Sages' Guild

**Sages' Guild** (formally known as the *School of Ink and Quill*) is one of the factions of the world of *Tyranny*. The Sages are keepers of arcane knowledge, though the mages of the Vellum Citadel are all but destroyed after Kyros' Edict transformed their home into the Burning Library.

## Background

One of the longest surviving schools of magic in the Tiers, the School of Ink and Quill is a venerable institution devoted to the acquisition and preservation of knowledge - or so the Sages profess. Putting more of their energy toward amassing knowledge than disseminating it, they began their scriptorium in 17 TR and through a series of incremental expansions, the structure became the Vellum Citadel. Through means overt and covert, the Sages amassed a repository of knowledge that was without equal in Terratus. Around 330 TR, to adequately preserve this knowledge, the Sages commenced work on a single magical scroll - the Silent Archive - which would contain the knowledge of the library and all of its contents for future generations.

In 431 TR, the Sages of the Vellum Citadel publicly swore fealty to Kyros, but from within the safety of their Vellum Citadel, these scholars continued to study and copy forbidden lore, and used magic to repulse any attempts by the Disfavored and Scarlet Chorus to claim the Citadel that was promised to the Overlord. The militant faction within the Citadel braced for a long siege after the dissenters were silenced in voting.

In retribution for their defiance, Kyros pronounced an Edict of Fire on the Vellum Citadel, turning the home of the School of Ink and Quill into a smoldering ruin now known as the Burning Library in 430 TR. Surviving Sages scattered into the countryside as their former home continued to burn, sustained in a state of stasis thanks to a preservation spell cast using the Silent Archive.

## Organization

Not all Sages know magic, but those that have mastered the guild's traditional spells can employ magic of protection and preservation. It is a poorly kept secret that the Sages have gradually 'acquired' a wide array of magic practiced by rival mage guilds over the generations.

## Interactions

* Lantry is a Sage and a follower, offering the Sage's perspective on things.
* Sages play a mostly subsidiary role outside the Burning Library, appearing alongside the Vendrien Guard as casters and occasionally supporting the Unbroken. The one major storyline that involves them is at the Burning Library.
	+ In the Disfavored and Chorus paths, the Young Fatebinder has to kill the Sages hiding in Effigy.
	+ In the Anarchist path, the Sages leadership is ignored by the Young Fatebinder, as their interest is only in the Silent Archive. Anarchists who were previously allied to the Chorus, obtained Snuffing Them Out without completing it, and avoided Effigy until after Betray Alliance can visit Renata for chats.
	+ In the Rebel path, the Sages can be recruited as allies for your third region.
* Several Sages can be recruited into your service at the Spires, though only if you were present at the Vellum Citadel during the Conquest and gave them notice.

## Reputation

Favor
* Conquest
	+ Warn the Mages before proclaiming the Edict of Fire. (Major)
* Quests
	+ Ask Hieronymus to write down what happened and make it clear you don't want to exterminate the Sages (Average).
	+ Complete The Stones of Elucidation (Average).
	+ Wipe out the Malice inside the Blade Grave Oldwalls (Major).

Wrath
* Quests
	+ Kill Renata during Extinguishing the Flame (Major).