are often latent in individuals but then brought to the surface when they are exposed to The Weave themselves. Some of the more common affinities are Elemental Control, Poison Aptitude or Magic that Bolsters yourself or allies. Gifts get more and more rare from there.

## Notable Members

* Lavender Grimm (She/Her)
	+ Status-Deceased
	+ Order Number- Original 33- Founder
	+ Station- N/A
	+ Description- She was a half-elven woman- thin with long wavy Lavender hair as her name suggests. She had a sharp pointed nose and a thin jawline.
	+ Affinity-Unknown
	+ Bio- Lavender was the original member sought out by The Weave themselves to found the order. Though the Order of the Weave does not have an official leader during her tenure she became a de facto leader of sorts to many. Lavender became one of the strongest mages in evarencian history. At the time of her death she became known as the mother of modern magic as she had written hundreds of spells herself. She never had much of a family and chose to spend her time with her work. It is said that she passed away quickly in her bed with no one but The Weave itself by her side.
* Achraleus Finch (He/Him or They/Them)
	+ Status- Alive
	+ Order Number- Unoriginal
	+ Station- Maywood
	+ Description- Human. Tall and very gaunt. Greyish Blue Robes with a flared collar. Turquoise pupiless eyes.
	+ Affinity-None
	+ Bio- Finch grew up in a small village right outside of Maywood. When he was 14 he was selected to become an acolyte at the Maywood academy. For years he studied earnestly and kept his head down feeling like an outsider inside of The Golden City, often bullied for his differences being from the country. Finch is one of the few to move from being an Acolyte to an Apprentice as he was discovered by his professor who was a current member of the order at the time. Finch moved to the isle of the weave and became an apprentice. When he became a member of the 33 he was sent to Maywood to advise The Queen of Maywood. Finch was speaking to a brick wall while advising The Queen and eventually moved on. Finch focuses on Abjuration type magic.
* Elise Emotie (She/Her)
	+ Status-Alive
	+ Order Number- Unoriginal
	+ Station- Roaming
	+ Description- Elven woman with dark purple and grey skin . Breathtakingly beautiful. Long floor length white hair. Eyes that shift colors based on her whims.
	+ Affinity- Forbidden Knowledge
	+ Bio-Elise was taken in to be an Apprentice from a very young age. Though this was on accident (see The Watchers) she did not squander the chance. By the time it was discovered that she was not the intended apprentice she had already proven herself far too many times to go back on. Elise quickly rose the ranks constantly learning and creating. 13 years after her induction she returned to Maywood and became a member of The Watchers. When it was revealed to The Order of the Weave she was too integral to dispose of for the order. Elise currently wields the most power out of any member of The Order of the Weave. People want to look to her as a de facto leader as she is the strongest but she doesn't allow herself to be seen that way.
* Vrocknar Udon (He/Him)
	+ Status-Alive
	+ Order Number-Unoriginal
	+ Station-Kovithian Empire
	+ Description- Tall and Muscular. Several tattoos lie against his dark skin. Vrocknar typically wears light blue or purple roves.
	+ Affinity- Bolstering Spells.
	+ Bio-Vrocknar grew up in a small village inside The Whispering Woods. When he was just 8 years old a group of Ill-Fated ascended to hunt on his village to complete their transition to fully fledged vampire. The Ill-Fated also hunted for a powerful magic artifact that Vrocknar's family had hidden for generations. Vrocknar watched his father fall trying to defend his family. Vrocknar stepped forward and channeled all of the manna he could summon and disintegrated the Ill-Fated. Days later The Weave was at his mother's door asking to take him away. Without Vrocknar's Father to protect the magical artifact, Vrocknar took it with him to the order and now uses it as his focus. Current day Vrocknar is the voice of reason inside of The Order of the Weave and runs all meetings as he is quite universally respected by all.
* Varya Elenar
	+ Status-Alive
	+ Order Number- Unoriginal
	+ Station- DeLane
	+ Description- Varya has short-black hair and intense beautiful green eyes. Thin and short typically wears dark robes that are embossed with red and gold patterns.
	+ Affinity- Seer
	+ Bio- Varya has had the gift of foresight since she was a young child. Her mothers called The Order of the Weave as they did not know how to foster Varya's gift. Varya's life was simple. She quickly rose through the ranks and became a full fledged Order of the Weave member. Varya's station may be DeLane but she travels the globe and uses her gift of foresight to defuse situations, usually before they can get out of control. Her gift of foresight is one of the strongest affinities the weave has ever seen and seeks the council of the arch-existence themselves.